Violence against foreign workers “completely unacceptable”: Croatian deputy PM

ZAGREB, Aug. 23 (Xinhua) — Croatia’s Deputy Prime Minister Davor Bozinovic said on Friday that he was “deeply shocked” by the violence committed against two Indian workers in Zagreb this week and such an act was “completely unacceptable.”
The attack committed by three Croatian citizens on a pub terrace in the Croatian capital on Thursday night “is contrary to the values we must uphold as a society,” Bozinovic, who is also Croatia’s interior minister, underlined in a statement.
“Foreign nationals have become valuable members of our community, without whose contribution, as well as that of numerous tourists, our standard of living would be significantly lower,” he said, adding that the presence of foreign workers and their labor help the locals “maintain the quality of life and the level of services we enjoy today.”
“I want to be clear: Violence will not be tolerated. I call on all citizens to oppose intolerance and prejudice and to report any suspicion of hate crime,” he stressed.
His statement came after two 18-year-olds and a minor attacked two Indian workers in central Zagreb on Thursday night. According to the Zagreb Police Department, the three attackers have been arrested and are subjected to a criminal investigation.
Attacks on foreign workers have recently been on the rise in Zagreb. Police figures showed that during the week of Aug. 12-18, six attacks against foreign workers, especially Indians, were reported in Zagreb.
According to the Interior Ministry, an acute labor shortage has resulted in more than 130,000 foreign workers being employed in Croatia this year. Most of these workers are from neighboring Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and North Macedonia, but there are also 20,640 workers from Nepal, 12,122 from India, 8,572 from the Philippines, and 7,604 from Bangladesh. ■