CROATIAN JOURNALISTS' ASSOCIATION SUPPORTS NEWSPAPER PUBLISHERS

ZAGREB, Jan 19 (Hina) - The Croatian Journalists' Association (HND) fully supports the paper publishers' decision to oppose bankruptcy in which they are drawn by a distribution company, Tisak. The HND expects from the Croatian Government to accept its share of responsibility for the current situation of the Croatian publishers. The largest distribution company in Croatia, Tisak, brought publishers in a serious financial situation, due to its irregular payments from newspaper sales in 1998. Due to this, publishers owe print shops, which will no longer be able to print papers, causing most Croatian dailies, weeklies and monthlies to stop being published. The HND President, Jagoda Vukusic, on Tuesday forwarded an open letter to Croatian Prime Minister Zlatko Matesa, in which she expressed hope that the Prime Minister would respond to the situation and offer concrete support to the publishers. "We hope there is no need to convince you of the importance of the problem, and its economic, social, and political consequences", the letter read. The HND President stressed that Tisak was a privately owned company, which should be exclusively of the owners' concern and not of the Government. However, she said, the Government cannot waive responsibility because the Government passed laws and affirmed models of conduct, which made Tisak the way it is today. Tisak's representatives told the publishers at a meeting held on Monday that they had a programme of reorganisation, and were waiting for talks with the Government. (hina) it jn/lml