The attack on Ivo Pukanic, controversial editor of Croatia's Nacional newspaper, and several other attacks on prominent figures have led the British government to warn visitors of Croatia this summer to beware of organized crime. Travel advice for Croatia posted on the website of Britain's Foreign and Commonwealth Office states, "There is an underlying threat from terrorism and organised crime in Croatia. Attacks could be indiscriminate, including in places frequented by expatriates and foreign travellers." In response, a BBC article claims, "Croatia is cursed by crime ad corruption."
Of course, Croatia is not pleased.
Croatian officials are especially distraught over potential effects on the rapidly approaching summer tourist season (tourism generates almost 20% of the country's gross domestic product). Dubravko Novak, a secretary at the interior minister's office, even went as far to say that the article had been purposely published just before the summer tourist season. Though this may seem unfounded, some believe that the warning may have been provoked by Croatia's lifting of visa restriction on the citizens of Russia and the Ukraine, "since many people consider residents of those two countries to be actual or potential criminals."
--Ellen Leto
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment