ZAGREB, Feb 10 (Hina) - A parliamentary deputy of the Croatian Party of Rights (HSP) and member of the committee for home policy and national security has proposed an urgent convention of the committee's session, as he believes that
the latest statements in the media that security services are not doing their job and that confidence in them is weakened can seriously affect the national security.
ZAGREB, Feb 10 (Hina) - A parliamentary deputy of the Croatian Party of
Rights (HSP) and member of the committee for home policy and national
security has proposed an urgent convention of the committee's session,
as he believes that the latest statements in the media that security
services are not doing their job and that confidence in them is
weakened can seriously affect the national security.#L#
Proposing the urgent session, Pero Kovacevic quoted the government's
spokesman Ratko Macek, former Premier Ivica Racan and former chief
police commander Ranko Ostojic as saying recently that they did not
trust the security services.
For instance, Macek said that a lack of trust in the said services was
the reason why the new government did not ask the security services to
check information on Stipe Cacija, whom it appointed as Assistant
Interior Minister to dismiss him after he was in office for only a few
days. Cacija was relieved of the duty because of media reports on his
refusal to recognise his 18-year-old illegitimate son and pay alimony.
In addition, he is believed to be involved in numerous cases of abuse
of office and in criminal activities. Furthermore, President Stjepan
Mesic on Monday annulled his decision on the retirement of Stipe
Cacija,
Racan, the leader of the strongest opposition party - the Social
Democratic Party (SDP) - said in his interview to the latest issue of
the Nacional weekly that had "had reservations" about the chiefs of
the secret services and that because of President Mesic's resistance,
he had failed to appoint "people without the burdened past" at the
helm of the services while he was the premier. Racan added that he had
accepted already appointed staff in order to avoid the conflict with
the President of the Republic, but he had maintained reservations
about them.
Former chief police commander Ranko Ostojic who gave interview to
another weekly called 'Globus', said that he poorly cooperated with
the intelligence services. He went on to say that he had never
received any report from the security services on criminal activities
and therefore he had set up his special police task force to do this
job secretly.
Suggesting to the parliamentary committee's chairman Ivan Jarnjak to
convene the session with the topic "the Situation in Croatia's
Security Services", Kovacevic proposes that head of all the three
agenices -- the Intelligence Agency (OA), the Counter-Inteligence
Agency (POA) and the Military Intelligence Agency (VOA) -- be invited
to the session.
(Hina) ms sb