COMMITTEE ON CONSTITUTION REJECTS MOST MESIC PROPOSALS

ZAGREB, Oct 24 (Hina) - Parliament will debate draft amendments to the constitution on Nov. 8, as planned, and deadlines will not be changed, the chairman of parliament's committee on the constitution, Mato Arlovic, said on Tuesday after a session at which the committee rejected most of the proposals moved by President Stipe Mesic.#L# Earlier today, a member on Mesic's think-tank in charge of constitutional amendments told reporters the president and Prime Minister Ivica Racan had held consultations today, and that Racan had expressed willingness to postpone adopting the amendments. Before the committee on the constitution wrapped up today's session, Mesic had said that work on the amendments was hurried when it should be serious, include experts and the opinion of their most eminent representatives. Mesic said the hurry had prompted him to forward to the committee his "Opinion and Suggestions on Draft Amendments to the Constitution of the Republic of Croatia". Arlovic said today parliament's committee on the constitution had completed the bulk of the work in preparing the draft of constitutional amendments. One of the more complex issues, the dissolution of parliament, remains unsolved, he said, adding the other issues the committee had to tackle were less contentious and would be easier to solve. The committee accepted some of Mesic's proposals, for instance that in the future, the president of the republic does not have to submit to parliament annual reports on the state of the nation. A provision under which the president accounts for abuse of office was excluded, also at Mesic's suggestion. The committee turned down Mesic's proposal under which the president supervises all intelligence services, instead including in the draft another under which the president directs and supervises only the work of military intelligence services. Commenting on the latter provision, Vladimir Seks of the Croatian Democratic Union party said Mesic and the ruling coalition's two strongest parties, SDP and HSLS, had evidently come to an agreement, an allegation resolutely dismissed by Zdravko Tomac of the Social Democratic Party (SDP). The committee on the constitution also turned down Mesic's proposal to reinstate the term 'head of state' into the draft, and another that the draft exclude the so-called 'dual control' institute under which the president establishes consular offices and appoints and relieves ambassadors at the proposal and with the co-signature of the prime minister. A provision under which the president appoints the governor of the central bank was also given a thumb down. A 'no' was given to an SDP proposal that the constitution contain a provision under which the president takes part in creating foreign affairs. The committee explained the draft amendments already gave the president powers to this effect. Accepted was a proposal by the Croatian Peasants' Party that the parliamentary speaker act as president in case the latter is prevented from performing his duty, and that the prime minister do so if both are prevented. The committee accepted a proposal by the Croatian Party of Rights (HSP) that the constitution should envisage the possibility of calling a referendum on any one issue to receive signatures of ten percent of citizens. The party announced its deputies, together with the Christian Democrats, could vote in favour of the constitutional amendments, albeit on condition that consensus be reached as to procedure for dissolving parliament. The committee turned down a HSP proposal that the draft erase the term 'regional self-government' which the HSP maintains would stand for a "quiet federalisation of Croatia." Justice Minister Stjepan Ivanisevic said that regional self-government, a term the committee eventually accepted, was a condition imperative to decentralise Croatia. The committee turned down a proposal moved by the central bank under which the bank would be in charge of currency rate stability. (hina) ha jn