POLICE LAUNCH INTENSIVE SEARCH FOR ATTACKERS ON NEWSPAPER EDITOR

( Editorial: --> 1386 ) KARLOVAC, Dec 29 (Hina) - Police in the central Croatian town of Karlovac said on Monday they were conducting an intensive investigation into last week's assault on the editor-in-chief of the "Karlovacki List" daily. Editor-in-chief Nenad Hlaca was attacked by two men outside the paper's editorial offices at about 18.00 hours on December 23. He sustained injuries to the head and chest. Deputy police chief Tomislav Kotic said that so far police did not have any suspects, and they would conduct an interview with Hlaca for the purpose of identifying the perpetrators. The assault has been condemned by local authorities. The Croatian Helsinki Committee for Human Rights (HHO) said in a statement on Sunday that the attack was a warning not only to Hlaca but also to the editorial staff of his newspaper. The HHO said the attack had been carried out by those who did not agree with Hlaca's "idea of freedom of expression and professionalism in journalism". Subsequent anonymous telephone threats to Hlaca and editorial staff "undoubtedly testify that the attack is tinted with politics", the HHO statement said. (hina) vm mm 291826 MET dec 97