To Whom It May Concern,
This morning, the Youth Initiative for Human Rights – Croatia covered up a memorial plaque installed by the Croatian Defence Forces (HOS) Jasenovac and the Volunteers Association of the Croatian Defence Forces (UDHOS) of Zagreb on the building of a kindergarten in Jasenovac. We have done this in order to defend fundamental values of the Republic of Croatia in the absence of adequate reaction of government institutions.
Namely, the plaque features the slogan ‘For Home(land) – Ready’ (Za dom spremni), which, as confirmed by the Constitutional Court of Croatia as well, is a manifestation of racist ideology and glorifies the NDH fascist regime.
Discussing the plaque, the Committee on the Constitution, Standing Orders and Political System of the Croatian Parliament has concluded that the text on the plaque insults victims and that necessary actions should be taken to remove the plaque.
Since Andrej Plenković’s government has not taken any significant actions so far, nor has it shown even a minimum of political courage to protect the values of fundamental principles of the Republic of Croatia, the YIHR has covered the plaque, without damaging it, with a letter to the members of the associations that installed it there. Please find the text of the letter below.
Dear members of HOS Jasenovac and UDHOS of Zagreb,
We are using this opportunity to talk with you about fundamental values of our country.
Namely, under its Constitution, the Republic of Croatia has been founded as a social state which guarantees civil and human rights to all its citizens and whose institutions are founded on democratic principles. Being founded on these values, our country is clearly positioned against any and all non-democratic, non-free, racist, fascist and totalitarian tendencies.
Under the same Constitution, our country draws its statehood also from the idea (considered to be the fact by the very Constitution) that an independent, autonomous, sovereign and democratic state was won in the Homeland War of the 1990s.
With this plaque of yours and by posting the symbol of hatred, you have stood against fundamental postulates of our country. Further, maybe unintentionally, you used your dead to promote tendencies contrary to Croatia’s constitutional principles. What is more, you did it in a way that relativizes and actually ridicules the victims of the Ustasha fascist terror that soaked this very land with their blood.
The absence of government’s reaction is shameful and discouraging, as it is obliged, in the name of defending constitutional principles of the Republic of Croatia, to punish tendencies like yours.
If you really care about the national interests of the Republic of Croatia, about democracy, peace, stability and security, remove the symbols of fascism and hatred from this and every other place. We hope you understand that by doing so, in addition to paying respect to your fellow soldiers, you also show respect to the country you live in and its fundamental principles.
Youth Initiative for Human Rights
