Zagreb, June 7, 2000 (IKA) — The Justitia et Pax [Justice and Peace] Commission of the Croatian Conference of Bishops issued a public statement today, June 7, on the proposed Bill on Working Hours and the Bill for the Decriminalization of the Unauthorized Possession of Narcotic Drugs. The statement also refers to the proposed Bill on Store Operating Hours, which stipulates Sunday working hours for bakeries from 1 p.m. to 9 p.m. and for grocery stores from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. in the territory of Zagreb and Zagreb County. The Commission cited a message issued by the Croatian bishops entitled “Sunday — the Lord’s Day,” in which the importance of Sunday is stressed as a day belonging to the individual, family, community and God. It is only necessary for services to operate on Sundays that are required for the functioning of the society or when a production process cannot be interrupted. It was also pointed out that Sunday is the only day when the whole family can be together. The statement does concede that especially in areas with tourism, it is necessary to have some designated stores open on Sundays, and proposes a rotation system among stores having to operate on Sundays, but it is certainly neither necessary nor acceptable for all stores to be open on Sundays and holidays. The Justitia et Pax Commission is of the position that store operations on Sundays should be reduced to a minimum, especially because workers would not receive special compensation for working on Sundays and holidays, and employees would be forced to work to avoid jeopardizing their livelihood. The Commission emphasizes that this should be an area of concern to the constitutional state.
The second part of the statement issued by the Justitia et Pax Commission refers to the proposed Bill for the Decriminalization of the Unauthorized Possession of Narcotic Drugs. In 1999, the Commission issued a document entitled “How Can the Spread of Drugs in Croatia be Stopped?” in which it pointed out that the penalties for spreading drugs are exceptionally lenient. “In connection with the proposal for the decriminalization of the unauthorized possession of narcotic drugs, the Commission recommends that before this bill is debated, a Narcotics Act ought to be passed in which the unauthorized possession of narcotic drugs should be suitably penalized as a misdemeanor. The punishment of the organizers and distributors of narcotics cannot be implemented if the proposed decriminalization of narcotic drugs goes into effect. The proposed decriminalization of the unauthorized possession of narcotic drugs would not change the present ‘lack of effectiveness’ that the authorities have demonstrated toward the organizers and distributors of drugs. It should be feared that the hasty and ill-considered passage of such a law to decriminalize the unauthorized possession of drugs could further promote interest in drug consumption among young people. A drug addict is indeed a victim and it is acceptable for the unauthorized possession of drugs to be treated and penalized as a violation if this is a way for the addict to serve as a witness in the prosecution of far more serious crimes that have a much more devastating impact upon a wide circle of individuals. It was with great sorrow and concern that the Commission received information concerning a group of addicts on the main square in Zagreb, which was an open and public disruption and flaunting of the prevailing legal order, the public violation of the existing law. This is a very dangerous precedent which requires all who violated the law to be held responsible, particularly those in the hierarchical levels of the government who are the most to blame for this incident,” reads the statement signed by the president of the Commission, Bishop Ivan Milovan of Porec-Pula.