Croatian nationalism

BELGRADE - The Serbian Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Tuesday handed a protest note to Croatian Ambassador in Belgrade Gordan Markotic in a vehement protest against the annulment of a 1946 conviction of Aloysius Stepinac, which it sees as a rehabilitation of fascism and the Ustasha Independent State of Croatia.

Former Croatian President Ivo Josipovic has said he will boycott the official state commemoration for the victims of the Ustasha death camp Jasenovac.

He said that "despite its strong anti-fascist tradition, the emergence of ustashism is being tolerated in Croatia."

Do not dream about revenge, dream about life, Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic "urged everyone, even the victims," Tanjug reported.

He spoke on Sunday, the anniversary of the foundation of the Independent State of Croatia (NDH) - a Nazi-allied WW2-era entity ruled by the Ustasha regime that operated death camps for Serbs, Jews, and Roma, including Jasenovac.

Israeli ambassador Zina Kalay Kleitman said in an open letter on Thursday that the new documentary film Jasenovac - The Truth offered a selective view of history and was offensive to the families of those who died at the concentration camp.

Current discussion in Croatia on re-introducing military conscription is "not serious" and shows a lack of proper analysis and preparation, a military analyst, Igor Tabak, told BIRN.

"The military doesn't serve itself and is financed from the state budget by the citizens - so starting such a debate without taking into account the basis for such a decision is frivolous," he said.

The junior party in the Croatian government, the Bridge of the Independent Lists, MOST, is continuing to demand reform of local government despite encountering resistance from the leading party, the Croatian Democratic Union, HDZ.

MOST wants Croatia's current 20 counties and City of Zagreb - a special unit - cut to five to seven regions centred around bigger cities.

Experts have given a cautious response to claims that managers of Croatian state companies will in future be selected through public tenders - not as a result of political ties.

When officials of the new centre-right government and first-time MPs filled in their asset declaration on Wednesday, some reported surprisingly modest assets in term of private properties.

A candidate for the minister of veteran affairs in Croatia's new government wants to set up a register of aggressors, and another one, of traitors.

According to the Croatian website Index, Mijo Crnoja, a member of the HDZ party, has presented these proposals - a part of his ministry's program - to veterans, i.e., "defenders."

The Zagreb-based Youth Initiative for Human Rights, YIHR, opened a public tender on Monday for an alternative monument to 1990s president and wartime leader Franjo Tudjman, focusing on alleged rights abuses and Croatia's role in the conflict in Bosnia and Herzegovina.