ZAGREB, June 9 (Hina) - Representatives of the Croatian Journalists' Society (HND), Reporters' Union and the "Forum 38" held a news conference in Zagreb on Wednesday entitled "Who Is Next?". The conference focused on "the increase of
political violence in Croatia and the police's inability to react to the violence adequately and find the perpetrators". HND president Jagoda Vukusic stressed the police bursting into the weekly "Nacional" editorial offices grievously violated the office's autonomy, but the act mostly gave rise to the question -- can reporters publish state secrets? Vukusic stressed the legislator gave the executive authority large manipulation opportunities with the term 'state secret'. According to her, reporters who abide by this law are committing a big crime against the public. After Nacional last week published a text under the heading "SZUP (the Agency for the Protection of Constitutio
ZAGREB, June 9 (Hina) - Representatives of the Croatian
Journalists' Society (HND), Reporters' Union and the "Forum 38"
held a news conference in Zagreb on Wednesday entitled "Who Is
Next?".
The conference focused on "the increase of political violence in
Croatia and the police's inability to react to the violence
adequately and find the perpetrators".
HND president Jagoda Vukusic stressed the police bursting into the
weekly "Nacional" editorial offices grievously violated the
office's autonomy, but the act mostly gave rise to the question --
can reporters publish state secrets?
Vukusic stressed the legislator gave the executive authority large
manipulation opportunities with the term 'state secret'.
According to her, reporters who abide by this law are committing a
big crime against the public.
After Nacional last week published a text under the heading "SZUP
(the Agency for the Protection of Constitutional Order) Rigged the
Soccer Championships Under Order of Tudjman", the police, refuting
the weekly's claims, initiated an investigation into who gave
reporters documents who are classified as a state secret.
Nacional's editor-in-chief Ivo Pukanic held criminals in state
authority were misusing the term state secret to hide the crimes
they committed.
However, Pukanic stressed, it cannot be said all people in Croatian
state authority were corrupt, because Nacional could not publish
the newest information otherwise.
Pukanic added Miroslav Separovic, former justice minister and
director of the Croatian Intelligence Service (HIS), who was
arrested Tuesday night and is being kept in prison, is innocent, as
he had nothing to do with the documents published in Nacional.
Separovic resigned from his post of HIS director on January 25 as he
did not condone reporters being tapped, Pukanic said.
"Forum 38" and HND representatives accepted a motion by the
Croatian Reporters' Union (SNH) president, Dragutin Lucic, who
said an appeal should be issued and a request be sent for Separovic
to be freed.
Members of Forum 38, the name taken from Article 38 of the Croatian
Constitution, which speaks about the freedom of thought and
expression, and HND members, will ask the world and European soccer
federations (FIFA and UEFA) to suspend Croatian soccer selector
Miroslav Ciro Blazevic at all soccer fields across the world.
Forum 38 member Slaven Letica said Blazevic was among those who
propagated political violence in Croatia in the past several
weeks.
His list includes Croatian president Tudjman, Croatian radio and
Television editor-in-chief, several state officials and leaders of
the Croatian Party of Rights.
Mladen Vedris, also a Forum 38 member, replied to the question Who
is next? According to Vedris, voters are next, in this pre-election
period. The current political violence is only a frame for future
events which, he said, would intensify.
(hina) lml jn