HONOS ASSOCIATION FILES CHARGES AGAINST PRESIDENT MESIC

ZAGREB, Nov 19 (Hina) - The Association for the protection of values of Croatia's Homeland Defence War (HONOS) has filed charges against President Stipe Mesic to the Zagreb Municipal State Attorney for having allowed a British reporter to get insight into transcripts and audio tapes in the Presidential Palace. The charges, faxed to Hina Sunday, say "President Mesic has allowed a reporter for a British production company, Newswatch, John Cooks, to get insight into a certain number of transcripts and audio tapes, as well as their reproduction," which, the association says, "are archived in the main building of the Presidential Palace and were confided to President Mesic as part of his presidential function". The HONOS association claims Mesic was liable for the "crime of spying". HONOS also requested of the Municipal State Attorney's Office to initiate proceedings against Mesic for disclosing state secrets as he had "made available transcripts of talks of President Tudjman" which had been published in several issues of the "Nacional" and "Feral Tribune" national weeklies at the beginning of the year. Commenting the charges, Presidential Office spokeswoman, Vjera Suman, said "we are a free country in which anybody can file charges against anyone, including the head of state, despite the knowledge that untruths and imputations are being used to this purpose, but this seems to be the best means of their own advertising. The only thing I wish to warn about and what those who levelled the charges know very well, is that not one issued transcript in our media, and reproduced in foreign media, had any markings of a state secret. I am stressing that the writers of this pamphlet in the form of charges, know this very well," Suman asserted. (hina) lml