ZAGREB, Jan 16 (Hina) - The story about the world's best slalom racer, Ivica Kostelic of Croatia, and his alleged fascination with the Nazi army has started spilling over Croatia's borders.
ZAGREB, Jan 16 (Hina) - The story about the world's best slalom
racer, Ivica Kostelic of Croatia, and his alleged fascination with
the Nazi army has started spilling over Croatia's borders. #L#
His statements to Nacional weekly have received widespread
coverage in Germany and Austria, where most media carried his
thoughts and statements about Nazism. Some newspapers quoted his
father Ante's statements about the SS and Croatia's former
president, the late Franjo Tudjman.
In a news item headlined "Croatian Skiing Star Accused of
Sympathising Nazism", an Associated Press corespondent quotes the
newspaper articles and Ivica's statements, concluding that this
case will definitely mark his career, the question being only to
which extent.
Austria's APA news agency says that Hypo Alpe Adria bank, the
sponsor of Croatia's skiing team, is dissatisfied with Ivica's
statements. The bank demands that he explain what he meant when
before a race he likened his mood to that of German soldiers in
WWII.
The bank's representatives have also requested a meeting with the
slalom star to see if he had really made that statement and if so, to
explain or apologise.
"One has to examine what was really said and what was written, but
there are things here that cannot be accepted," the bank's CEO,
Heinz Truskaller, said. He added the bank did not wish to bother
Ivica during his preparations for the continuation of the World Cup
but that it would contact him by Monday at the latest so that he
could explain the situation. Truskaller said he knew Ivica very
well.
The Alliance of Austria's Social Democratic Fighters urged the
Austrian Sports Alliance to immediately ban Kostelic from all
appearances in Austria.
Citing some parts of the Nacional feature, Germany's DPA news
agency quoted Ozren Muller, spokesman for the Croatian skiing team,
as saying that Kostelic's words had been taken out of context and
completely misquoted. "Of course Ivica condemns both Nazism and
Stalinism. That is a dark chapter in history which Ivica interprets
as a catastrophe," said Muller.
(hina) ha sb