Political analyst Dragomir Anđelković tells SRNA on the occasion of the 79th anniversary of the founding of the Independent State of Croatia /NDH/ that the idea of Ustashism is still very strong and Anti-Serbian sentiment is highly leveled in Croatia, although there are hardly any Serbs left there nowadays.
“Simply, Croatian identity is largely based on a negative attitude towards Serbs,” explained Anđelković, who believes this is because Croatia never faced defeat in World War II even though it was predominantly on the side of Nazi Germany.
Anđelković pointed out that through the Serb anti-fascism, the decision of the communist authorities at the time allowed the Croats to move to the victorious side of the river, which is why they failed to undergo the process of denazification like Germany and Austria, making the attitude towards Ustashism much more positive.
“They are not ashamed to treat positively what would be judged as utterly shameful and negative everywhere in the world,” Anđelković said.
He noted that the Serbs were partly to blame for this, because, as he said, they continued to enslave Yugoslavian sentiment, while the Croats fought very passionately for their own interests.
“And while they seek and sue, we hesitate to defend our own rights. Republika Srpska is better than Serbia in this regard. It got more rid of that Yugoslav balance, but I believe that both Republika Srpska and Serbia are still suffering from Yugoslav sentiment instead of turning to Serb sentiment and fighting for our national interests,” Anđelković said.
Anđelković concluded that “Ustasha-related danger which is still hovering” should make Serbs aware and encourage them to act even more rationally.
The fascist Independent State of Croatia, led by Ustasha leader Ante Pavelić, who was an ally of the Nazi leader Adolf Hitler, was formed on this day in 1941.
In the area of NDH and the rest of occupied Yugoslavia, during the Second World War, genocide was committed against the Serb population resulting in the killing of between 900,000 and 1,200,000 Serbs.
Source: SRNA
