SOCIETY OF FORMER POLITICAL PRISONERS ELECT NEW LEADERSHIP

ZAGREB, Oct 24 (Hina) - The Croatian Society of Former Political Prisoners (HDPZ) on Sunday re-elected Kaja Perekovic its president for the third time at a conference in Zagreb. The society agreed that it was necessary to exert pressure on authorised international institutions to publicly condemn and process crimes committed during the communist rule. It was announced that the International Association of Political Prisoners would hold a congress in Dubrovnik on October 25-28. The HDPZ also warned about the danger of not addressing and letting the crimes committed in the name of Communism be forgotten. The association claims the number of victims of Communism exceeds 100 million and requests the International Association of Political Prisoners to exert pressure on the United Nations, Council of Europe, and the International Human Rights Court so that all crimes committed against man are treated in an equal manner, regardless of their perpetrators, place or time. Croatia's former political prisoners also protested against the use of the international war crimes tribunal in the Hague "for political pressure and blackmailing, which is obvious in Croatia's case". (hina) rml