The leader of the Croatian Democratic Union of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Dragan Čović, announced today that he had hosted controversial Croatian singer Marko Perković Thompson.
“A pleasant meeting with a dear friend, Marko Perković, at the headquarters of the Croatian Democratic Union of Bosnia and Herzegovina,” Čović wrote on his Instagram profile.
Čović’s meeting with Thompson followed days of public reactions to the singer’s concerts in Široki Brijeg, where the Ustasha salute “Za dom spremni” (“Ready for the Homeland”)was heard and symbols associated with the Independent State of Croatia (NDH) were displayed.
Some politicians from Republika Srpska called on the authorities of Bosnia and Herzegovina to ban Thompson from holding concerts in the country.
The Delegation of the European Union to Bosnia and Herzegovina also reacted, stating that there is no place in a democratic society for the glorification or relativisation of fascist ideologies, as they evoke the darkest periods of European history.
In recent years, Thompson’s concerts have been banned or cancelled in the Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland and Slovenia, where he has been described as a promoter of neo-Nazism and Ustasha ideology.
