Croatian Groups File Complaint Over Anti-Serb Chants

Three Croatian human rights organizations filed a complaint on August 7 with the Croatian Interior Ministry (MUP), the State Attorney’s Office (DORH) and the ombudswoman over anti-Serb chants recorded during a march through the streets of Knin two days earlier, at the ceremony marking the 31st anniversary of Operation Storm. For readers in Serbia this is not a distant story from a neighboring country: the chants targeted a national minority inside a European Union member state, and the complaint arrived only after DORH announced it had not received a single criminal complaint over what happened in Knin.

The complaint was filed by the Center for Peace, Nonviolence and Human Rights from Osijek, the Antifascist League of the Republic of Croatia and Documenta. It was signed by the Center for Peace’s executive director Natalija Havelka, Vesna Terselic of Documenta and Antifascist League president Zoran Pusic. It rests on publicly available video footage recorded in Knin on August 5 and published by online media outlets and on social networks.

What the Knin recordings capture

According to the complaint, the footage captures chants of “We Croats don’t drink wine, only the blood of Chetniks from Knin” and “The battle rages on, the Ustasha flag is raised,” accompanied by a raised right arm. Among the participants in the march, the organizations say, were members of the Torcida supporters’ group and several war veterans.

The complaint also covers a performance by singer Marko Skeja, who performed the song “Jure i Bobana” in Knin. According to the complainants, the song has been described in public debate and in parts of court practice as glorifying members and the ideology of the Ustasha movement. The organizations single out the makeup of the crowd that shouted these messages:

“It is particularly worrying that a large number of young people took part in the event, chanting these messages together with older participants and using the disputed salute.”

They argue this normalizes hate speech, historical revisionism and the glorification of totalitarian ideologies. The organizations also criticized the absence of a clear condemnation from part of Croatia’s state officials, saying “a government that does not oppose such gatherings endangers the constitutional order of the Republic of Croatia.”

Three requests to police, prosecutors and the ombudswoman

The complaint seeks concrete action, not condemnation:

• that the identities of all individuals who publicly chanted messages inciting hatred or violence and used banned fascist symbols be established
• that authorities examine whether the elements exist of the criminal offense of public incitement to violence and hatred under Article 325 of the Criminal Code, or of a misdemeanor against public order and peace
• that the competent authorities take the measures prescribed by law against those responsible and inform the complainants of what action was taken

The organizations invoke the foundational provisions of the Croatian constitution, which reject the legacy of the Independent State of Croatia as an expression of a fascist regime and list antifascism among the foundations of the modern Croatian state.

Why the complaint came only on August 7

Because until then, formally, there was no case at all. After the footage was published, DORH announced it had not received a single criminal complaint over Knin, leaving the public debate at the level of reactions and denials. By filing a written complaint that demands to be informed of any action taken, the organizations have handed prosecutors a document they are obliged to answer.

The same Knin anniversary, which we previously covered in connection with a bonus announced for around 200,000 Croatian war veterans, has now also acquired a legal sequel, coming two days after the march itself.

Pupovac releases footage from the same celebration

Milorad Pupovac, a member of the Croatian parliament and president of the Independent Democratic Serb Party, showed footage from the same celebration at an extraordinary press conference in Zagreb on August 7. Among the clips was one from a bar, showing people singing “We will wade across the Drina and set Serbia ablaze,” along with the chant “Oh Croatia, an independent state.” An offensive chant targeting Saint Sava also rang out through the streets of Knin.

“Those who have spent years trying to smuggle this in as an act of patriotism are seriously undermining genuine patriotism. Those who think this is democracy and look away are wrong, because this is not democracy, this is a vicious attack on democracy.”

Pupovac called on the judiciary to act on its own initiative, saying institutions have failed to respond to such messages for years.

What comes next for police and prosecutors

The first obstacle is identification. The complaint does not target an individual but a crowd at a public gathering, filmed from several angles, so establishing exactly who shouted the disputed messages falls to the police before prosecutors even decide whether to open a case under Article 325.

For Serbs in Croatia, and for relations between Belgrade and Zagreb, the outcome of this case will carry more weight than any statement, because it will show whether the provision on public incitement to hatred is applied even when several thousand people are involved. The organizations have asked MUP and DORH to inform them of any measures taken, and that response is the next point at which it will become clear whether the complaint moves forward or is quietly shelved.