PARLIAMENTARY DEPUTY SPEAKER REFUTES OSCE MISSION CHIEF'S CLAIM

ZAGREB, Nov 23 (Hina) - Parliamentary deputy speaker Mato Arlovic on Thursday requested the chief of the OSCE Mission to Croatia to apologise for his claim that Croatia had failed to harmonise its constitution with the European Convention on Human Rights. Bernard Poncet of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe made the claim in an interview with the weekly Globus. In today's talks with Poncet, Arlovic said all residents of Croatia, not only those with citizenship, were entitled to assemble, contrary to Poncet's claim in the interview. Arlovic regretted the situation, saying he thought it called for an apology and retraction in the same magazine. According to Poncet, the misunderstanding is the result of confusion as to the terms "citizen" and "national". As regards a retraction, he said it would not lead to good cooperation with the Croatian parliament, and voiced hope everything would be settled more peacefully. Arlovic said Croatia had been harmed ahead of tomorrow's Zagreb Summit and the beginning of negotiations on association with the European Union. In the absence of an apology, the matter will be discussed at the next parliament session, of which the European Community, the Council of Europe and the OSCE headquarters will be notified, he said. (hina) ha jn