Croatia's prime minister Ivo Sanader has condemned the display of symbols praising the pro-Nazi Ustasha regime which controlled Croatia during World War II. "What is happening is wrong. The Ustasha symbols must be condemned. That regime does not deserve to be glorified in Croatia," Sanader was quoted as saying by the 'Jutarnji List' newspaper. "The fact that all that is linked to this singer is regrettable. He should engage himself in an action to end all that," Sanader said.
Some 60,000 people attended a concert on Saturday in the capital Zagreb by the singer Marko Perkovic, better known by his stage name Thompson. Perkovic has often identified with the Ustaha regime, under which thousands of Jews were rounded up and deported to the Nazi death camps. The concert was organized by veterans of Croatia's 1991-95 war of independence from former Yugoslavia.
The Croatian branch of the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights had issued a complaint ahead of the concert, notably over a song that starts with a verse used during the Ustaha period. The Nazi salute was also seen at the concert. Perkovic, 41, and most of his fans were dressed all in black, the colour of the uniform of the Ustasha. Police said there were no incidents during the concert and they noted no displays of banned symbols. Earlier this month, Perkovic had two concerts cancelled in Switzerland because his lyrics breached anti-racism laws. Another concert due in June in Austria was cancelled for the same reason. Croatian nationalists and right-wing politicians revere the 41-year-old singer as an icon