US State Department Warns Against Glorification of Ustašism in Croatia

Yesterday, the State Department presented its annual report on the state of freedoms in the world for the past year, reports the Patria agency.

Seven pages of the document deal with Croatia, and Jakov Sedlar, former Minister of Culture Zlatko Hasanbegović, and television host Marko Jurič are mentioned.

The US has explicitly warned against the glorification of the Independent State of Croatia (NDH) and the downplaying of Ustaše crimes. The report, presented by the US Secretary of State, mentions, among other things, Sedlar's revisionist documentary film "Jasenovac-The Truth", as well as the fact that the film was praised by former Minister of Culture Hasanbegović.

As events illustrating the state of religious freedoms, Washington highlighted the commemoration at the Jasenovac death camp, which was boycotted by Jewish and Serb leaders, who accused the then-government of downplaying Ustaše crimes.

The American administration also writes about the march of 5,000 people to the Electronic Media Council, which suspended the program of Z-1 television due to a talk show in which the host invited viewers to stay away from the Orthodox church in Zagreb because "Chetnik vicars" might come out and "slaughter" innocent passers-by.

Official Washington also highlights the criticism from the Simon Wiesenthal Center regarding the Zagreb County Court, which overturned the conviction of Cardinal Alojzije Stepinac for collaboration with the Ustaše regime in 1946. "Effraim Zuroff, head of the SWC's Jerusalem office, said it was 'absolutely shameful and terrible, an attempt to rewrite history'," the report states.

The State Department also mentions the concern of the Serbian Orthodox Church regarding growing social intolerance and the fact that in 2016 there were 20 acts of vandalism against its property, five fewer than the previous year. Only two perpetrators were identified, and their trial is ongoing, writes Telegram.

Washington also warns that the government has not resolved any major requests from the Serbian Orthodox Church for property restitution, including in Osijek, Vukovar, and Vinkovci, as well as requests for the return of Jewish property confiscated during World War II.

There are 54 religious communities in Croatia, and thanks to agreements with the Vatican, the Catholic Church has received 285 million kuna from the state. At the same time, the return of property to Jews is cited as a problem, as current laws prevent them from seeking the return of property stolen during the Holocaust if they are not Croatian citizens.