GERMAN MEDIA ON THOMPSON'S CONCERT AND USTASHA SYMBOLS

STUTTGART, NOVEMBER 8 /SRNA/ - German media reported today that flags and scarves bearing symbols with neo-fascist connotations were displayed at Marko Perković Thompson's concert in Stuttgart, and that the song "Bojna Čavoglave", featuring the controversial Ustasha salute "Za dom spremni" /"For the homeland – ready!"/, was performed.

The German news agency DPA reported that some concertgoers in the stands were carrying flags and scarves bearing the salute of the Ustasha movement, which collaborated with Hitler's Germany and was responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Serbs, Jews, Roma and political opponents.

The agency reminded that Croatia's Constitutional Court had ruled the use of the salute unconstitutional, but that the courts had declined to penalise Thompson.

It also noted that the use of Ustasha symbols is punishable by law in Austria.

The Stuttgarter Zeitung newspaper reported that the Stuttgart city administration had said there were no legal grounds to ban the concert, as demanded by representatives of several political parties on the city council, while noting that certain songs would not be permitted.

The newspaper also reported that the authorities monitored the concert and that an official interpreter was present in the venue.

The newspaper said that Thompson’s management had requested a permit for another concert in Stuttgart, this time at a much larger venue with a capacity of up to 15,000 people. However, approval will depend on an assessment of how yesterday’s concert went.