SECURITY GUARDS IN PULA ACT ON ORDER OF INTERIOR MINISTRY

PULA, June 23 (Hina) - The Pula Film Festival director, Armando Debeljuh, and the festival's council chairman, Branko Cegec, on Saturday expressed regret that Croatian President Stjepan Mesic had left Pula's Arena, the venue of the ceremonial opening of the 48th Pula Film Festival, prior to the start of the ceremony on Friday night. Debeljuh and Cegec said this had happened owing to too tight security measures which were taken at the entrances to the amphitheatre at the request of the Interior Ministry's security office. The director of a security agency "Intersound" which was in charge of the security of Arena for that event, addressed a news conference in Pula today. Director Valter Kirsic said his employees could not decide on anything on their own and they "acted exclusively on the order" issued by the said office of the Interior Ministry. "It's true, we were surprised at such strict measures as guards were told to confiscate umbrellas, any kind of bottles and even feeding bottles for babies from all visitors, what is unusual for us," Kirsic said. In addition, we had to carry out individual check-up of each visitor in detail and this caused queues in front of the venue, he said. Entrances were opened only at 08.40 pm while the ceremonial opening was scheduled for 09.30, and Kirsic maintains that the entrances should have been opened at least two hours before the start of the ceremony. Cegec said that noticing such a crowd and slow inflow of the audience in Arena, Mesic, under whose auspices the festival is taking place, said "I would rather go than causing a trouble to people at the entrances". (hina) ms