MESIC TO DROP CHARGES IF PARTIES REACH AGREEMENT

ZAGREB, June 16 (Hina) - Member of Parliament Stipe Mesic on Thursday asked the Constitutional Court to suspend the proceedings re his appeal against the May 24 resolution of the Croatian Parliament until the end of inter-party negotiations. MP Mesic filed an appeal to the Constitutional Court last Wednesday, contesting the May 24 resolution of the Croatian Parliament to discharge him of his duties as Speaker on procedural and constitutional grounds. The House of Representatives approved a motion to discharge Mesic, tabled by the ruling HDZ, at its session of March 24. The session, at which opposition members were not present, is now contested by the opposition as illegitimate. In a leaflet he circulated among reporters, Mesic explained his demand for suspension as an attempt to bridge the gap between the HDZ and the opposition. If the two sides reach an agreement, then the violations of the Constitution and the Standing Orders, which he denounced in the appeal, could be remedied, said Mesic. He added that he would drop the charges altogether if the two sides reached an agreement. 162133 MET jun 94