Refugee association head criticizes Croatia over Šešelj

Refugee association head criticizes Croatia over Šešelj

"The declaration aims to present Croatia as a country that has met all the requirements before entering the European Union and therefore claims the right to lecture Serbia about respecting the standards of democracy and the rule of law - which represents the pinnacle of cynicism," Linta said in a written statement sent to the media.

He added that numerous facts confirm that mass violations of human rights of Serb returnees and displaced Serbs are happening in Croatia, and that the judiciary there is biased and ethnically motivated.

Linta called on parliamentary groups in the Croatian parliament to condemn an anti-Serb event which takes place every August in Čavoglave, near the town of Knin, to commemorate, as he says, the criminal operation "Storm".

More than 100,000 people gathered there this year for the 11th time, organized by Marko Perković aka Thompson, many of whom carried flags, hats and other props with the symbols of the WW2-era Nazi entity known as the Independent State of Croatia (NDH).

Linta added that those gathered in Čavoglava sang songs with lyrics such as, "Oh mother Croatia, we will slaughter Serbs ..." and the like, and also chanted slogans of NDH's Ustasha regime which spread hatred towards Serbs.

Lints specifically invited parliamentary groups to condemn, in a declaration, convicted war criminal Dario Kordić, former president of the HDZ party in Bosnia-Herzegovina and vice-president of the war-time Croat Republic of Herzeg-Bosnia entity. He this year addressed the event in Čavoglave and said it was "a magnificent gathering, and a road sign showing Croatia where it should go."

Kordić, Linta recalled, was this year was released from prison after serving two thirds of his sentence of 25 years, handed down by the Hague Tribunal for the war crimes he committed against Bosniak civilians.