FLAG BROUGHT DOWN DUE TO WEATHER CONDITIONS?

PULA, Nov 23 (Hina) - Istria crimes police department are to determine if a Croatian flag was forcefully removed from the former school building in the suburb of Bijele Zemlje, in the Groznjan municipality, or if bad weather conditions were the cause, Istria County police told reporters in Pula on Monday. The flag was noticed missing from the former school building on Friday night by the president of the local Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) municipal committee, Gracijano Kert, whose apartment is located nearby. Kert immediately notified the Buje police who discovered the flag on the ground in the vicinity of the building. The flag had been damaged but police could not determine whether it had been taken down forcefully. Police Chief Dragutin Cestar explained that a lock at the entry gate and a list of lawful tenants in the building, which had been taken off, could not be tied to the flag incident. The building was recently purchased by the "Gelax" company from Umag and company representatives stated they had taken the lock and the list of tenants. Investigations into the matter are still continuing. (hina) sp