POLICE COMMENT ON RECENT EVENTS IN BELI MANASTIR

OSIJEK, Jan 5 (Hina) - Osijek-Baranja County Police on Tuesday commented on incidents that happened during Christmas and New Year holidays in Beli Manastir, eastern Croatia, and about which the Serb Democratic Party of Baranja (SDBS) main committee issued a statement on Monday. Regarding the "bomb attacks" mentioned in the SDBS statement, the head of the police department for analyses, Zeljko Vajda, told Hina that an explosive device was thrown into the yard of the house of a Beli Manastir citizen, N.S. The police officer said there were no injured in the incident, but the car of N.S. was damaged. Police are searching for the perpetrator. Considering the taking down of a flag of the Serb national minority from the town council building, Vajda said the guard had informed the Beli Manastir police of it at seven o'clock on January 2. The perpetrator is still unknown. Commenting on the damaging of the bust of Jovan Lazic, a participant in the anti-Fascist struggle during WWII, the same source said that Beli Manastir Mayor, Simo Stupar, notified the Beli Manastir police of it at 12:40 hrs Monday. The police were informed of the incident at the same time when the SDBS party sent the statement to the media. The police are searching for the perpetrator. The police do not know of nor have they received official reports about physical attacks or abuse of Beli Manastir citizens. Vajda said that an investigation would be launched in any officially reported case. The SDBS President Ljubomir Mijatovic said his party had decided to comment publicly on "individual incidents" that disturb the good relations between the SDBS and the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) and are detrimental to both parties that are in power in the town as well as to the endeavours to make the area peaceful and developed. (hina) ms