CRKVENAC DENOUNCES PRESSURES ON FINANCE MINISTRY

ZAGREB, Nov 23 (Hina) - Croatian Finance Minister Mato Crkvenac on Friday said a new draft law on games of fortune has been drawn up, which will set conditions as are in other regulated countries. Crkvenac told a news conference that games of fortune in newspapers had not previously been regulated by law, so one did not know how the game ended, who won and whether the prizes were distributed. The government put a stop to this with the Rule Book on Prize Competitions, adopted at the beginning of the year. With the rule book we established the dimensions and ways of preparing and implementing the competitions, but we restricted the value and possibility of payment of prizes in cash, Crkvenac said, adding that since then the Finance Ministry had been under great pressure because "high prizes easily lead to pressures". He stressed that the government would not give up on its present attitude, because it harshly opposes that "newspapers raise their circulation by becoming game rooms". The finance minister also said that he was also "under pressure and media lynch". "Media power-holders do not refrain from destroying me publicly and personally," Crkvenac said, adding he would categorically fight this and would "undertake all measures if this does not stop immediately". (hina) lml sb