- Title: CROATIA: Croatian Prime Minister Ivo Sanader condemns killing of two journalists
- Date: 24th October 2008
- Summary: (BN16) ZAGREB, CROATIA (OCTOBER 23, 2008) (REUTERS) CROATIAN PRIME MINISTER IVO SANADER ENTERING NEWS CONFERENCE SIGN READING 'GOVERNMENT OF REPUBLIC OF CROATIA' (SOUNDBITE) (Croatian) IVO SANADER, CROATIAN PRIME MINISTER, SAYING: "Regarding tonight's assassination of two journalists the government strongly condemns that crime. And at the beginning of this special press c
- Embargoed: 8th November 2008 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Croatia
- Country: Croatia
- Topics: Crime / Law Enforcement,Domestic Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA5SWQPQ2GG00593GRO3OHTYL8O
- Story Text: A car bomb killed two journalists in central Zagreb on Thursday (October 23), state television reported, in the latest of a series of violent incidents that have hit the capital this year.
Prime Minister Ivo Sanader sacked the interior and justice ministers earlier this month as part of a bid to tackle organised crime, following a string of unsolved beatings and murders in Zagreb.
One of those killed on Thursday was the head of a leading Croatian weekly, the television said, citing unofficial sources.
Zagreb police declined to give more details, but it sealed off the centre of town while firemen rushed to the scene to extinguish the car, which had caught fire.
The car bomb exploded in front of the Nacional weekly building in central Zagreb. The TV report, showing footage of the wrecked car, said one of the two people killed was Nacional editor Ivo Pukanic.
Fighting organised crime and corruption is one of the key requirements Zagreb has to meet if it wants to complete EU accession talks next year, but analysts said the latest incident did not bode well for its efforts.
Sanader condemned the killings at a news conference in Zagreb. He said: "Regarding tonight's assassination of two journalists the government strongly condemns that crime. And at the beginning of this special press conference I announce that the government and all relevant institutions of Republic of Croatia will be even more determinant and tough with dealing with organised crime and terror that appears on Croatian streets. As hard as it may sound the statement that I will say now, I will say it. We will not allow that Croatia becomes Beirut." - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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