I CARE - - #Croatia far-right leader arrested after #Zagreb march

3.3.17

I CARE - - News - Internet Centre Anti Racism Europe: 27/2/2017- Supporters of the far-right A-HSP party, which has no presence in parliament, marched through downtown Zagreb before gathering at the main Ban Jelacic square. There they chanted 'Za dom spremni' ('For the Homeland ready'), the slogan used by Croatia's World War II pro-Nazi regime, and took an oath "to the homeland." The Ustasha regime persecuted and killed hundreds of thousands of Jews, Serbs, Roma and anti-fascist Croatians. The participants of Sunday's march, who were dressed in black, waved a US and a Croatian flag, as well as the flag of the German far-right NPD party. They also voiced support for US President Donald Trump.

Police said they arrested a 53-year-old man, whom local media identified as party leader Drazen Keleminec. A police statement said the suspect was held for "violating public order" and that a probe was ongoing. The government strongly condemned the far-right gathering and said in a statement it opposed "all forms of hate speech, intolerance and discrimination." It also slammed anti-Serb posters which have recently appeared in the eastern town of Vukovar, labelling them "offensive and shameful." The posters, put up at Vukovar bus stations Friday, featured a picture of a tree with bodies hanging from it with the caption "'Serbian family tree" written in English. Police on Sunday also arrested a 19-year-old man suspected of putting up the offending posters.