Serbia’s foreign minister, Ivica Dacic, told reporters on Monday that Serbia “would not be silent” in the face of Croatian official’s alleged embrace of Ustasha iconography and rhetoric. Dacic’s comments followed a celebration in Croatia–in which government officials participated–of the anniversary of Operation Storm. Participants in the celebration displayed Ustasha symbols, used the Ustasha slogan “za dom spremni,” and burned Serbian flags.
Commenting on the incidents in Knin, Bozo Petrov, deputy prime minister, and Vlaho Orepic and Ante Sprlje, ministers of internal affairs and justice, said that historians and judges should clearly define themselves toward the Ustasha greeting.
Dacic believes that the ultimate goal is to permit the use of this greeting, which shows that Croatia – an EU member – “is rehabilitating the fascist Ustasha NDH.”
“Although Europe is silent, Serbia should not and will not be,” stressed the Serbian deputy PM.
