Bosnian Advocacy Centre (BAC), an independent organisation advocating for free and democratic Bosnia and Herzegovina, sent a letter to German Ambassador in Sarajevo asking for clarification of "set of unclear circumstances," following Angela Merkel's attendance of a rally in Zagreb last weekend where, as they said, para-state Herzeg-Bosna was glorified.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel proved her dedication to straighten the friendly ties between Germany and Bosnia, said the letter. However, her attendance in the rally which glorified so-called Herzeg-Bosna, was “disappointing.”
Merkel arrived in Zagreb on Saturday to attend and give support to Croatia's ruling HDZ party and Manfred Weber's CSU, both members of the European People's Party (EPP), ahead of the European elections next week.
One of the guests of the rally was controversial singer Marko Perkovic Thomspon who performed a song that glorifies Herzeg-Bosna, a para-state formed within Bosnia's borders in the early 1990s, but which no longer exists.
We are disappointed that Ms. Merkel attended an event in Zagreb where neo-Nazism and the so-called Herzeg-Bosna were glorified.
Therefore, we sent a letter to the German ambassador to Bosnia and Herzegovina asking for an apology. Here are English and German versions: pic.twitter.com/Z5wPL1ABDx
— Bosnian Advocacy Center (@BosnianAdvocacy) May 20, 2019
“The so-called Herzeg-Bosna was a para-state established in 1991, just before the aggression and genocide in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Its’ whole leadership was convicted of war crimes in a joint criminal enterprise verdict issued by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. Thousands of people of Bosnia and Herzegovina of different ethnicities were victims of the horrific crimes perpetrated by the so-called Herzeg-Bosna,” said the note signed by BAC President Ismail Cidic.
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“The song that praises Herzeg-Bosna was played during the rally and is regularly performed by neo-Nazi singer Marko Perkovic Thomspon who, moreover, glorifies Independent State of Croatia, a Nazi Germany puppet-state in the period from 1941-1945.”
The advocacy centre hopes for and expects the German authorities to “adequately” respond to this “set of unclear circumstances, which could be misinterpreted as an endorsement of such ideas.”
“Horrifying political projects, as one glorified during the abovementioned rally, is something that should never be legitimised or praised in modern Europe They are certainly not in accordance with the European values ms. Merkel talked about in her rally speech,” said the letter.
