Prime Minister Ivo Sanader strongly condemned the murders of Ivo Pukanic and Niko Franic tonight, stating that the Government will not allow Croatia to become Beirut. He also mentioned that based on the information currently available to the police, it is not possible to conclude whether it is a mafia showdown or terrorism.
"The question is whether this is mafia or terrorism. It seems that this is something much bigger," said Sanader. The Prime Minister emphasized that the best experts are working on the case and that he is confident that the rule of law will prevail in this case. He reported that a meeting of the National Security Council has been convened for tomorrow, to which the leaders of all parliamentary parties have been invited, and at which additional measures in the fight against crime will be considered. At the extraordinary press conference, Interior Minister Tomislav Karamarko was also present, who stated that there are currently no new information in the murder investigation, and the police will report again at 10 PM. Karamarko also revealed for the first time that Pukanic had requested the cancellation of his police escort two months ago, which he had after an assassination attempt on him in April of this year. (H)
