LINTA: IT IS HIGH TIME THE EU DEMANDED A BAN ON THOMPSON'S CONCERTS IN CROATIA

BELGRADE, AUGUST 5 /SRNA/ - It is high time the European Union /EU/ called on Croatia to ban concerts by Marko Perković Thompson, a promoter of Ustashism and fascism, after Thompson and around 30,000 Croats celebrated the expulsion and killing of Serbs during the criminal Operation Storm at his concert in Šibenik last night, said Miodrag Linta, president of the Alliance of Serbs from the Region.

He pointed out that Thompson's concerts promote fascist symbols, hatred and violence, which are completely contrary to European values. He also stressed that Thompson opened last night's concert, as he has every concert since 1995, with the anti-Serb song "Bojna Čavoglave".

"The song begins with the Ustasha salute 'Za dom spremni/For the Homeland Ready', and one of its verses reads: 'Hear this, Serbian volunteers, Chetnik gang, our hand will reach you even in Serbia,'" Linta said, adding that the wartime version of the song also contains a verse mentioning Ustasha leader Ante Pavelić.

Linta reminded that, in an open letter to the Croatian public in June 2020, 16 Croatian generals acknowledged that the Ustasha salute 'For the Homeland Ready' had been used not only by members of the HOS, but also by members of other paramilitary formations and the Croatian Army.

"In addition, the generals stated in the letter that it was an unofficial anthem of the Homeland War," Linta said.

Linta said that after "Bojna Čavoglave," Thompson performed another in a series of anti-Serb songs, "Anica, the Queen of Knin," which begins with the lyrics: "Because of Anica and a jug of wine, I will set Krajina on fire all the way to Knin. I will burn two or three trees, so that I did not come for nothing," the Alliance of Serbs from the Region said.

"A large number of participants at Thompson's concerts wear black shirts bearing the Ustasha salute 'For the Homeland Ready,' the Ustasha chequerboard coat of arms beginning with the first white square, the Ustasha letter 'U' or the names of Ustasha units, as well as flags bearing the Ustasha coat of arms and other Ustasha symbols," Linta said.

He reminded that Thompson's concerts have so far been banned in Austria, Germany, the Netherlands, Slovenia and Switzerland because he has for decades been associated with songs and symbols linked to the Nazi regime.