The HND journalists association and the SNH journalists union have voiced concern about Minister of the Interior Davor Bozinovic's statement that security measures in St. Mark's Square, where the government and parliament are located, will be stepped up following a shooting on Monday.

A 22-year-old man on Monday shot at the government building and wounded a police officer working there as a security guard.

“Without downplaying the need for better security for citizens, institutions and people working in them, we warn about the importance of the availability of information on the work of the government, parliament and ministries and think that preventing reporters from asking questions that are in the interest of the public can have harmful consequences for the development of democracy,” the HND and SNH said.

They called on the government not to let institutions shut off from the public and not to jeopardise media freedoms as well as to enable journalists to work normally by introducing regular press conferences.

“We recall that regular press conferences were cancelled by the Ivo Sanader government and the same practice has been unfortunately maintained by all subsequent governments,” the two associations said, noting that the government’s work had not been transparent for years.