UMAG, June 25 (Hina) - Numerous regular and special police came to the Savudrija port in Istria on Tuesday morning despite a Monday announcement by local fishermen that they would not rally in protest against the Croatia-Slovenia
border issue in Piran Bay. Parliament's vice president Zdravko Tomac, visiting the county today, said the police decision to ban the protest had been justified.
UMAG, June 25 (Hina) - Numerous regular and special police came to
the Savudrija port in Istria on Tuesday morning despite a Monday
announcement by local fishermen that they would not rally in
protest against the Croatia-Slovenia border issue in Piran Bay.
Parliament's vice president Zdravko Tomac, visiting the county
today, said the police decision to ban the protest had been
justified. #L#
Interior Minister Sime Lucin banned fishing boats from sailing out
in the border area "due to the possible danger to people's safety."
Istria County police said the arrival of police was for
"prevention".
The president of fishermen in the Craftsmen Association of the Buje
area, Daniele Kolec, told reporters they were not happy with ban.
Boat owners in the Savudrija port are not allowed to check their
boats even after last night's storm, he said.
Following the ban, some 40 fishermen from Umag, Savudrija, and the
area spontaneously gathered at the Savudrija port, dispersing
around 1 pm. There were no incidents.
Commenting on the protest which was not held, parliament's vice
president Tomac said in Novigrad that nobody, including the
fishermen, had the right to stir tension between two friendly
countries in the name of local interest.
A protest in the border area cannot benefit anyone, neither
fishermen nor Croatia and Slovenia, Tomac said after an unofficial
meeting between the two countries MPs.
The police rightfully banned the rally as border issues can be
solved through dialogue alone, he said. "A conflict or an incident
could have occurred which definitely wouldn't help Croatia's
position as a tourist destination," he said.
Local fishermen arrived at the news conference unannounced. Tomac
promised he would meet them in July, bringing representatives of
the executive authorities. Tomac stated the Piran Bay border issue
must be settled through international arbitration.
He slammed the national television's news coverage of a news
conference Istrian fishermen held on Monday to say they decided
against the protest following the Interior Ministry ban. They,
however, gave their opinion of the unresolved border and fishing
issue in Piran Bay.
Tomac disapproved of the way Croatian Television depicted the
situation in Savudrija as one of conflict. He also criticised the
fishermen for their statements, which he described as "the language
of hatred."
Commenting on fishermen's statements about Slovene nationalism and
tennis playing on what they called "sacred Istrian soil", Tomac
said: "This is sacred Croatian soil, and I will react to the
statements of every citizen and journalist laying claim to Croatian
soil."
Both Istrian fishermen and the state television criticised a
meeting of Croatian and Slovene MPs, who held a tennis tournament in
Novigrad today.
(hina) ha sb