"That is the only reason why public rallies have been banned (outside those buildings)," Sanader told reporters during his visit to the Zagreb office of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Mission.
The government has drafted amendments to the Public Assembly Act, proposing that peaceful rallies and public protests should be banned in the vicinity of guarded buildings. The prime minister said that the amendments had been formulated following a recommendation from the security services.
"I am in favour of freedom of assembly, but I am also in favour of security. We must not allow one at the expense of the other," the prime minister said, adding that "it is necessary to adjust one to the other."
Trade unions have strongly protested against the proposal, accusing the government of trying to ban protest rallies outside the government headquarters on St. Mark's Square and to curtail the democratic right of citizens to express their discontent in public.
Parliament is expected to debate the proposed amendments this week.