LOWER HOUSE ADJOURNS FOR WEEK-END

ZAGREB, Jun 21 (Hina) - The House of Representatives this afternoon closed the debate on a motion for a Declaration on the 1972 Uprising for Croatian Independence. The motion was tabled by Ivan Gabelica of the Croatian Party of Rights (HSP) in a bid to rehabilitate 19 Croatian emigrants who had "sacrificed themselves to fight for Croatian independence." In 1972, a year after Yugoslav Communist authorities snuffed out a Croatian movement for democracy and Croatia's constitutional rights within Yugoslavia, the 19 men landed in Bugojno, central Bosnia, where they were immediately surrounded by 18,000 Yugoslav People's Army (JNA) troops. "Far from being terrorists, they were freedom fighters," Gabelica explained. Gabelica stressed that "it is a duty of this Parliament to honour them." The House decided to refer the motion to the Commission for War and Post-War Victims before taking the vote. The House then adjourned for the week-end. (hina) jn as 211502 MET jun 96