CRO SEEKS POSTPONEMENT OF COE MONITORING COMMITTEE DISCUSSION

ZAGREB, Jan 7 (Hina) - Croatia forwarded a letter to the Council of Europe on Thursday, requesting a postponement of the Monitoring Committee's discussion about Croatia's fulfilment of its commitments. The request was made because there is no representative of the Opposition in the Croatian Parliament delegation, head of the Parliament delegation at the CoE Parliamentary Assembly, Nikola Obuljen, told Hina. The Monitoring Committee will convene on January 12 in Paris. Attending the meeting will be Croatian National Parliament vice- president Zarko Domljan of the ruling Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) party, and a member of the Parliament delegation, Jakob count Eltz Vukovarski (HDZ). No representative of the Opposition will not participate because of resignations tendered by members of six Opposition parties to all functions in the Parliament. Obuljen said the letter sent to the Council of Europe had been motivated by the wish that a representative of the Opposition also attend the Committee meeting. "We wished to enable the Opposition to participate in the discussion and present its views (after the problems are resolved)," Obuljen said. According to regulations, when the Committee discusses a country, the country has the right and obligation to send a representative of the opposition as member of the delegation, he said. Commenting on the failure of an Opposition representative to leave for Paris, a member of the Croatian delegation at the Parliamentary Assembly, Snjezana Biga-Friganovic of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) said the item about Croatia would most probably be removed from the agenda. "It is unpleasant, but it does not mean it cannot be rectified," she said, stressing that Croatia can be discussed at the next meeting. Representatives of the Opposition "cannot back out on the agreement" about resignations to all functions at the Sabor (Croatian parliament), Biga-Friganovic said. She expressed hope that all problems would be resolved at a meeting scheduled for January 18. "President of the HDZ parliament bench, Vladimir Seks, and presidents of benches of the six Opposition parties are scheduled to meet on January 18 and until then there are no signs of a solution to the problems," Biga-Friganovic stressed. She added that representatives of the 'Opposition Six' would attend the winter session of the Parliamentary Assembly from January 25 to 29, if problems are resolved, primarily issues regarding a commission of inquiries for intelligence services and the electoral laws. On the contrary, she stressed, they would not go to Strasbourg. "A possible postponement of the Monitoring Committee discussion about Croatia changes nothing in the scheme of events, because even if the Committee places Croatia on the agenda on January 12, the discussion would not reach the winter session of the Parliamentary Assembly," Obuljen said. If Opposition members of the delegation do not attend the session in Strasbourg, "it will not be received well at the Council of Europe," Obuljen said. He added that their failure to participate "certainly does not contribute to Croatia's reputation". Obuljen stressed that Croatia does not have a draft report drawn up by rapporteurs after having visited Croatia in mid-November of last year. The Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly should in April discuss how Croatia was carrying out the 21 commitments it had assumed at its joining the Council of Europe in 1996, Obuljen said. (hina) lml