Croatia’s Serbs, Jews to snub WWII death camp memorial

Croatia’s Serbs and Jews say Tuesday they will snub for the fourth straight year a commemoration for the victims of the country’s notorious World War II death camp, saying the authorities tolerate pro-Nazi ideology.

The Jasenovac camp, known as Croatia’s Auschwitz, was run by the country’s Nazi-allied Ustasha regime which persecuted and killed hundreds of thousands of ethnic Serbs, Jews, Roma and anti-fascist Croatians.

The commemoration ceremony for the victims is held every April at the site of the camp, some 100 kilometers (60 miles) southeast of Zagreb.

Ethnic Serbs and Jewish minorities as well as anti-fascists have snubbed the official commemoration for the past three years and held their own events. They accuse the authorities of tolerating nostalgia for Croatia’s pro-Nazi past.

— AFP