HND DELEGATION HANDS PROTEST LETTER TO YU AMBASSADOR

ZAGREB, May 7 (Hina) - A delegation of the Croatian Journalists' Association (HND), headed by its president Jagoda Vukusic, on Friday handed a protest letter to Yugoslav Ambassador to Zagreb, Veljko Knezevic, demanding that Antun Masle, a reporter with the Croatian weekly "Globus", be released and return to Croatia. The Yugoslav Ambassador said he would forward the letter immediately to Belgrade, the HND reported. The HND committee for the release of Masle and other imprisoned journalists also requested that Vesna Fabris-Perunicic, a correspondent of the Croatian daily "Vjesnik" from Belgrade, be allowed to return to Belgrade and that her accreditation be extended. The journalists also requested speeding up the investigation into the case of Pit Schnitzler, a reporter with the German SAT 1 TV station. The Yugoslav authorities were also requested to stop "the unfounded practice of detaining and interrogating press crews". Antun Masle was arrested in Montenegro on April 20. The HND described his arrest and the banishment of "Vjesnik" correspondent Fabris-Perunicic as "the least dangerous, but sufficiently clear example" to all journalists whose reporting is not to the Belgrade regime's liking. The HND said there was no evidence that the reporters in question had been involved in activities outside of their profession. The actions of the Yugoslav authorities bear witness to the fact that there is no freedom of the press in that country, the statement concluded. The HND delegation at talks with Ambassador Knezevic also included attorney Vesna Alaburic and a "Globus" reporter Igor Alborgheti. (hina) rml