USTASHA GRAFFITI IN CROATIA A CONTINUING CAMPAIGN OF HATRED

BELGRADE, JULY 6 /SRNA/ – Miodrag Linta, president of the Serb Alliance from the Region, said the latest Ustasha graffiti appearing across Croatia represent a continuation of the persistent incitement of hatred and violence against Serbs and everything Serbian, calling for authorities to finally respond to what he described as hate crimes.

Linta said such graffiti have long become a common occurrence and constitute one of many indications that Croatia remains trapped in what he described as its Ustasha, genocidal and criminal past. He argued that Croatia does not genuinely uphold fundamental European values such as anti-fascism, human and minority rights and the rule of law, adding that the country is increasingly becoming a factor of instability in the Western Balkans. Linta noted that graffiti reading, "Kill a Serb and harvest his organs, because the cats are hungry," was sprayed on the premises of a construction company in Slavonski Brod, with the letter "U" stylized to include a cross, the Serb Alliance from the Region said in a statement. He added that anti-Serb graffiti also appeared in the Funtana area near Poreč in Istria and in Biljane Donje near Benkovac. In Funtana, the perpetrator damaged a vehicle with Serbian license plates by scratching the words "Kill a Serb" onto the front and rear right-side doors. At the entrance to Biljane Donje, the place name on the road sign was crossed out and replaced with the inscriptions "HOS" and "ZDS." On the exit sign from the village, a stylized Ustasha "U" containing a cross and the name "Ante Pavelić" were written. Linta appealed to international organizations in Zagreb to insist that the Croatian government strongly condemn the anti-Serb graffiti and ensure that the competent authorities urgently identify both those who ordered and those who carried out these chauvinistic acts, and prosecute them in accordance with the Criminal Code, saying they constitute hate crimes.