Popov: Serbs and Croats are born brothers, and we promote war criminals

"It is not just about the suspension of freedom of speech for Serbs in Croatia, a dangerous atmosphere has already been created for the Serbs. If the events they organize are attacked Serbs, that way it is legalized to attack them on the street," warns the president of the Center for Regionalism, Aleksandar Popov.

He states that he is the president of the Serbian National Council Milorad Pupovac recently told that food was thrown at him in Zagreb, "which is a physical attack on the representative of the Serbs in Croatia".

"A retrograde process is happening at a fast pace, the trigger for which was the concert." Thompson a few months ago," says Popov for the FoNet agency.

Plenković resorts to nationalism and directs his anger towards others

He estimates that the Prime Minister of Croatia Andrej Plenkovic and his government, due to citizens' dissatisfaction with corruption, the state of the judiciary, the economy, resort to populism and nationalism and direct their anger towards the other.

"But there is also one thing of a political nature here, and that is the coalition with extreme right, with the Homeland Movement. "Plenković allowed his coalition partner to dictate the political scene, to say - Serbs cannot be in the government - and that he agreed to it," states Popov.

He reminds that the policy of Plenković's government for a time acted as a policy of the moderate right.

"When he joined the coalition with the Homeland Movement, it was as if they took over the political helm in Croatia, and then such unfortunate scenes began to happen." The trouble is that in Evropi now that right trend is strong. And that gives wings to the Homeland Movement and Plenković, who looks benevolently on all of that," Popov explains.

And Milanović played with nationalism

He adds that there is also the responsibility of the Croatian parties of the left orientation, which were involved in nationalism.

"Above all Zoran Milanovic, when he was prime minister. "He is quite a controversial person in terms of his statements and behavior," Popov points out.

In Croatia, part of the public attacked Milorad Pupovac and the Serbian National Council for organizing an exhibition of the legacy of Serbian academician Dejan Medaković in Zagreb.

Asked if organizing that exhibition was a mistake, Popov says that, considering the moment and the atmosphere in Croatia, "everything can be considered a mistake".

"In a normal state, that would be avoided," Popov points out.

The relativization of Jasenovac reached the Croatian Parliament

In addition, he points out, the leader of SNV is not at the will of the regime in Serbia.

Commenting on the request of a part of the Croatian public that SNV apologize for organizing the exhibition, Popov points out that it is incorrect to ask such a thing from the representatives of Serbs in Croatia.

"Relativization" Jasenovac in the form of a pseudo-scientific discussion, it reached the Croatian Parliament," recalls Popov and assesses that this is an institutional relativization of that crime.

This, he points out, is "legalizing the revision of history in the most blatant way, denying the documented genocide in Jasenovac."

Pictures from Croatian cities with young men dressed in black with black caps remind Popov of Serbian "hoodies".

"It's just like a contagion spreading through the region," assesses Popov.

Shot from an empty gun

He notes that the reaction of the authorities in Serbia to the latest escalation of the Ustasta in Croatia is quieter than in previous cases, and that there were no serious reactions, although one could expect that Vucic reacts to a thrown ball from Zagreb to divert attention from the ongoing protests.

"It seems that he himself estimated that the anger of the people due to corruption and crime in Serbia is so great that this attempt, as well as the one to accuse Vojvodina of separatism, would be a shot from an empty gun," says Popov.

Tadić and Josipović worked differently

Comparing Serbia and Croatia, Popov points out that he was also rehabilitated in Serbia Chetnik movement Draže Mihajlović, reminds us of the wartime period when Hungarians and Croats were attacked in Vojvodina, and recently welcomed generals convicted of war crimes.

"We are brothers by birth. We came from the same country, and we behave similarly. In our institutions, too, war criminals are promoted. When it comes to Croatia, the Ustasha formed NDH, the Jasenovac camp, which was a huge killing ground above all for Serbs, Jews, Roma... This is the difference compared to the Chetniks, who were also collaborators during World War II, and committed great crimes not only against non-Serbs, but also against Serbs whom they branded as communists," says Popov.

Recalling the period when the presidents of Serbia and Croatia were Boris Tadic and Ivo Josipović, Popov points out that the two of them were going in the right direction.

"Things went wrong somewhere in the middle of the last decade when the SNS first came to power here, together with the SPS, and then in Croatia the HDZ. We had ups and downs, but now we are in a pretty bad phase," concludes Popov.

Source: FoNet