Israel's ambassador to Croatia yesterday condemned the funeral given to a second World War concentration camp commander, saying it insulted the memory of those killed in the camp run by Croatia's collaborationist wartime Ustasha regime.
Dinko Sakic, who was in charge of the Jasenovac camp in northeastern Croatia during the second World War, died last week in Zagreb at the age of 87 while serving a jail sentence for war crimes.
"I'm convinced that the majority of the Croatian people are shocked by the way the funeral of the Jasenovac commander and murderer, dressed in an Ustasha uniform, was conducted," Israeli ambassador, Shmuel Meirom, said in a statement to the state news agency, Hina. "At the same time, I strongly condemn the inappropriate words of the priest who served at the funeral and said that Sakic was a model for all Croats. I'm convinced it is not an official attitude of the Catholic Church in Croatia."
According to Croatia's Vecernji List daily, Sakic was buried in the Ustasha uniform and described by the priest at the funeral as "a person Croats must be proud of". Mr Meirom said the event did not contribute to a positive image of Croatia, which had "made commendable efforts in recent years to condemn the years of the Ustasha regime".
The pro-Nazi puppet state of Croatia from 1941 to 1945 carried out persecutions and mass killings. Tens of thousands of Jews, Serbs, Gypsies and anti-fascist Croats (partisans) perished in Jasenovac, the worst of its concentration camps. The greatest number of victims at Jasenovac were Serbs. Most Jews murdered there were killed before 1942, after which Jewish inmates were transported to the Auschwitz extermination camp in Silesia.
Sakic was sentenced in 1999 to the then maximum 20-year jail term for war crimes after his extradition from Argentina, where he had lived since leaving Croatia at the end of the war. His trial was significant for Croatia as the late president Franjo Tudjman, who died in 1999, was often criticised for nationalistic policies and accused by Jewish groups of trying to whitewash Ustasha atrocities.
Irish Times
Showing posts with label Ustasha. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ustasha. Show all posts
August 01, 2008
June 16, 2008
The Sun finds wanted Nazi at footie
Mingling with football fans in a pavement café, an elderly gentleman soaks up the atmosphere of Euro 2008.
Yet Milivoj Asner, out strolling with his wife, is no ordinary supporter welcoming his national side Croatia to his adopted Austrian town. At No 4 on the list of most wanted Nazi war criminals, he instead stands accused of deporting hundreds of Jews, gypsies and Serbs to World War II death camps. And he has been spared extradition only after Austrian officials insisted he was too poorly to face charges in Croatia of genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes.
Asner, who lives under an assumed name in Croatia’s European Championships base of Klagenfurt, is the subject of an international arrest warrant and on Interpol’s Most Wanted list.
The Sun tracked down the 95-year-old former police chief and Gestapo agent and secretly filmed him as he strolled confidently for more than a mile, arm-in-arm with second wife Edeltraut. Walking without a stick, he even roamed 8th May Street – named after VE Day. He stopped several times to sit in cafés, chatting to waiters and sipping leisurely drinks alongside excited football fans.
He was ignored by hundreds of armed police patrolling the streets, even though locals KNOW his real identity – and the unspeakable crimes for which he has yet to face justice.
The scenes made a mockery of Austria’s insistence that Asner is too sick to be sent home. Yet ironically, on the day we captured his carefree three-hour outing, the country’s officials restated their decision to protect him from trial.
Last night Holocaust campaigners insisted The Sun’s exposé should shame Austria into finally sending Asner back to Croatia, where prosecutors are ready to haul him before court. The Jerusalem-based Simon Wiesenthal Centre, which hunts Nazis worldwide, said our probe exposed the country for shielding a suspected war criminal.
Director Dr Efraim Zuroff said: “He is clearly enjoying a life that many hundreds of victims were denied when they were sent off to be murdered. The Sun found him healthy enough to stroll happily round his home town for hours. This is highly significant.
“Austria has long had a reputation as a paradise for war criminals and now they’ve been caught in the act. It is time for them to do what is right and help bring Nazi war criminals to justice. If this man is well enough to walk around town unaided and drink wine in bars, he’s well enough to answer for his past. He’s shown absolutely no remorse. It is our intention to bring this to the attention of the Austrian Minister of Justice Maria Berger and call for his immediate extradition.”
Asner fled his homeland after the war and has been living in Klagenfurt since 2006. He was indicted a year earlier in Croatia for crimes committed when he was a Ustashi police chief under the country’s Second World War fascist puppet regime.
An Interpol arrest warrant was issued with the highest priority and his photo and personal details are listed on its Most Wanted website. Anyone knowing his whereabouts is urged to call police.
The Sun traced Asner, whose first wife faked his death, to his smart third-floor flat near Klagenfurt’s stadium. The home, where he lives under the name Dr Georg Aschner, is opposite the Croatian cultural centre in a district where fellow ex-pats know his true identity.
