The parliamentary Committee on the Constitution, Standing Orders and the Political System on Monday endorsed the government's bill of amendments to the Public Assembly Act lifting a ban on peaceful protests in St. Mark's Square, outside the government and parliament buildings.
Public assembly and protests in the square would be allowed as of July 15. Participants could rally ten metres from the parliament and government buildings and 20 m from the Constitutional Court.
The area for assembling and protesting will be marked, the number of participants limited to 1,500, and it will be allowed from 8 AM to 10 PM.
Vladimir Seks of the strongest opposition party, the HDZ, voted against the bill, while his party colleagues Ilija Filipovic and Ana Lovrin abstained.
Seks said the bill did not solve dilemmas about the time allowed for the rallying, the number of participants and the distance from the buildings.
"The number 1,500 or any other makes it hugely difficult to enforce the law," said Seks.
Nenad Stazic of the ruling coalition's Social Democrats said the bill was aimed at correcting the previous HDZ-led government's injustice banning citizens from protesting in St. Mark's Square and at regulating protests in a way that prevented riots.
