"Croatian FM vs. common sense - a fight he cannot win"

"Croatian FM vs. common sense - a fight he cannot win"

"Mr. Kovac very often enters into diplomatic conflicts with Serbia, and loses them each time, but by taking part in a rehabilitation of Ustashism and justification of the crimes committed against Serbs, he has entered a fight against common sense, and that fight he cannot possibly win," Vulin said.

"If Kovac had spent more time with statespeople from around the world, he would know how to differentiate between a dignified, peaceful commemoration in Busije, and the Ustasha rampage in Knin," Vulin continued.

He was referring to a state event held on Thursday in Belgrade's Zemun municipality in memory of the victims of Croatia's Operation Storm, and the celebration of Operation Storm staged on Friday in Knin, during and after which incidents occurred involving supporters of Ustashism - the ideology of the Nazi allied WW2-era Independent State of Croatia (NDH).

"In Busije, you could hear people sharing about their destinies, sharing their pain with the whole world, while in Knin you could hear (pro-Ustasha singer) Thompson, Ustasha songs, fascist greetings, a rampage," the minister said.

Vulin also stressed that Serbian PM Aleksandar Vucic, who spoke in Busije, "shared his pain, said what Serbia will not accept, and that Storm will never happen again, but he also called for coexistence, peace, forgiveness."

"How much longer will it take for a political leader who will have the courage to say something like that to appear on the Croatian side," Vulin asked.

On Monday, Croatian Hina agency reported that Miro Kovac accused Serbia's authorities of "still not being free from the virus of aggressive Greater-Serbdom," nor from "the Yugoslav communist system" - and that, until this happens, "Belgrade will never join the EU."

Kovac also referred to Vucic's address in Busije, saying that the Serbian prime minister "called Operation Storm - when Croatian army and police liberated the occupied Croatian state" a criminal final solution," and mentioned "many gouged Serb eyes, and many cut off Serb ears and noses."

However, said Kovac, in his speech, Vucic never spoke about "this being the Croatian state territory, or about the several hundred thousand Croats who were previously expelled, while many Croats were killed and tortured."