JUSTICE MINISTRY, HOMELAND WAR ASSOCIATIONS PROTEST HRT'S BAN

ZAGREB, Dec 22 (Hina) - Representatives of the Croatian Justice Ministry and Croatian Homeland War associations on Wednesday protested against Tuesday's decision of Croatian Radio Television (HRT) to temporarily stop broadcasting its programme 'Hrvatski spomenar' until the end of the election campaign, in line with a recommendation by the Ethics Commission. Today's meeting was attended by representatives from the Justice Ministry, Croatian Homeland War Soldiers Association, Croatian Victimology Society, Federation of associations gathering the families of missing and imprisoned Croatian soldiers, Croatian Homeland War Volunteers, associations "Vukovar Mothers" and "Croatian Pheonix", Croatian Defence Forces, and the Croatian Homeland War Invalids. Justice Minister Zvonimir Separovic said the ministries of justice and Homeland War soldiers would today send requests to the Ethics Commission to change its recommendation and to the HRT to resume broadcasting the programme before the central news broadcast. The Ethics Commission yesterday recommended to the HRT to refrain from broadcasting contents which could be understood as being contrary to the spirit of inter-ethnic tolerance, naming as an example the programme "Hrvatski spomenar". Recalling important events from the past years, Separovic said the truth will and must not be concealed, especially the truth about the suffering of the Croat people in the Homeland War. Pero Kovacevic, an assistant minister of Croatian Homeland War soldiers, said the ban on broadcasting the show was "tarnishing the Homeland War and killed and imprisoned Croatian soldiers and civilians". (hina) rml