CROATIAN BISHOPS CALL ON EVICTIONS TO BE SUSPENDED

ZAGREB, Oct 5 (Hina) - The Croatian Bishops' Conference has called on evictions form military flats to be suspended. The Conference on Monday also urged the administrative acts, under which evictions were being carried out, to be reconsidered so that justice prevailed. Tenancy rights were fundamental human rights. In the event of a legal eviction based on just law, the eviction should be carried out in line with the court verdict, the Conference 'Justitia et Pax' Commission, said in a statement endorsed by Bishop Marko Culej. To carry out evictions only on the basis of administrative acts - and without court verdicts, creates possibilities for violating human rights, abuses and arbitrariness. "Only someone whose guilt has been established by a legitimate legal trial should be subject to punishment," the statement said. "Those who sacrificed a great deal in defending the homeland should not use those sacrifices to obtain a flat by forcefully evicting other families. "Sacrifices and participation in the homeland's defence do not justify violence and a breakdown of law and order," the statement said. The statement follows last week's forced eviction of a family from their Zagreb home, resulting in several people being wounded. The eviction was executed under administrative decisions. (hina) jas sd mm 051839 MET oct 94