ZAGREB, Nov 26 (Hina) - Croatia's Interior Ministry on Friday issued a statement responding to an article released in the 19 November issue of The New York Times which accused Croatian authorities of a campaign of disturbing American
diplomats in Croatia. The U.S paper quoted two cases when flats of the American diplomats in Zagreb were broken in and one case when bugging devices were planted in an apartment. According to the Interior Ministry, between 5 and 11 November this year, an unknown person broke into a house in Dominika Mandica Street in Zagreb, which was used by Mary Anne Walker, a U.S citizen and until recently a senior adviser for democracy in the USAID's (U.S. Agency for International Development) office within the U.S. Embassy in the Croatian capital. The housebreaker jumbled things up, and did not steal anything according to a statement of Ms. Walker. An on-the-spot in
ZAGREB, Nov 26 (Hina) - Croatia's Interior Ministry on Friday
issued a statement responding to an article released in the 19
November issue of The New York Times which accused Croatian
authorities of a campaign of disturbing American diplomats in
Croatia.
The U.S paper quoted two cases when flats of the American diplomats
in Zagreb were broken in and one case when bugging devices were
planted in an apartment.
According to the Interior Ministry, between 5 and 11 November this
year, an unknown person broke into a house in Dominika Mandica
Street in Zagreb, which was used by Mary Anne Walker, a U.S citizen
and until recently a senior adviser for democracy in the USAID's
(U.S. Agency for International Development) office within the U.S.
Embassy in the Croatian capital.
The housebreaker jumbled things up, and did not steal anything
according to a statement of Ms. Walker. An on-the-spot
investigation, carried out by Zagreb police, was done after Ms.
Mary Anne Walker gave a written consent. She also told the police
after the investigation that she had not received any telephone
call or threat from unknown persons, the Ministry said.
According to the Ministry's statement, between 30 September and 3
October an unknown person broke into a flat in Massarykova Street in
Zagreb, a tenant of which is Sarah Jenkins, a U.S. citizen and
director for the political training in the NDI (National Democratic
Institute) office for Croatia. According to Jenkins, unknown
perpetrators stole gold jewellery, valued about 8000 kuna
(approximately 1060 US dollars). An on-the-spot investigation was
conducted by Zagreb police.
In both cases, the police preferred criminal charges against
unknown perpetrators at the authorised office of the State
Attorney. The police procedure has been directed toward persons
with criminal records who already carried out burglaries in similar
manners, the Ministry added.
Since the on-the-spot investigations, the U.S citizens who are
damaged parties, have not contacted police. U.S Embassy staff in
Zagreb who have contacted police officers, have not linked these
cases of burglary to activities of security services, nor have they
reported that bugging devices have been found in any broken flat,
what a reporter of "The New York Times" speculated, the Ministry's
statement read.
That journalist added, to this malevolent claim, a fabrication that
a flat used by a person employed with IRI (the International
Republican Institute) was also broken into. The Zagreb Police have
not received any report on that burglary, the Interior Ministry's
statement read.
(hina) mm ms