{"id":21442,"date":"2024-08-07T13:40:25","date_gmt":"2024-08-07T11:40:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ombudsman.hr\/en\/?p=21669"},"modified":"2025-07-10T13:44:23","modified_gmt":"2025-07-10T11:44:23","slug":"statement-by-the-ombudswoman-regarding-the-display-of-messages-and-symbols-associated-with-the-usta-a-movement-and-the-ndh-in-imotski","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ombudsman.hr\/en\/statement-by-the-ombudswoman-regarding-the-display-of-messages-and-symbols-associated-with-the-usta-a-movement-and-the-ndh-in-imotski\/","title":{"rendered":"Statement by the Ombudswoman Regarding the Display of Messages and Symbols Associated with the Usta\u0161a Movement and the NDH in Imotski"},"content":{"rendered":"

As reported by the media, yesterday\u2019s concert featuring three singers attracted a large crowd, part of which used the occasion in Imotski as an opportunity for the open and public display of Usta\u0161a symbols or those reminiscent of the Usta\u0161a movement, as well as for the public singing of Usta\u0161a songs.<\/span><\/p>\n

It is therefore important to send a clear public message about what is lawful and what is unlawful in today’s Croatia, and to ensure that what is unlawful is clearly and consistently prosecuted and sanctioned, in accordance with the Constitution of the Republic of Croatia and applicable laws.<\/span><\/p>\n

Some media outlets are reporting exclusively on the success of the concert and the positive atmosphere beforehand, without addressing the problematic and unlawful incidents visible in photos and videos. For instance, the media have published images of individuals wearing T-shirts with the slogan \u201cKroz Imotski kamioni \u017eure\u201d (\u201cTrucks Rush Through Imotski\u201d), a lyric from the Usta\u0161a song \u201cJasenovac i Gradi\u0161ka Stara.\u201d Additionally, reports indicate that the Usta\u0161a song \u201cEvo zore, evo dana\/Jure i Boban\u201d was played and openly sung by a large number of people in the town square. These messages and symbols represent an open glorification of the Usta\u0161a movement from the NDH era, and their public display cannot be justified under any circumstances. It is crucial that everyone, in Croatia and abroad, clearly understands that the Republic of Croatia is not the successor of the NDH.<\/span><\/p>\n

Particularly concerning is the fact that these songs were sung and these symbols worn by young people, which further highlights the importance of providing proper education through the school system, including on racism, hate speech, discrimination, and human rights in general.<\/span><\/p>\n

However, a clear public condemnation from public officials\u2014regarding both last night\u2019s and previous such incidents\u2014has so far been lacking, which is additionally troubling, especially in light of the recent and increasingly open justification and use of the salute Za dom spremni<\/em> by several Members of Parliament.<\/span><\/p>\n

The lack of response creates space for even more overt expressions of intolerance and hatred, not only contributing to the relativization of the character and crimes of the NDH but also dangerously encouraging hatred in our society today.<\/span><\/p>\n

Therefore, I call on public officials to publicly condemn these incidents. I have also contacted the police and the State Attorney\u2019s Office of the Republic of Croatia to request information on their actions related to the events before, during, and after yesterday\u2019s concert.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As reported by the media, yesterday\u2019s concert featuring three singers attracted a large crowd, part of which used the occasion in Imotski as an opportunity for the open and public display of Usta\u0161a symbols or those reminiscent of the Usta\u0161a movement, as well as for the public singing of Usta\u0161a songs. It is therefore important […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":15085,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[169],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21442","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ombudsman.hr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21442","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ombudsman.hr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ombudsman.hr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ombudsman.hr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ombudsman.hr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21442"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.ombudsman.hr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21442\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ombudsman.hr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15085"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ombudsman.hr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21442"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ombudsman.hr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21442"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ombudsman.hr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21442"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}