ZAGREB, Apr 27 (Hina) - A Croatian parliamentary delegation headed by Sabor president Zlatko Tomcic did not travel to Canada for an official visit on Sunday as previously announced due to difficulties with the visa procedure.
ZAGREB, Apr 27 (Hina) - A Croatian parliamentary delegation headed
by Sabor president Zlatko Tomcic did not travel to Canada for an
official visit on Sunday as previously announced due to
difficulties with the visa procedure. #L#
The delegation was invited by Peter Miliken, the president of the
Canadian parliament's House of Representatives. The visit would
have been the first official meeting between the two countries'
parliamentarians.
"I was glad to receive the invitation... but in preparing to leave,
difficulties which I found insurmountable appeared with regard to
the visa procedure," Tomcic told Hina.
He added that, "respecting the laws and procedures of the host", he
apologised to Miliken for not being able to come and that he
notified the Canadian ambassador in Zagreb.
Tomcic declined to comment on the letter to Miliken or the talks
with the ambassador. "I will not disclose details because I think it
would make it difficult on our foreign ministry to arrange
relations in a more appropriate manner."
Tomcic said he thought he did the right thing, protecting the
dignity of Croatia and his office.
"I believe my action will incite the two foreign ministries to
arrange the area of consular-visa procedures in a more appropriate,
but reciprocal fashion."
According to an unofficial source, the reason why the Croatian
delegation did not travel to Canada are the questions that were put
to the delegation as part of the visa requirements.
They were asked to answer questions of a strictly personal nature
and inquiries concerning their families, the source said. It added
that some members of the delegation were asked questions from form
D20, introduced by Canada in 1996, in which Croatian citizens aged
18-65 applying for a visa have to answer questions concerning their
military service, for example which unit they served in during the
1990s Homeland War or the unit's movements.
According to the source, this is interesting since Canada
officially revoked D20 for Croatian diplomats and senior
officials. Instead, they are asked to enclose their biography with
the visa application.
Croatia revoked visas for Canadian tourists in June 1997.
Hina's source said problems with visas were also due to the fact
that Croatia had not had an ambassador in Canada for the last six
months and the fact that Canada did not have a consulate in Zagreb.
The parliamentary delegation's visit was supposed to be an
opportunity to address open issues and bolster political and
economic cooperation, as well as trade which last year amounted to a
mere US$22 million.
(hina) ha