INTERIOR MINISTRY WITHDRAWS BILL ON PUBLIC GATHERING

ZAGREB, 21 Oct (Hina) - The bill on peaceful assembly and public protest will be withdrawn from the parliamentary procedure, said a representative of the Croatian Interior Ministry at a round table discussion of the Croatian Union Bloc (HSB), dedicated to the bill. Participants in the discussion were informed about this decision of the Interior Ministry by the head of the Ministry's legal affairs department, Goran Bosiocic. Representatives of trade unions, opposition parties and non- government associations had sharply criticized the bill, claiming that it violated in the Constitution guaranteed human and civic rights, as it practically prevented the organisation of those public meetings with which the authorities do not agree. However, the Interior Ministry representative said that similar legal solutions exist in many other democratic states. The bill on public assembly had been completed more than a year ago, and the Interior Ministry could no longer remain 'by the then estimation of the situation'. (hina) jn rm 211727 MET oct 97