HDZ & ITALIAN MINORITY REPS DISCUSS OFFICIAL USE OF ITALIAN LANGUAGE

( Editorial: --> 2664 ) ZAGREB, Sept 24 (Hina) - The Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) Committee for Human and Minority Rights and members of the Italian minority in Croatia have a different understanding of individual rights and terms, especially with regard to the problem and scope of acquired rights of the Italian minority. However, the two sides will continue discussions on open issues in this regard, the Committee's president Ljerka Mintas-Hodak and Italian minority MP Furio Radin said following their meeting on Thursday. The meeting was held prior to today's parliamentary discussion on the final bill on the official use of languages and scripts of national minorities. The HDZ Committee supports the recognition of all minority rights acquired in line with earlier signed international agreements, and based on the Constitution and the Constitutional Law on Minority Rights, as well as on bilateral agreements, such as the Croatian- Italian agreement on minority protection, Mintas-Hodak said. We neither can nor want to go beyond that framework, she added. There is a lot of room for improvements within that framework, Radin noted. Members of the Italian minority believe that their acquired rights have not been completely recognised, he added. Some rights regarding bilingualism have to be exercised by all, not only by minority members, Radin said. In some municipalities, where the situation was such until 1990, documents today should also be in two languages for all and the official use of a minority language should refer to all and not only to representatives of a minority. Maurizio Tremul, president of the Italian Union (Italian minority organisation in Croatia), said the Union wanted the bill to be improved so that it could provide for the possibility of use of minority languages on the county level as well. The proposal is aimed at the protection of acquired rights and making Croatian-Italian agreements operational, Tremul said. (hina) jn rml/sp 241358 MET sep 98