ATTACK AGAINST MEDIA PUBLISHER CONDEMNED

ZAGREB, March 1 (Hina) - "The Croatian Journalists' Association once again harshly condemns (...) direct and indirect attacks on the subjects in the media, and voices hope that after such drastic expressions of classic terrorism, Croatian authorities will undertake more than the routine announcement of criminal proceedings," the president of the association (HND) said in a statement which was issued after a blast completely destroyed a car belonging to the co-owner and director of Europapress Holding early on Saturday. #L# This is the message of the criminal underground that attacked not only a successful businessman and publisher but also what he represents - media liberties and the freedom of expression which are preconditions for democracy and basic human rights, HND president Dragutin Lucic wrote in the statement. Europapress Holding regards the incident in which an explosive device was planted under the car of the biggest Croatian media publisher, Ninoslav Pavic, as a terrorist act and the most serious threat to the independence and freedom of the media. "This bomb attack is the culmination of threats and attacks which have been reported to the interior ministry in recent months, and to which our reporters have been exposed due to writing about various cases of crime in Croatia," read the statement. Zagreb police reported that Pavic's mercedes burned down in the explosion at 4.00 am Saturday. Windows on several nearby houses were smashed in the blast, which was caused by the activation of the explosive device planted under the front part of the car parked in front of Pavic's house in the Tuskanac residential area. The material damage, in the incident in which nobody was hurt, is estimated to be some 400,000 kuna (approx. 52.5 thousand euros) (hina) ms