UPPER HOUSE REMOVES BILL ON COOPERATION WITH HAGUE TRIBUNAL FROM A

A $ GENDA ZAGREB, April 11 (Hina) - The Croatian Parliament's House of Counties on Thursday decided with a majority of votes to take off from the agenda a constitutional bill on cooperation with the International War Crime Tribunal in The Hague. Twenty-six deputies voted in favour, 19 were against while two abstained from voting. The motion for removing the item from the agenda was tabled by House of Counties speaker Katica Ivanisevic who said that the House had already endorsed the bill and that there was no need to discuss it again. The proposal was opposed by Opposition deputies. Tereza Ganza- Aras of the Croatian Social Liberal Party (HSLS) said that the House of Counties was entitled to table amendments in the second reading of the bill, scheduled for this session. HSLS member Mladen Godek presented an Opposition stance that it was necessary for this item to remain on the agenda for political and legal reasons and because of changes in the text of the bill. Godek expressed surprise at the proposal for taking the item off the agenda, recalling that the bill had been put on the agenda on Wednesday and copies of its text had been distributed to deputies for discussion. Godek said that the Opposition deputies had endorsed the bill in the first reading. (hina) vm mm 111745 MET apr 96