Monitoring Desk
ZAGREB: Croatia’s leftist president walked out of a state ceremony in protest Friday after one of the participants wore a T-shirt displaying a salute used during World War II by a pro-Nazi regime in the country.
“This is a deliberate provocation,” Zoran Milanovic said. “I don’t want to be part of it.”
The salute is often displayed by Croatia’s far-right extremists. Many glorify the WWII Croatian state although tens of thousands of Serbs, Jews, Roma and anti-fascists were killed in its concentration camps. Friday’s incident happened during a formal ceremony marking the anniversary of a 1995 military operation when Croatia’s army liberated a swath of territory held by rebel Serbs during the countries’ 1991-95 war.
Croatian media reported that a man, apparently a former fighter from the 1991-95 conflict, was wearing a T-shirt with the WWII salute which prompted Milanovic’s walkout. Other top officials, including conservative Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic, stayed.
“No one knew they would wear those T-shirts,” said Plenkovic. “Anyone who died for Croatia has my respect … we are here to honor the fallen.” (AP)
