Decency ban urged in Croatia resort

Thursday, April 27, 2006

The Associated Press
ZAGREB, Croatia -- A bishop on a northwestern Croatian island has asked authorities to declare a "decency zone" in the city's center, to ban regular summertime promenades of tourists wearing nothing but swimsuits.

Ivan Kordic, bishop of Krk island, said "scarcely dressed" people "harm the morale, the spirit and the soul" of other people in the city, in a letter to city officials.

Krk authorities have not responded to the letter yet.



.... EU or bust? - Decency is stoutly un-European


But tourist officials and many residents have already rejected the idea, arguing that in Krk, as most other Croatian tourist resorts, city centers are adjacent to beaches and it is therefore normal for people to walk around, have a drink or do some shopping in their swimsuits. Besides, a dress code could put off tourists, who are responsible for most of the island's -- and the country's -- hard currency income, they said.

"It's quite logical that one should be dressed decently when entering a holy place," Majda Sale, a local tourist worker, told a local newspaper. "But walking in public places is a question of personal freedoms and a good taste."

The Roman Catholic church is highly influential in Croatia, where about 90 percent of people are members. The church has so far successfully protested against yoga classes in schools, an AIDS program that taught pupils how to use condoms and shopping on Sundays.