IDS SUGGESTS BOSNIAKS, SLOVENES AND ROMANY BE RETURNED TO CONSTITUTION

ZAGREB, Nov 8 (Hina) - During a parliamentary discussion on constitutional changes on Wednesday, the Istrian Democratic Alliance (IDS) parliamentary bench supported draft amendments and called on the Croatian national parliament to return the names of three national minorities - Bosniaks, Slovenians and Romany - into the Constitution. The IDS recalls that all parties which now make up the ruling coalition were against the deletion of those minorities from the Constitution's preamble in 1998. The party believes that this civilisation injustice should be redressed, and regional parties PGS (Primorje and Gorski Kotar Alliance) and the SBHS (Slavonija- Baranja Croatian Party) supported this initiative. The IDS maintains that the constitutional reform should clearly accentuate the role of the parliament whereas the President of the Republic should be able to arbitrate in a parliamentary crisis. The bench of the Croatian Party of Rights (HSP) cannot accept the introduction of the term regional self-management in the text of the Constitution, and is against the change of the name the Croatian National Sabor into the Croatian Sabor. HSP MPs are glad that their proposal that a referendum on any issue must be called if the signatures of ten percent of all citizens are collected has been added to the draft amendments which the Sabor is now discussing. (hina) jn ms