Byzantine Blog

Croat Parliamentarians and Minister of Education Plunge Into Zagreb Ustasha Fest

The Simon Wiesenthal Center today expressed its sense of outrage and disgust in the wake of a massive show of fascist salutes, symbols and uniforms at a rock concert by popular ultra-nationalist Croatian singer “Thompson” attended by 60,000 people in Zagreb last night.

In a letter sent today to Croatian President Stjepan Mesic, the Center’s chief Nazi-hunter Israel director Dr. Efraim Zuroff noted the presence of Croatian dignities, including the Minister of Science, Education and Sports, at the event and called for the banning of concerts by singers like Thompson who glorify fascism and racism.

The letter states:

“According to the Croatian media, the concert turned into a massive fascist demonstration with tens of thousands of people shouting the infamous Ustasha salute of ‘Za dom spremni.’ In addition,… numerous participants came wearing Ustasha uniforms and symbols. To make matters worse, in attendance last night were officials and members of Parliament, as well as the Minister of Science, Education [!!] and Sports.”

“Under the current circumstances, I believe that the time has come to prohibit public concerts by those who write songs of nostalgia for Jasenovac and inspire the show of Ustasha symbols, which constitute open and blatant incitement against all the minorities in Croatia,” writes Wiesenthal Center Director.

“I believe that only if someone of your stature and outstanding anti-fascist credentials will lead the efforts to combat this ugly wave of revived fascism, can this extremely dangerous new trend be stopped before it engulfs Croatia.”

Stjepan Mesic Wrong Person to Complain To

For some reason, Dr Zuroff seems unaware that Mesic’s beloved uncle was Ustasha and that Stipe Mesic’s record during the decades after the WWII is everything but “anti-fascist.” In fact, like any red-bloodied Ustasha, Croat president has asked to have “no Serbs” anywhere around or near him for the duration of his last presidential visit to Austria. According to Tanjug, Austrians were dully accommodating and responded to Mesic’s sensitivities by giving all the Serb employees few days off.

Croat RC Priest Organizer of Thompson’s Concerts and his Greatest Fan

Couple of months earlier, Ustasha Fest by the same Croat Nazi Thompson was canceled in Sarajevo, after the Association of Bosnia-Herzegovina camp prisoners, Bosnian Serbs and the local Jewish community condemned the announced concert by Marko Perkovic. Simon Wiesanthal Center Director Efraim Zuroff supported their stance:

“The question is this: what is he going to sing about? Killing Serbs, killing Muslims? I don’t see why a person like that should be welcome in Sarajevo or anywhere for that matter,” Zuroff said, adding that Thompson does not do Croatia credit.

The organizer of the concert, Don Anto Jelic of the Croatian Roman Catholic Charity Society, was embittered by Zuroff’s statements:

“I think such statements are malevolent. Let him prove that Thompson ever sang against Serbs, Muslims or Jews,” said Croat Roman Catholic priest Don Jelic in April this year, adding that he had not heard a recording of Thompson singing the notorious “Jasenovac and Gradiska Stara” song, and telling Croat media that the question about that song should be put to Thompson.

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