ZAGREB, March 10, 2018 – The president of the Independent Democratic Serb Party (SDSS) and a key member of the ruling coalition Milorad Pupovac said on Saturday that Croatia did not make enough effort to fight issues that were slowing down the society, such as retrograde ideological incidents, denial of civil rights and freedoms and clerical and nationalistic understanding of society.
Pupovac told Croatian Radio that, instead of defending the values of anti-fascism, as most of the countries in Europe do, Croatia was giving in and pulling back towards those who want to revive the defeated forces from World War II. He also said that Croatia was also giving in to various clientelistic groups instead of committing to health, education and judicial reforms.
Commenting on recommendations by the Council set up by the government to deal with the consequences of the rule of undemocratic regimes in Croatia from the Second World War to the declaration of independence in 1991, Pupovac said that, instead of fixing the situation, the council had made things worse.
One of the main recommendations and guidelines sent to the government by the Council for dealing with the consequences of undemocratic regimes was that Croatia should allow the use of the Ustasha “For the Homeland Ready” salute to commemorate soldiers killed in the 1991-95 Homeland War.
Pupovac, however, said that the Council’s recommendations were not only non-binding, but also absolutely unacceptable for him.
