Thousands protest far-right surge in Croatia following incidents
Thousands of people took part in protest marches on Sunday against the rise of the far right in Croatia, following a series of events that fueled both ethnic and political tensions in the European Union nation.
Rallies with the slogan “Unity against fascism” were held in four major cities, including the capital Zagreb. The crowd chanted, “We are all antifascists!” shouted the slogan. They have vowed to oppose what they describe as an attempt by right-wing groups to spread fear and silence dissenters.
Protesters also demanded that authorities prevent far-right groups and their frequent use of pro-fascist symbols associated with the World War II pro-Nazi puppet state of Croatia, which operated concentration camps where tens of thousands of ethnic Serbs, Jews, Roma and anti-fascist Croats were executed.
Journalist Maja Sever told participants at the Zagreb rally: “Everything that is happening around us is very dangerous.” “You showed that you will not remain silent and that we will fight for a democratic society.”
Young men in black clothing attended counter-meetings in the northwestern port of Rijeka and the central coastal town of Zadar, according to the Index news portal, which published the photos. The same source said that there were minor scuffles with the police and one person was detained.
Extremist unrest in November targeted ethnic Serb cultural events in the capital Zagreb and the seaside town of Split, sparking fears of ethnic violence decades after the Serbo-Croat war of 1991-95. Young men in black chanted fascist and nationalist slogans outside the exhibition grounds before police intervened.
Far-right extremists have also targeted liberal groups or politicians, as well as foreign workers in Croatia. He often shouts “For the Homeland – Ready!” A salute to the Nazi-era puppet Ustasha regime that ruled Croatia during World War II.
“We have groups throwing smoke bombs and fireworks, threatening violence, raising their right hands in the air and shouting ‘For the Homeland – Ready’,” Iva Davorija, one of the organizers of the march in Zadar, told public broadcaster HRT. “They do this freely.”
Croatia’s shift to the right first began when Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic’s ruling conservatives formed a coalition with a far-right party after last year’s parliamentary elections, leaving an ethnic Serb party out of the government for the first time in years.
But the trend culminated in a mass concert in July by a right-wing singer whose use of a World War II slogan in one of his most popular songs has sparked controversy and division for years. Singer Marko Perkovic, whose stage name is Thompson after a US-made machine gun, has been banned from some European cities but remains hugely popular in Croatia.
Prime Minister Plenkovic has denied turning a blind eye to increases in far-right extremism and neo-fascist hate speech. He also accused his leftist opponents of blowing the issue out of proportion and thus deepening divisions.
Croatia was part of Communist-ruled Yugoslavia after World War II. However, the federation broke up in a series of nationalist wars in the 1990s. The minority Serbs in Croatia revolted against partition and took control of large parts of Croatian territory in order to join Serbia. More than 10,000 people died in the conflict.
Croatia joined the EU in 2013 after becoming a member of NATO four years ago.
