CROATIAN PREMIER EXPRESSES CONDOLENCES TO ITALIAN COUNTERPART

( Editorial: --> 9102 ) ZAGREB, Sept 9 (Hina) - Croatian Prime Minister Zlatko Matesa on Tuesday sent a letter of condolence to his Italian counterpart, Romano Prodi, for the death of an Italian citizen, Riccard Cetina, in Croatia. As the Croatian Television reported on Tuesday night, Matesa said all necessary measures had been undertaken by competent ministries to establish the exact circumstances of the unfortunate incident. "The Croatian government will go to the very end in the investigation and establish responsibility," Matesa said. He expressed concern about certain reports by Italian media in which the event had been placed in a completely inappropriate context. "These are speculations that the death of Cetina was an element of a general anti-Italian atmosphere in Croatia," Matesa said. He categorically dismissed such unjustified accusations and stressed that there are no such feelings among the citizens of Croatia. After physically assaulting a police officer who tried to arrest him for disorderly conduct in a Split restaurant on Tuesday, September 1, Cetina suffered injuries when police tried to contain him. He was hospitalised in the central Adriatic town Split. Cetina suffered brain contusions and haemorrhaging in the brain and succumbed to injuries on Thursday, September 3. (hina) lml 091117 MET sep 98