COMMISSION: NO IRREGULARITIES IN LAY-OFF OF REDUNDANT POLICE

ZAGREB, May 25 (Hina) - A government commission in charge of unassigned redundant police officers has established there were no irregularities in the part of the Interior Ministry reform referring to personnel, despite individual omissions. #L# Said individual omissions were already discovered during a regular control of reform implementation carried out by the Interior Ministry, commission president Milan Pemper told reporters on Saturday. He said that all the disciplinary and other measures taken following reception of complaints were made on the basis of that regular control's findings. The commission received 60 complaints by the laid-off police containing 287 statements about irregularities committed during the lay-off. Forty-seven proved founded and 34 only partly founded. Disciplinary proceedings should be instigated for 20 police employees, disciplinary measures have already been taken against 11, 14 chiefs have been replaced, one has been fired. Four criminal charges have been filed and five cases are being investigated. The commission proposed and the government accepted to re-employ 154 laid-off officers with the Interior Ministry. Pemper said they were not being reinstated into service due to omissions possibly made when they were made redundant, but due to the fact that the natural drain of employees at the Ministry open new posts. The government also accepted the commission's proposal to employ 189 redundant police with customs and the court police, while 491 will have to look for a job through the Employment Bureau. As for claims by officer Zvonko Lovrencic, who is on hunger strike, that he has not been provided for, Pemper dismissed them as untrue. Lovrencic has been under full care of competent Interior Ministry services and the Pension Insurance Institute, receiving a monthly 4,700 kuna (EUR635) disability pension since 1997, he said. (hina) ha