The Antifascist League, Documenta and VeDRA filed a misdemeanor complaint against Marko Perković because of the Ustasha salute "For the Commission" on concerts this summer in Zagreb and Sinj and expect it to be sanctioned to show that there is no place in Croatia for symbols of Nazism, fascism and Ustasha, writes Net hr.
"Due to the chanting of the Ustasha salute 'For the Homeland Ready', three citizens of the Republic of Croatia who survived Ustasha and Nazi crimes, the Antifascist League of the Republic of Croatia, Documenta - Center for Dealing with the Past and the veterans' association VeDRA - Veterans of the Homeland War and Antifascists, have filed a misdemeanor report against Marko Perković with the Ministry of the Interior," the associations announced on Friday. The report was filed due to the performance of the Ustasha salute 'For the Homeland Ready' at Thompson's concerts held this summer in Zagreb and Sinj.
They believe that Perković thereby committed a misdemeanor from the Law on Misdemeanors Against Public Order and Peace in connection with Art. 39, paragraph 3 of the Misdemeanor Code, which sanctions the performance of texts or the display of symbols that disturb public order and peace. The use of that rallying cry, they point out, is in direct contradiction to the Constitution of the Republic of Croatia, which in its Original Basics unequivocally distances itself from the criminal regime of the NDH and incorporates anti-fascism as one of its fundamental values.
Reminded of Josip Šimunić
They also remind that the Constitutional Court, in a series of decisions, has taken a clear and legally binding position that this is an Ustasha salute that is unconstitutional.
"These interpretations are binding on all courts and state bodies, and the decision of the High Misdemeanor Court that created an exception for the use of this salute in the song 'Bojna Čavoglave' is in direct conflict with the decisions of the Constitutional Court," they stated in the statement. They recalled the case Josip Šimunić who, because of the chanting of that greeting, was legally convicted in all domestic court instances. His verdict was confirmed by the European Court of Human Rights, finding that the sanctioning of this greeting represents a necessary limitation of freedom of expression in a democratic society and there is no reason why the same legal standards should not be applied to Marko Perković, say the associations.
The public shouting of the slogan under which over a hundred thousand people, mostly Serbs, Jews and Roma, were killed in the NDH camps, deeply offends and disturbs the surviving victims of the totalitarian Ustasha regime, their families and descendants, as well as all citizens of Croatia who respect the constitutional order, they pointed out.
The use of this salute also harms the just and defensive Homeland War, falsely linking it with the criminal NDH, and the veterans' association VeDRA, as a co-signatory of this complaint, strongly opposes such a violation of the constitutional identity of the Homeland War.
They believe that Marko Perković's earlier statements and public appearances, in which he expressed sympathy for the Ustasha movement and its leader, prove that the inclusion of the cry 'For the Homeland Ready' in the song 'Bojna Čavoglave' was intentional, with the aim of glorifying that criminal regime.
They expect the police and competent judicial bodies to act on this report and sanction Perković because Croatia, a democratic state founded on anti-fascism, as well as the EU of which it is a member, must send a clear message that symbols of Nazism, fascism, and Ustashaism have no place in Croatian public space.
Source: Net hr
Photo: HINA/Damir SENCAR
