EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT ADOPTS RESOLUTION ON CROATIA

( Editorial: --> 9460 ) STRASBOURG/ZAGREB, Dec 18 (Hina) - The European Parliament on Thursday adopted by urgent procedure the Resolution on the State of Civil Society in Croatia. The adopted resolution is the result of coordinating suggestions made by the parliamentary benches of seven groups of parties in the European Parliament. Ţhe European Parliament condemns "the attacks through legal and other means against independent non-governmental organisations and media and their staff in Croatia". The motive for the resolution was a "new law on associations which authorises broad interference by the government in the activities of non-governmental organisations". The European Parliament believed the Croatian Government's draft law on humanitarian organisations "might increase governmental control over the activities of many humanitarian, refugee and human rights groups". The European Parliament "notes with concern" that the Croatian government has initiated financial and criminal investigations into a number of independent, non-governmental organisations and media, in particular the Croatian Helsinki Committee, political weekly Feral Tribune and the Open Society Institute of Croatia, as well as a libel suit against Globus weekly magazine and a resumed trial against Feral Tribune reporters. For this reason, the European Parliament "urges the Government and Parliament of Croatia to stop restricting the freedom of association and to review the law on associations, as well as other laws imposing unwarranted restrictions on civil society, with a view to amending them so that they comply with international human rights standards and practice". Croatia's authorities are urged to "guarantee the existence of free and independent media", and to repeal some provisions of the penal code passed in 1996. The European Parliament urged the Council of Europe and the European Commission to help strengthen the independent media in Croatia, and to "contribute to a fully democratic system in (Croatia) by means of programmes based on the Phare programme for democracy". (hina) ha mm 182104 MET dec 97