One worker boasted how “an SS man” lived opposite. She added: “He’s a super old man. His wife is ill, but he still takes a walk most days.”
Despite joining Croatian fans in the streets in the build-up to the team’s matches, Asner stayed indoors to avoid packed streets on the day of their opening game. But one source said: “He’s fiercely patriotic and nationalistic, and there’s no doubt he’ll want Croatia to win. He may be old but his views haven’t changed – he wants them to win at everything.”
Edeltraut confirmed: “He’s a big Croatia football fan and watches all the games.”
Officials originally ruled Asner could not be sent to Croatia because he was an Austrian citizen. In September 2005, they admitted he was NOT. But they stalled again, claiming he was too ill for trial.
Six days ago, the Austrian government wrote to a Jewish group reaffirming its decision not to extradite Asner. It said Ministry of Justice tests had proved “he is not capable enough to be questioned or go before a court”.
But Dr Zuroff, whose group last year launched Operation Last Chance to nail the final surviving Nazis, said: “The passage of time in no way diminishes the guilt of the perpetrators. Time is running out, but Asner must face justice for the sake of all those who died in concentration camps. This is our chance for justice. I believe The Sun’s evidence could help it happen.”
Asner is alleged to have stood by in Pozega during 1941 and ’42 as Ustashi fascists burned the synagogue. Other evidence against him is said to include papers ordering the deportation of Serbs and Jews.
Last night Asner confirmed his identity when asked by The Sun – but insisted he was NOT a war criminal. And he denied taking part in deportations.
Asner said: “It is not true. It’s hilarious. I didn’t have anything to do with it. I was just an officer with the justice department – a lawyer. I never did anything bad against anybody.”
The Sun
Yet Milivoj Asner, out strolling with his wife, is no ordinary supporter welcoming his national side Croatia to his adopted Austrian town. At No 4 on the list of most wanted Nazi war criminals, he instead stands accused of deporting hundreds of Jews, gypsies and Serbs to World War II death camps. And he has been spared extradition only after Austrian officials insisted he was too poorly to face charges in Croatia of genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes.
Asner, who lives under an assumed name in Croatia’s European Championships base of Klagenfurt, is the subject of an international arrest warrant and on Interpol’s Most Wanted list.
The Sun tracked down the 95-year-old former police chief and Gestapo agent and secretly filmed him as he strolled confidently for more than a mile, arm-in-arm with second wife Edeltraut. Walking without a stick, he even roamed 8th May Street – named after VE Day. He stopped several times to sit in cafés, chatting to waiters and sipping leisurely drinks alongside excited football fans.
He was ignored by hundreds of armed police patrolling the streets, even though locals KNOW his real identity – and the unspeakable crimes for which he has yet to face justice.
The scenes made a mockery of Austria’s insistence that Asner is too sick to be sent home. Yet ironically, on the day we captured his carefree three-hour outing, the country’s officials restated their decision to protect him from trial.
Last night Holocaust campaigners insisted The Sun’s exposé should shame Austria into finally sending Asner back to Croatia, where prosecutors are ready to haul him before court. The Jerusalem-based Simon Wiesenthal Centre, which hunts Nazis worldwide, said our probe exposed the country for shielding a suspected war criminal.
Director Dr Efraim Zuroff said: “He is clearly enjoying a life that many hundreds of victims were denied when they were sent off to be murdered. The Sun found him healthy enough to stroll happily round his home town for hours. This is highly significant.
“Austria has long had a reputation as a paradise for war criminals and now they’ve been caught in the act. It is time for them to do what is right and help bring Nazi war criminals to justice. If this man is well enough to walk around town unaided and drink wine in bars, he’s well enough to answer for his past. He’s shown absolutely no remorse. It is our intention to bring this to the attention of the Austrian Minister of Justice Maria Berger and call for his immediate extradition.”
Asner fled his homeland after the war and has been living in Klagenfurt since 2006. He was indicted a year earlier in Croatia for crimes committed when he was a Ustashi police chief under the country’s Second World War fascist puppet regime.
An Interpol arrest warrant was issued with the highest priority and his photo and personal details are listed on its Most Wanted website. Anyone knowing his whereabouts is urged to call police.
The Sun traced Asner, whose first wife faked his death, to his smart third-floor flat near Klagenfurt’s stadium. The home, where he lives under the name Dr Georg Aschner, is opposite the Croatian cultural centre in a district where fellow ex-pats know his true identity.
One worker boasted how “an SS man” lived opposite. She added: “He’s a super old man. His wife is ill, but he still takes a walk most days.”
Despite joining Croatian fans in the streets in the build-up to the team’s matches, Asner stayed indoors to avoid packed streets on the day of their opening game. But one source said: “He’s fiercely patriotic and nationalistic, and there’s no doubt he’ll want Croatia to win. He may be old but his views haven’t changed – he wants them to win at everything.”
