ZAGREB, June 9 (Hina) - Thursday's unveiling of a memorial plaque to an infamous World War Two Ustashi colonel in a Croatian town encountered numerous reactions on Friday. "These are marginal forces which are attempting in an
unacceptable manner to found the Croatian people and Croathood on the neofascist ideology. This doesn't pass with the majority of the people and there is no need for a more elaborate comment," Prime Minister Ivica Racan told a news conference in Zagreb on Friday. The memorial plaque to Jure Francetic was put up in Slunj by members of the Hrvatski Domobran association from Slunj and the area. They said the plaque was restored to the location where it was first put up in 1943, at the time of the Independent State of Croatia (NDH, 1941-1945). Yesterday's unveiling was attended by MP and Croatian Party of Rights president Anto Djapic, and Tomislav Mercep, pres
ZAGREB, June 9 (Hina) - Thursday's unveiling of a memorial plaque to
an infamous World War Two Ustashi colonel in a Croatian town
encountered numerous reactions on Friday.
"These are marginal forces which are attempting in an unacceptable
manner to found the Croatian people and Croathood on the neofascist
ideology. This doesn't pass with the majority of the people and
there is no need for a more elaborate comment," Prime Minister Ivica
Racan told a news conference in Zagreb on Friday.
The memorial plaque to Jure Francetic was put up in Slunj by members
of the Hrvatski Domobran association from Slunj and the area. They
said the plaque was restored to the location where it was first put
up in 1943, at the time of the Independent State of Croatia (NDH,
1941-1945).
Yesterday's unveiling was attended by MP and Croatian Party of
Rights president Anto Djapic, and Tomislav Mercep, president of the
UHDDR, the Croatian Homeland War Volunteers Association.
GOLJP, the Citizens' Human Rights Committee, today expressed
dismay and concern over the unveiling.
"Erecting a monument to such an ordinary war criminal only shows
that those who erected this monument do not consider mass killings
of people, be they Serbs, Romany, or Jews, a crime, but something
deserving of a monument," GOLJP said in a statement.
"Public expression of this position, which is nothing but the
spreading of hatred and the invitation to commit crimes, with the
support of some political parties and associations, represents a
deep shame and the most serious hazard for present-day Croatia," it
adds.
Croatia's Social Democratic Party (SDP), the strongest in the
ruling six-party coalition, today harshly condemned the unveiling
of the Francetic memorial plaque.
SDP assessed the act as yet another attempt by nationalist forces to
revive the Ustashi ideology in Croatia, and voiced deep concern
over the fact that messages directed against one portion of
Croatia's population were supported by local authorities.
SDP believes this is a signal that even more resolute action needs
to be taken, together with other democratic forces in the country,
to prevent nationalist forces from becoming stronger.
The Socialist Labour Party of Croatia joined in condemning the
unveiling of the Francetic plaque and the racist statements made on
that occasion.
(hina) ha jn