Marko Perkovic Thompson’s Half Million Fascist Concert
On
September 14, 2022, Tony Greenstein and I wrote an article
on attempts by Croatia to impose anti-Semitic election laws on Bosnia and
Herzegovina.(5)
The
Dayton Peace Accords, signed in November 1995, brought the war of aggression on
Bosnia and Herzegovina by Serbia and Croatia to an end. The accords divided
Bosnia and Herzegovina into two administrative units, pledging equal rights for
its ‘constituent peoples’ (Bosniaks, Bosnian Serbs, and Bosnian Croats) and
‘others’. As outlined in the Dayton
Peace Accords, the country’s Presidency consists of three members, each coming
from one of the three ‘constituent peoples’ but each representing all of the
Bosnian citizens. The current election laws prevent members of the Bosnian
Jewish community and those who identify as ‘others’ from running for President.
Croatia is asking a genocidal supremacist entity for help with "equality" in Bosnia.
— Aida A. (@_truthtopower) July 15, 2025
By equality they mean 2:1 power "sharing" i.e. two desirable fascist parties among Bosnian Croats and Serbs to overpower the Bosniak majority and other normal Bosnians.https://t.co/ydhfggdyVu
For
the past five years the neighbouring Croatia keeps persevering in imposing new
discriminatory, antisemitic and fascist election laws on one of the two Bosnian
entities, the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. That would inevitably lead
to having a ‘third entity’ emerging within Bosnia and Herzegovina with an overwhelming
Bosnian Croat majority. That new ‘entity’ would subsequently cede from Bosnia
and Herzegovina to join Croatia. It is in line with the same World War 2
ideology pursued by the Nazi collaborators, the infamous Croat Ustaše, which
included creating Greater Croatia by carving up Bosnia and Herzegovina.
In
the wake of recent events, I decided to revisit the article
referred to above which addressed the contentious issue of Croatia’s proposed
antisemitic election law for Bosnia and Herzegovina.(5) The law, which Croatia
envisions implementing under the guise of (allegedly) safeguarding the
interests of Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina, has garnered significant
attention again.
In
our article
we endeavoured to provide historical context for Croatia’s political
trajectory, including its WW2 legacy, and shed light on its actions during the
War of Aggression on Bosnia and Herzegovina in the 1990s. (5)
We
highlighted Croatia’s involvement in this conflict for which it was
subsequently prosecuted by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former
Yugoslavia (ICTY) and ruled guilty of committing ‘joint criminal enterprise’ on
Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is the same Croatian policy that now continues to be
the framework for pursuing such election laws for Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Such
laws are seeking to ensure that only Croats can vote for an ethnic Croat
candidate to be a member of the Bosnian Presidency, which would preclude all
other Croats, not considered by HDZ, the Croatian nationalist party, in Bosnia
and Herzegovina (BiH) and the HDZ party headquarters in Zagreb, Croatia to be
‘pure-bred’, as well as Jews and others from ever running for the Presidency.
This would go against numerous judgements made by the European Court of Human
Rights (EHRC), including the one (Sejdic-Finci
v Bosnia and Herzegovina) that concluded that the current election laws
discriminate against Jews and Roma.
Imagine
now that Croatia is seeking to make those existing election laws even worse by
wanting to have only ‘pure-bred’ Croats who would be elected by only Croats
voting for them! This would not only exclude Bosnian Jews from running for the
Presidency but also from voting for a Bosnian Croat candidate for the
Presidency, the right they have been granted by the existing election laws.
Such an election law would be antisemitic in all its respects.
Regrettably,
three years have passed since the publication of our article of September 14,
2022, and Croatia has not relinquished its pursuit of implementing the
antisemitic election law. (5)
The
laws’ proponents argue that it will ensure the ‘legitimate representation’ once
there are only those considered to be ‘pure-bred’ Croats running for the
Bosnian Presidency. As previously mentioned, the HDZ BiH party, under the
direction of its headquarters in Zagreb, Croatia will determine who meets this
criterion to run and subsequently represent Croats in Bosnia.
Croatian Prime
Minister says that ‘only Thomson could bring together half a million people’
while the Thomson’s concert audience passionately raises their hands in a
fascist salute and praise concentration camp Jasenovac in their songs
Given
the nature of such election laws and prospects of those being imposed on Bosnia
and Herzegovina by Croatia, it is crucial to acknowledge its potential
implications. The implementation of such election laws could have far-reaching
consequences and raise concerns about the perpetuation of discriminatory
practices and creation of an apartheid state at the heart of Europe.
The
politics pursued by Croatia since the 1990’s remain the same despite it being
adjudicated for committing ‘joint criminal enterprise’ on Bosnia and
Herzegovina.
In
the past few years, it seems to be becoming even more aggressive and radical,
and more open in demonstrating these traits in public. This is the same
politics pursued by Croatia in World War II – the ideology of the Ustaše movement,
which included the creation of Greater Croatia. This time, rather than taking
the whole of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia seems willing to ‘settle’ for
taking almost half.
Founded
in 1929, the Ustashas were pro-German
Croatian fascists who imprisoned, tortured, and committed genocide against
ethnic minorities during World War II. Their brutal actions shocked even the
Wehrmacht. The Croatian Ustashas imprisoned, tortured, and killed over 30,000
Jews in concentration camps like Jasenovac (also known as the ‘Auschwitz of the
Balkans’), Lepoglava, and Stara Gradiska.
Croatia’s
plans, as outlined in the antisemitic, discriminatory and fascist election laws
they keep trying to impose on Bosnia and Herzegovina, would result in the
creation of small, unliveable ghettos for the Bosniaks, the ethnic group
comprising 51% of the country’s population. This would also include members of
the Jewish community and other groups, as well as all Serbs and Croats who
oppose the policy of ethnic divide, apartheid, and fascism.
