Page 55 - bne IntelliNews monthly magazine September 2024

bne September 2024
Opinion 55
President Zoran Milanovic responded on August 7 with a statement that there is no place in Croatia for Ustasha greet- ings, signs and songs that celebrate the regime of the NDH.
“Ustasha greetings, features and songs that undoubtedly celebrate the so-called regime. NDH, which unfortunately could be seen and heard in Imotska last night, before and during a concert – should not and must not have a place in today's democratic Republic of Croatia!” Milanovic wrote on Facebook.
“The so-called NDH has nothing to do with the modern and sovereign Republic of Croatia and it is our duty to all who do not understand this to repeat the truth about the past, in the interest of Croatian future.”
A controversial signer
Throughout his career, Thompson has been a controversial figure, often drawing media criticism for his performances and songs, which some claim glorify or endorse the Ustasha regime.
In 1991, when Croatia declared independence from Yugoslavia, sparking the Croatian War of Independence, he joined the Croatian military. He used an American Thompson subma- chine gun during the conflict, a weapon that earned him the nickname “Thompson", which later became his stage name.
While defending his home village, Perkovic was inspired to write Bojna Cavoglave (Cavoglave Battalion), one of the war's most popular songs, marking the beginning of his music career.
After the war, Thompson's popularity waned. However, in the early 2000s he made a comeback by aligning with right-wing critics of then Croatia's centre-left coalition government, who opposed the government's cooperation with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in extraditing accused war criminals.
Responding to Milanovic’s criticism, Thompson said he would not stop singing songs from the Homeland War, as the War of Independence is known in Croatia.
"Of course we will sing our songs from the Homeland War, the same as before, they do not cast a shadow on our heroes from the Homeland War, but remind us of the courage of our veterans and their strength in creating the Croatian state of which, unfortunately, you are the current president," he said in an official statement published on his Facebook page.
Fans doubled down after the public exchange between Thompson and Milanovic. At the singer’s first solo concert in two years on August 8, it was reported by Slobodna Dalmacija that Ustasha chants and Ustasha-themed songs were "echoing in the city”. It was also reported that fans launched into chants against Milanovic, calling him a pederast.
Homeland movement backs concert-goers
The right-wing Homeland Movement, which is part of the ruling coalition, condemned Milanovic's reaction to the events in Imotski.
"Media and political slander of the most popular Croatian musician is completely unacceptable and under any condemnation and absolutely against Croatian national interests,” wrote Igor Peternel, president of the parliamentary group of the Homeland Movement, on Facebook on August 8.
Peternel indicated the party expects the interior ministry to follow its line given it appointed the current state secretary of the ministry. We “expect him to politically advocate against possible sanctions of any of the visitors to the concerts of our respected musicians in Imotski,” he wrote.
“Media and political slander of the most popular Croatian musician is completely unacceptable and under any condemnation and absolutely against Croatian national interests”
After the statement from the Homeland Movement, the ministry said in response to a question from Croatian news agency Hina that police officers do “not have the right to judge an act as moral or immoral, right or wrong, but must determine whether an illegal act was committed, i.e. whether someone broke the law or acted within the law”.
HDZ reacts
The senior ruling HDZ commented on the situation on August 8, saying that modern Croatia was not created on the foundations of the NDH and that it condemns the use of Ustasha symbols and flags.
"HDZ strongly condemns the use of illegal Ustasha symbols and flags in Imotski, and it is up to the police and courts to react appropriately and sanction the individuals responsible,” said a statement published on the party’s website.
“Modern Croatia is based on the Homeland War, the universal values of freedom, rule of law and democracy, and thus on
a clear departure from all totalitarianisms – both Nazism, fascism and communism. Modern Croatia, the state of the Croatian people and all its citizens, cannot be based on failed ideologies and undemocratic regimes.”
However, the statement went on to lambast the “new outburst of [Social Democratic Party] SDP candidate Zoran Milanovic, who once again demonstrated the luxury of hypocrisy and ideological exclusivity.”
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