ŠTRBAC: "CROATIAN DEFENDERS" FANATICALLY DEFEND LEGACY OF USTASHA NDH

BELGRADE, OCTOBER 29 /SRNA/ - Savo Štrbac, director of the Veritas Documentation and Information Center, told SRNA that he was convinced that the desecration of the restored Orthodox cross at the site of the Ustasha Slana camp on the island of Pag was carried out by "Croatian defenders" who fanatically defend the legacy of the Ustasha-run Independent State of Croatia /NDH/.

"These defenders are uncomfortable with anyone mentioning World War II and directly or indirectly criticizing the Ustasha movement. When someone comes and puts up a cross, saying that the Ustashas had a camp at this site and killed so many Serbs and Jews, they feel that the person doing so is offending their national sentiments," he said. Štrbac pointed out that there had been a rehabilitation of the Ustasha movement in Croatia for some time, with people identifying with the movement and refusing to acknowledge that the Independent State of Croatia was a fascist entity and that the NDH and the Ustashas were among the most bloodthirsty perpetrators of World War II. "By this gesture, they are sending a message to those who erected the cross that they reject this and that it offends their national sentiments," he said. Štrbac reminded that this shameful act was preceded by an uproar in the Croatian public after Dušan Bastašić, president of the Banja Luka-based Jadovno 1941 Association, posted footage of the restored cross above Malin Cove on the island of Pag on social media. "Threats followed, as did criminal and misdemeanor complaints," Štrbac said. He noted that, in defending what they consider their "historical sanctities," the "defenders" go so far as to urge state authorities, including the Government, Parliament and relevant ministries, to adopt regulations requiring checks on the suitability of people wishing to enter Croatia or obtain a work permit before they are allowed to do so. "They are demanding that artists coming from other countries, particularly Serbia and Serbs from BiH, have their backgrounds checked to determine whether they have ever said anything against the official narratives about what they call the Homeland War, Operation Flash and Operation Storm. Apparently, this also extends to the period of the NDH. I would go a step further and say that they are also preserving the purity of the NDH and, in doing so, in a way, justifying what the Ustashas did to those who were different," Štrbac said. He reminded that Croatia had long been imposing sanctions on people who posted content on social media featuring General Draža Mihailović, songs by Baja Mali Knindža, or songs about General Ratko Mladić. He added that their actions reminded him most of those of Iran’s special police. "Now these `defenders` are the guardians of that `sacred Homeland War,` just as Iran's Special Police are the guardians of their Muslim faith. Anyone who swears at them or says something about the Prophet Muhammad is punished, as was the case with a 23-year-old female student who was recently sentenced to death by hanging. I see great similarities between Croats and Iranians in all of this," he said. A group of vandals painted over the restored Orthodox cross at the site of the former Ustasha camp at Slana on the island of Pag, covering it with the colors of the Croatian checkerboard with the first white square, a symbol of the Independent State of Croatia /NDH/ and the Ustasha regime. In addition to painting over the cross, which had stood there for more than 15 years, the vandals spray-painted part of the Croatian coat of arms on the nearby rocky ground. In recent months, the Jadovno 1941 Association restored wooden Orthodox crosses that had previously been erected at the site of the mass killings of Serbs on the island of Pag and shared information about the restoration on social media. They were described in the Croatian Parliament as a special terrorist organization that was "conquering Croatia by erecting wooden Orthodox crosses," and a criminal complaint was filed against the association.