WASHINGTON, Feb 27 (Hina) - The Anti-Defamation League (ADL), the New York-based nongovernmental organisation for fighting anti-Semitism through programs that counteract hatred and prejudice, stated on Tuesday that it had been
informed by the Croatian Ambassador to the United States that his country had launched an investigation in the production and distribution of sugar packets bearing an image of Adolf Hitler and Holocaust jokes, which appeared recently in some cafes in the Croatian town of Gospic.
WASHINGTON, Feb 27 (Hina) - The Anti-Defamation League (ADL), the
New York-based nongovernmental organisation for fighting anti-Semitism through
programs that counteract hatred and prejudice, stated on Tuesday that it had
been informed by the Croatian Ambassador to the United States that his country
had launched an investigation in the production and distribution of sugar
packets bearing an image of Adolf Hitler and Holocaust jokes, which appeared
recently in some cafes in the Croatian town of Gospic. In response
to a letter from ADL, Ambassador Neven Jurica "called the incident 'disgusting'
and indicated that his government had launched an investigation", the NGO
stated on its web site.
It quoted the diplomat as saying that "anyone deemed responsible for
the production or distribution of the packets would be prosecuted".
"I assure you that the Government of the Republic of Croatia condemns
this incident, as well as any behavior intending to insult people of various
beliefs, ethnicity or faith," wrote Ambassador Jurica.
"Moreover, representatives of the Government are in constant contact
with members of the Jewish community in Zagreb with whom they work closely on
this issue," Jurica was quoted as saying.
The NGO sent a letter to the Croatian Embassy on February 20 after
reports of the sugar packets having appeared in Gospic surfaced. The packets
were traced to a sugar packaging facility in the town of Pozega.