And
although the legacy of the WWII Croatian Ustashas’ ideology continues to
influence Croatia’s policy today, Croatia recently publicly
announced that it had received support from Israel in its
efforts to enact antisemitic election laws in its neighbouring country, Bosnia
and Herzegovina. (1)
This
is not the first time Israel has provided support to Croatia for the same
antisemitic election laws. They did it in 2022, as we discussed this in our
article of September 14, 2022. (5) That time, the information about the support
was ‘leaked’, while this time it was announced openly and proudly.
Good meeting my friend Croatian FM @grlicradman on the sidelines of the EU-Southern Neighbourhood Ministerial Meeting in Brussels.
— Gideon Sa'ar | גדעון סער (@gidonsaar) July 15, 2025
We discussed regional issues in the Middle East and Southeast Europe. I thanked him for Croatia's friendship and support.
Israel firmly believes… pic.twitter.com/r9yM1qt1fz
Israeli
Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar also publiclyacknowledged a ‘good meeting’ with
their ‘Croatian friend’ in Brussels in his tweet on X on July 15, 2025.
However, his remarks deviated from the principles outlined in the Dayton Peace
Accords. He referred to ‘constituent peoples’ while omitting ‘citizens and others,’
which are all included in the Dayton Peace Accords. Additionally, he mentioned
‘power sharing,’ which is neither present in the Dayton Peace Accords nor the
Bosnian political system. Despite these blunders (whether deliberate or not),
Sa’ar subsequently expressed his full support for the (antisemitic) election
law, stating:
“This
must be accompanied by a strong commitment to the principles of power-sharing,
both in the structure of governance and in the necessary reform of the
country’s electoral legislation.”
Such
support could not have come at a more opportune moment as the European Union
was grappling with the aftermath of a music concert in Zagreb, Croatia, which
took place only ten days prior, on July 5th, 2025.
The
concert was performed by Marko Perkovic Thompson, a popular far-right Croatian
singer who evoked disturbing memories of the notorious Croatian Ustashas.
At
the recent concert of July 5, 2025, half a million Croats enthusiastically
raised their hands in the fascist salute, screaming ‘Za dom spremni’ from the
top of their lungs. Some of the attendees even sang songs about the Jasenovac
concentration camp, where they were responsible for the systematic murder of
Jews and other victims. Despite the presence of the police, no action was
taken.
Notably,
Marko Perkovic Thompson appeared on stage fully dressed in a black Ustashas
uniform, bearing the prison number of the notorious Ustasha terrorist Zdenko
Busic.
In
response to the incident, the European Commission strongly condemned the
fascist salute (‘Za dom spremni’) and other Ustashas insignia that were
displayed at the concert.
When
responding to the European Commission’s statement, Croatian Prime Minister
Andrej Plenkovic expressed his inability to discern any contentious points
within the Brussels-based document. This stance is unsurprising, given his willingness
to engage in a handshake with the “singer” and pose for a
photograph with him.(4)
Plenković,
attempted to downplay the message from the European Commission. However, the
European Commission responded condemning any expression of fascism reminiscent
of Europe’s darkest chapters. In contrast, the Croatian Minister of Internal
Affairs viewed
the concert as a “celebration of patriotism, unity,
and values.” (4)
Austria’s
investigative authorities are currently examining the concert materials,
particularly looking for those individuals who purchased tickets for Tomson’s
concert in Austria. Given the sale of
18,000 tickets in Austria, some are saying that those who live and work in
Austria could have their work permits revoked and be deported back to Croatia
if found to have attended the concert.
The
Croatian Prime Minister’s assertion that “only
Tomson could bring together half a million people” serves as a stark
reflection of the political climate in Croatia and the pervasive presence of
fascist ideology all over it.
It
is in light of the condemnation of the concert by Marko Perkovic Thomson in
Zagreb of 5th July 2025,and an uproar from across Europe, and what seems to be
the prevailing political ideology reminiscent of WW2 in Croatia, that the
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar found it acceptable to voice the support of Israel to Croatia in its
endeavours to impose antisemitic election laws on its neighbouring country,
Bosnia and Herzegovina, only some ten days after the concert by Marko Perkovic
Thomson took place (on 15th July 2025). Indeed, the nature of the Croatian
politics hasn’t changed since Israel lent Croatia a hand of support to pursue
anti-Semitic election laws for Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2022. It has only
become more aggressive and radical, and more transparent in showing it to the
world outside Croatia to see.
Israel
was heavily criticised in the Israel media (The
Times of Israel, Jerusalem Post)
for supporting Croatia in pursuit of anti-Semitic election laws for Bosnia and
Herzegovina in 2022- the criticism that was addressed in Tony Greenstein’s and
my article of September 14, 2022
Should
it be perplexing that, after all, the two countries could be allies? One can
conclude, yet again and as we said in our article of September 14, 2022, that
the alliance between Israel and the HDZ proves that Zionist Anti-Semitism
remains as strong as ever!
1.
https://x.com/gidonsaar/status/1945040569543037218?s=462.
2.
https://www.index.hr/amp/vijesti/clanak/ek-reagirala-na-plenkovica-i-thompsonov-koncert-plenkovic-to-je-uopcena-reakcija/2688576.aspx3.
3.
https://www.euronews.ba/region/aktuelno/28764/plenkovic-thompson-jedini-danas-moze-dovesti-pola-miliona-ljudi-u-hrvatsku4.
https://youtu.be/dNUC-iHnKXI5. 4.
4. https://www.rtvbn.com/4079049/austrijanci-cesljaju-snimke-sa-tompsonovog-koncerta
5. 14 September 2022
https://azvsas.blogspot.com/2022/09/why-is-israel-supporting-law-proposed.html
