Croatia's Jews to boycott government's Holocaust commemoration
| Publisher | Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |
| Publication Date | 23 January 2017 |
| Cite as | Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Croatia's Jews to boycott government's Holocaust commemoration, 23 January 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5975a49013.html [accessed 21 May 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
January 23, 2017
Members of Croatia's Jewish community walk past a memorial in the shape of a flower at Jasenovac in April 2016.
Croatia's Jewish communities will boycott a Holocaust commemoration at the country's parliament to protest what they say has been the government's tepid response to efforts by nationalists to glorify the country's World War II-era Nazi-collaborationist Ustasha regime.
The Coordinating Committee of Jewish Communities in Croatia announced on January 23 that it would skip the January 27 Holocaust Remembrance Day ceremony because the government had failed to remove plaques placed around the country bearing the Ustasha slogan "Ready for the homeland."
One of the plaques has been installed at Jasenovac, the site of a Nazi-era death camp where some 100,000 people perished during the war.
The parliament's Constitutional Committee last year ruled that the plaque was an "insult to the victims of the Jasenovac camp" and urged local officials to remove it.
However, Jewish activists said, the Jasenovac plaque remained in place and others had appeared elsewhere in the country.
In April, the Jewish community boycotted the government's commemoration of Jasenovac victims and held its own to protest the government's tolerance of neo-Nazi nationalism and Ustasha nostalgia.
Link to original story on RFE/RL website
