Dozens of people protested against the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) in Zagreb and Osijek on Saturday, saying it would restrict freedom of Internet access and freedom of public expression as well as increase the possibility of controlling citizens.
About 30 demonstrators gathered in downtown Zagreb, some with Anonymous masks and banners reading "Stop to Internet censorship", "Censorship = Dictatorship" and "Make love - not ACTA". They said fundamental rights such as freedom of expression and the right to online privacy were above corporate rights.
One of the protest organisers, Tomislav Medak, told reporters the European Commission would ask the European Court of Justice to say if ACTA was contrary to fundamental rights and liberties, adding that if ACTA passed in the European Union, it would be "imposed on Croatia" as part of the acquis communautaire.
"We have gathered to support the international public and say no to ACTA," said Medak. "If ACTA doesn't pass, we will have similar processes. A document is already being drawn up in the EU, codenamed IPRED2, which would have the same consequences of ACTA in the regulation of copyrights in the digital sphere and which uses the same ambiguous expressions and problematic solutions regarding the supervision of online communication."
Asked about Croatian politicians' reactions to ACTA, Medak said they were taken aback and that, while the European Parliament was deliberating on ACTA, Croatia's government and president should say no to the agreement.
President Ivo Josipovic has announced this week that he would organise a round table on ACTA and said that the legitimate goal to protect copyrights must not undermine freedom of expression online.
Stribor Kikerec of the Foreign Ministry said at a recent round table on ACTA the government had no official position on the agreement at the moment and that it was not considering acceding to it nor that anyone was asking it to.
About 50 people protested against ACTA in the eastern city of Osijek.