Edeltraut confirmed: “He’s a big Croatia football fan and watches all the games.”
Officials originally ruled Asner could not be sent to Croatia because he was an Austrian citizen. In September 2005, they admitted he was NOT. But they stalled again, claiming he was too ill for trial.
Six days ago, the Austrian government wrote to a Jewish group reaffirming its decision not to extradite Asner. It said Ministry of Justice tests had proved “he is not capable enough to be questioned or go before a court”.
But Dr Zuroff, whose group last year launched Operation Last Chance to nail the final surviving Nazis, said: “The passage of time in no way diminishes the guilt of the perpetrators. Time is running out, but Asner must face justice for the sake of all those who died in concentration camps. This is our chance for justice. I believe The Sun’s evidence could help it happen.”
Asner is alleged to have stood by in Pozega during 1941 and ’42 as Ustashi fascists burned the synagogue. Other evidence against him is said to include papers ordering the deportation of Serbs and Jews.
Last night Asner confirmed his identity when asked by The Sun – but insisted he was NOT a war criminal. And he denied taking part in deportations.
Asner said: “It is not true. It’s hilarious. I didn’t have anything to do with it. I was just an officer with the justice department – a lawyer. I never did anything bad against anybody.”
The Sun
June 19, 2007
Nazi hunter raps 'fascist' Croatian rock concert
The Los Angeles-based Simon Wiesenthal Center on Monday voiced outrage over a Croatian rock concert by a popular ultra-nationalist singer that featured multiple "fascist" invocations.
The Sunday evening Zagreb concert, which was attended by 60,000 people including Croatian members of parliament and the Croatian ministers of science, education and sports, turned into a massive fascist demonstration, the organization's chief Nazi hunter and Israel director Dr. Efraim Zuroff said.
Thousands of people attending the rock concert by the singer "Thompson" shouted the infamous Ustasha regime's salute of "Za dom spremni," while numerous participants came wearing Ustasha uniforms and symbols, the center said in a press release.
"Under the current circumstances, I believe that the time has come to prohibit public concerts by those who write songs of nostalgia for [the] Jasenovac [concentration camp] and inspire the show of Ustasha symbols, which constitute open and blatant incitement against all the minorities in Croatia," Zuroff wrote in a Monday letter to Croatian President Stjepan Mesic. "I believe that only if someone of your stature and outstanding anti-fascist credentials will lead the efforts to combat this ugly wave of revived fascism, can this extremely dangerous new trend be stopped before it engulfs Croatia," he continued.
The Ustasha regime ran a puppet government after the Nazi invasion of Yugoslavia in 1941. During their four years in power, the Ustasha carried out a Serb genocide, exterminating over 500,000 people, expelling 250,000 and forcing another 250,000 to convert to Catholicism. The Ustasha also killed most of Croatia's Jews, 20,000 gypsies and many thousands of their political enemies. After the war, most of the Ustasha leaders escaped to South America and Spain.
During the collapse of Yugoslavia in the 1990s, there was a certain resurgence of Ustasha symbols coinciding with the ethnic hatred that remained after the wars.
Jerusalem Post
The Sunday evening Zagreb concert, which was attended by 60,000 people including Croatian members of parliament and the Croatian ministers of science, education and sports, turned into a massive fascist demonstration, the organization's chief Nazi hunter and Israel director Dr. Efraim Zuroff said.
Thousands of people attending the rock concert by the singer "Thompson" shouted the infamous Ustasha regime's salute of "Za dom spremni," while numerous participants came wearing Ustasha uniforms and symbols, the center said in a press release.
"Under the current circumstances, I believe that the time has come to prohibit public concerts by those who write songs of nostalgia for [the] Jasenovac [concentration camp] and inspire the show of Ustasha symbols, which constitute open and blatant incitement against all the minorities in Croatia," Zuroff wrote in a Monday letter to Croatian President Stjepan Mesic. "I believe that only if someone of your stature and outstanding anti-fascist credentials will lead the efforts to combat this ugly wave of revived fascism, can this extremely dangerous new trend be stopped before it engulfs Croatia," he continued.
The Ustasha regime ran a puppet government after the Nazi invasion of Yugoslavia in 1941. During their four years in power, the Ustasha carried out a Serb genocide, exterminating over 500,000 people, expelling 250,000 and forcing another 250,000 to convert to Catholicism. The Ustasha also killed most of Croatia's Jews, 20,000 gypsies and many thousands of their political enemies. After the war, most of the Ustasha leaders escaped to South America and Spain.
During the collapse of Yugoslavia in the 1990s, there was a certain resurgence of Ustasha symbols coinciding with the ethnic hatred that remained after the wars.
Jerusalem Post
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