Croatian President Zoran Milanovic on Friday cancelled his attendance at an event commemorating the 28th anniversary of the combined military and police operation "Maslenica 93" in Zadar after he learned that two persons wearing clothes with Ustasha symbols were participating in the event.

Nikola Jelic, spokesman for the Office of the President told Hina that President Milanovic arrived in Zadar for the ceremony marking the 28th anniversary of Operation Maslenica 93 and that “after it was noticed that among the participants in the event there were people wearing Ustasha insignia and the Ustasha salute, the President phoned Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic and warned him that that was unacceptable.”

“Since after that it was established that persons wearing clothes with Ustasha symbols, including the Ustasha salute, would take part in the official part of the event, the President cancelled his attendance,” Jelic said.

Acting on orders from President Milanovic, who is the Armed Forces’ Supreme Commander, the Armed Forces Chief-of-Staff, Admiral Robert Hranj, and all other military commanders left the event after the first part of the ceremony, Jelic added.

Last year Milanovic left a ceremony marking the anniversary of the 1995 military and police operation “Flash” in Okucani, the reason again being persons who participated in the official part of the event and who wore T-shirts with the sign “For the homeland ready”, the Ustasha salute used in Nazi-allied Independent State of Croatia (NDH).