LOWER HOUSE DISCUSSES REMOVAL OF ITALIAN PLAQUE IN PAZIN

ZAGREB, Oct 21 (Hina) - The Croatian Administration Ministry on Wednesday ordered the removal of a plaque in Italian language from the Istria County Assembly building, Administration Minister Marijan Ramuscak said during question time at the Croatian Parliament House of Representatives session on Wednesday. The Administration Ministry has given the Istrian County Prefect and leadership a deadline of October 20 for the removal of the plaque. Since the deadline has passed, the plaque was removed this morning, Ramuscak said. Answering queries by MPs of the Croatian Democratic Party (SDP), Prime Minister Zlatko Matesa said the government was trying to find a way for pensions to be paid earlier, but the problem is that the Pension Fund gathers contributions from salaries, and salaries are paid between the tenth and fifteenth of the month, by rule. The government has established a working group to spur the implementation of the European Social Charter. This task has been completed and Croatia will adopt the Charter, Matesa said. Asked about the stalling of mince clearance due to the lack of funds, Matesa said that the government can spend only what the Sabor (Parliament) gives it. The dynamics of mine clearance was faster than expected, and the resources envisaged for the task from the state budget have been spent. The Finance Ministry is reviewing cases where the dynamics of spending is slower, so the excess can be transferred to mice clearance, Matesa added. It is sad, however, that the international community has provided no assistance to the task, he stressed. Replying to a MP of the Croatian Christian Democratic Party (HKDS), Matesa said the Croatian state has and will continue to care for Croats in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Nobody will evict the 40,000 Croats from Bosnia-Herzegovina from homes in Croatia where they have been accommodated, until they are found accommodation, Matesa said. Croatia will help those who want to return to Bosnia-Herzegovina, he stressed. Wednesday's question time also focused on the Dubrovacka Banka in the business actions of which irregularities were uncovered ion the summer. A representative of the Liberal party (LS) wanted to know what had been done in order to discover the persons responsible for taking documents crucial for the "Dubrovacka Banka affair" from the notary public's office. Interior Minister Ivan Penic said police had undertaken everything to discover the identity of these persons. We have information that they are no longer in Croatia, that they left the country a little after the event, but we have no positive identification of the perpetrators, he stressed. Matesa reiterated that, in line with a signed agreement, the Globus Group must return its debt to the Dubrovacka Banka in cash, based on the interest rates, and in order to pay back the principle, it would have to sell real-estate in its ownership. If the Globus Group does not fulfils the provisions of the agreement, a request for bankruptcy of all companies that are in debt to the bank will be filed. In reply to Damir Kajin of the Istrian Democratic Alliance regarding the case of smuggled 550 kg of cocaine into Croatia, Penic said that an international warrant for the arrest of the main perpetrator, Slobodan Kasic, has been issued, while the cocaine was publicly burnt in Zagreb. Six persons took part in the smuggling, Justice Minister Ivan Ramljak added. Three of them have been put in detention and warrants for the arrest have been issued for the other three. (hina) lml jn