WAR VALUES PROTECTION HEADQUARTERS ANNOUNCES RALLY FOR OCT 20

ZADAR, Sept 21 (Hina) - The president of the national Headquarters for the protection of Homeland War values, Mirko Condic, announced Friday that the headquarters would hold a protest rally against the current authorities in Zagreb's central square on October 20. The rally is being organised for several reasons: restrictions of war veterans' rights, the government's decision to arrest General Ante Gotovina and hand him over to the Hague war crimes tribunal, violations of the Constitution and the ceding of part of Croatian territory to Slovenia, and many other decisions of the Croatian authorities, Condic told reporters in Zadar. He accused the authorities of systematically belittling all achievements made over the past decade and persecuting "the most prominent Homeland War participants in the most repressive way." Respecting the legal decisions and laws of this state, the headquarters will resist and thwart such a "brutal attack" on the founders of the Croatian state, Condic said. As of today, the headquarters will be in session permanently until its requests, soon to be forwarded to the government, are met, he said. Over the next few days, we will issue a proclamation to the Croat people and relocate part of the headquarters' staff to Zagreb, from where all activities will be coordinated, Condic said. Answering a reporter's question, the president of the Headquarters' Osijek branch, Ivan Vekic, said the systematic persecution of Croatian soldiers was aimed at annulling the results of war victories. Asked if he feared a Hague war crimes tribunal indictment, Vekic said he was not concerned about himself but the fate of the Croatian state. (hina) rml