DIPLOMACY SOLVING ISSUE OF VISA QUESTIONNAIRE FOR CANADA,

ZAGREB, May 12 (Hina) - Diplomacy must solve the issue of disputable questionnaires which Croatian officials must fill before travelling to countries in which those questions are required for obtaining a visa, the parliamentary Foreign Affairs Committee said on Monday. #L# The Committee discussed a problem which occurred last month when a parliamentary delegation, led by parliament president Zlatko Tomcic, had to cancel their trip to Canada because they were required to fill a questionnaire in which some questions "are contrary to Croatian laws", head of the committee Zdravko Tomac said. "We respect the right of every country to conduct its visa policy the way it wants for the sake of national security, but we demand the protection of the dignity of our country and our people," Tomac said. The questionnaire refers to the Homeland War in Croatia and the visa seeker must, among other things, specify which military unit he was in, what he did during the war and who were his superiors, Tomac said. When MP are taking private trips they cannot ask for special treatment, Tomac says, but this was a parliamentary delegation which has been officially invited to visit Canada. A Croatian parliamentary delegation plans to travel to Australia in June and the visa system there also requests that a similar questionnaire be filled. "We are confident that diplomacy will first temporarily solve this issue and that our delegation will travel to Australia. This will be an encouragement to the permanent solving of this problem with Australia," says Tomac. Should the diplomatic endeavour fail, Croatia will not impose reciprocal measures. (hina) it