Catholic Church should not allow being manipulated by the politics, Bosniak leader Bakir Izetbegovic told N1 commenting on the Mass commemorating Nazi supporters killed in Bleiburg in 1945, which was announced for May 16 at Sarajevo's main cathedral.
“Politicians roped the Catholic Church into this situation. Enough has been said,” said Izetbegovic.
The Mass was announced by Bosnia's Catholic Archbishop Vinko Puljic, which sparked reactions among anti-fascist organisations and activists as well as some officials.
Some organisations announced holding a protest during the ceremony.
“Nobody should go to protests,” Izetbegovic said, adding that the Church should be allowed to perform the Mass. “Catholic Church played a good role, they acted in a principled manner, they were ready to clean up their own front yard. This time it is about manipulations,” he added.
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Amid a WWII Yugoslav army offensive aimed at defeating pro-Nazi and anti-communist forces, tens of thousands of mostly pro-fascist Croat soldiers and their families fled in 1945 toward Austria to seek help from the British army, only to be turned back by the Brits right into the hands of anti-fascists.
In and around the Austrian town of Bleiburg, thousands of the so-called Ustashas were killed.
The Yugoslav forces saw the slaughter they committed as punishment for the tens of thousands of Jews, Serbs, Roma and anti-fascists killed by the Ustasha during WWII.
After the dissolution of Yugoslavia, Croatia began commemorating the Bleiburg victims with a large gathering near the Austrian town every year.
Croatian nationalists perceive the controversial annual event as a symbol of their suffering under communism.
“Catholic Church should seek the way out of this situation,” according to Izetbegovic.
