Croatian Minister Joined 1990s Fascist-Backed Protests

By Sven Milekic

Screenshot from a video showing Zlatko Hasanbegovic at the 1998 protest. Photo coutesy of Novosti.

Croatian weekly newspaper Novosti reported on Fridaythat controversial Croatian culture minister Zlatko Hasanbegovic took part in demonstrations organised by pro-fascist groups against the reinstatement of the Square of the Victims of Fascism in Zagreb in the late 1990s.

Hasanbegovic admitted attending the demonstrations in 1998 and 1999 but did not take part in the violence against anti-fascist activists, who were demanding that Croatian Nobles Square should be given back its former name, the Square of the Victims of Fascism.

The name had been changed in 1990 due to the nationalist policies of the Croatian authorities at the time.

Hasanbegovic confirmed he was there, explaining that there “was no protest in Zagreb from the beginning of 1990s” in which he did not took part.

“I don’t see a problem in that. I wasn’t the organiser, but an ordinary citizen. In fact, I lived in the vicinity,” he told Novosti.

Novosti journalist Hrvoje Simicevic,who previously reported on Hasanbegovic’s writings for a pro-fascist journal in the 1990s, had identified Hasanbegovic from photographs walking through the crowd in the square and contacted the minister to confirm if it was him.

Hasanbegovic at the 1999 protest. Photo coutesy of Novosti.

Despite the presence of the police, the protest in 1999 ended in violence, with pro-fascists attacking the activists, as well as former President Stjepan Mesic and former foreign minister Vesna Pusic, who were also demonstrating for the name change.

Hasanbegovic said that he was still against reintroducing the old name for the square.

“That square had its name — Croatian Nobles Square — and I saw no reason for it to be changed,” he said.

He also accused the anti-fascists of “abusing the terms of fascism and anti-fascism for the rehabilitation of the legacy of Yugoslav communism”.

The square was finally renamed the Square of the Victims of Fascism in 2001.

When asked by Novosti about the current name, Hasanbegovic said that “the issue of commemorating victims of the Ustasa [Croatian WWII fascist] regime should be resolved in another way”.

It was originally named the Square of the Victims of Fascism in 1948 because the Ustasa had a prison there.

Originally published at www.balkaninsight.com on June 3, 2016.

Here is another story from Balkan Insight you might be interested in: Croatian Minister’s ‘Pro-Nazi’ Video Sparks Anger.