ROPUS: SEPAROVIC'S INTERROGATION HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH "NACIONAL" CASE

ZAGREB, June 11 (Hina) - The proceedings which are being conducted against the former head of the Croatian Information Service (HIS) and former Justice Minister Miroslav Separovic, do not have a political background nor are they a sign of inter-party conflicts within the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ), HDZ spokesman Ivica Ropus told a news conference on Friday. Separovic was interrogated because he had in his possession documents classified as a state secret and this has nothing to do with the article published in "Nacional" weekly, Ropus said. It is claimed in the article in question that the Service for the Protection of the Constitutional Order (SZUP), acting upon orders by Croatian President Franjo Tudjman, had participated in rigging a recent soccer championship. Since the article also contained a part of a confidential document from a police investigation, which prompted the police to launch an investigation, Separovic's being taken to the police station for interrogation was brought in connection with the "Nacional" case. Ropus today called on the leaders of the "Opposition Six" and several intellectuals, who recently have spoken about political violence in Croatia, to "calm down". "What has been going on over the past several days in Croatia is of no use to anyone. It is an attempt to create chaos and anarchy in Croatia's political life", Ropus estimated. He reminded that "with the publishing of the authentic document, classified as a state secret, the law has been violated and extreme damage has been inflicted on people who are mentioned in the document". Asked why Separovic was interrogated only now, although he was not HIS director for almost half a year, President Tudjman's advisor on national security, Markica Rebic, said Separovic had unlawfully kept in his possession documents containing a state secret, although he had signed a statement saying he had returned all confidential documents. (hina) jn rml