GOVT FAVOURS BANKRUPTCY, 'NAMA' WORKERS DISSATISFIED

ZAGREB, June 8 (Hina) - About 400 employees of Croatia's largest chain of stores 'Nama', who staged a protest rally in front of the Government building on Thursday morning, continued the protest after their representatives, who held talks with government officials, told them the Government favoured bankruptcy over the financial rehabilitation of Nama. The protesters want Prime Minister Ivica Racan to address them and explain the government's stand. At the beginning of today's government session, Racan said the Government no longer wanted to take part in the programme of rehabilitation of Nama, which he described as a project with no future. At one point the Government was ready to support the rehabilitation of Nama and it offered shares from the state portfolio to the Privredna Bank Zagreb. However, the bank refused it and bankruptcy is inevitable, Racan said. Nama has been plundered for years and no one wants it now, Racan said, adding bankruptcy and reorganisation was the only solution for the company. After talks with a delegation of Nama workers, Deputy Prime Minister Slavko Linic said the meeting failed to bring closer the views of the two sides regarding Nama's future. The Government has decided that an end should be put to Nama's agony and that bankruptcy and reorganisation proceedings should be initiated, Linic said, adding the programme of Nama's rehabilitation was unrealistic and unviable. However, the Zagreb county commissioner of the Croatian Association of Trade Unions, Mario Ivekovic, believes the decision on bankruptcy was politically motivated and had probably been adopted due to pressure by Linic. The Nama supervisory board will this afternoon hold a session, at which it is expected to adopt a decision on relieving the current management of duty, appointing a new management, and decide about the proposal for initiating bankruptcy and reorganisation proceedings, Assistant Economy Minister Kamilo Vrana told reporters. (hina) mm rml