Latest news with #Perković
Canada News.Net
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Canada News.Net
Marko Perković's show triggers backlash for pro-Fascist symbolism
ZAGREB, Croatia: A massive concert by popular Croatian singer Marko Perković, known by his stage name "Thompson," has drawn widespread criticism after many in the crowd were seen performing a salute linked to Croatia's World War II-era fascist regime. The event, held over the weekend in the capital, Zagreb, reportedly attracted around half a million attendees, making it the largest concert ever held in Croatia, according to local police. The controversy centers on the song Bojna Čavoglave, one of Perković's signature anthems, which opens with the phrase "Za dom spremni" ("For the homeland — Ready!"). The slogan was infamously used by the Ustasha, the fascist puppet regime allied with Nazi Germany during World War II. The Ustasha was responsible for running concentration camps in which tens of thousands of Serbs, Jews, Roma, and anti-fascist Croats were killed. Video footage broadcast by Croatian media showed many concertgoers giving pro-Nazi salutes during the performance. While the use of such gestures is punishable under Croatian law, courts have previously ruled that Perković may use the slogan as part of his song. Public broadcaster HRT reported that the exemption was due to its association with the Croatian War of Independence in the 1990s, in which Perković fought and later claimed the phrase was repurposed in that context. Despite that claim, critics say the salute's origins are unequivocally tied to the Ustasha regime. Regional outlet N1 television said modern attempts to reinterpret the salute cannot erase its fascist roots, adding, "While Germans have made a clean break from their Nazi past, Croatia is nowhere near that in 2025." Perković's immense popularity has long reflected the strong nationalist undercurrents in Croatian society, even three decades after the 1991–95 war with ethnic Serb rebels who, backed by Serbia, sought to break away from newly independent Croatia. The singer, who named himself after a Thompson submachine gun he reportedly used in combat, has been barred from performing in several European cities due to frequent pro-Ustasha symbolism and messaging at his shows. Croatian daily Večernji list noted that while the concert was a feat of organization, its legacy may be overshadowed by the controversial salute, which the paper said invokes "mass executions of people." The concert has also provoked reactions abroad. In neighboring Serbia, President Aleksandar Vučić condemned the event as a display of "support for pro-Nazi values," while former Serbian president Boris Tadić called it a "shame for Croatia and the European Union," accusing it of glorifying crimes against Serbs. Croatia, which joined the EU in 2013, deployed thousands of police officers to secure the concert. Authorities reported no significant incidents.
Euronews
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Euronews
‘Great shame for Croatia': Pro-Nazi salutes at Marko Perković concert
Controversial Croatian singer Marko Perković - known professionally as Thompson and who has a song which opens with the chant 'Za dom spremni!', the Croatian version of the Nazi salute 'Sieg Heil' - gathered tens of thousands of fans to Zagreb this weekend. As we reported earlier this year, Saturday's gig at the Hippodrome was set to be the biggest concert in Croatia's history. Perković broke the record for ticket sales – overtaking the likes of The Rolling Stones and Tina Turner. Organizers said that half a million people attended Perković's concert in the Croatian capital. The 58-year-old rocker, whose fans are known for their chants "Kill a Serb" and "Here we go Ustasha" (the Croatian fascist and ultranationalist organization), has been banned from performing in some European cities over frequent pro-Nazi displays at his gigs. However, Perković remains hugely popular in Croatia, frequently attending rallies and sports events. As he came out to the stage, the singer told the crowd that 'with this concert we will show our unity.' He urged the rest of Europe to 'return to its tradition and Christian roots.' Despite organizers saying that any displays of hate-fueling insignia were strictly banned at Saturday's concert, Perković and his fans still performed pro-Nazi World War II salutes. One of Marko Perković's most popular songs played on Saturday starts with the dreaded 'For the homeland - Ready!' salute, used by Croatia's Nazi-era pupper Ustasha regime. Croatia's WWII Ustasha regime ran concentration camps where tens of thousands of ethnic Serbs, Jews, Roma and anti-fascist Croats were brutally executed. Video footage aired by Croatian media also showed many fans displaying pro-Nazi salutes earlier in the day. The salute is punishable by law in Croatia, but courts have ruled Perković can use it as part of his song, the Croatian state television HRT said. Former Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor on X criticized how 'the state and the city have been put in service of one man.' 'Thrill and excitement as fans at downtown Zagreb already sing songs from the era of the criminal state,' Kosor wrote on X. 'No media are reporting about that.' She added: "Croatian television, for which we all pay a subscription fee, enthusiastically reports on the concert in its noon news program. Not a word about fascist salutes in the city and at the concert. The misery of working-class journalism." In neighbouring Serbia, populist President Aleksandar Vucic criticized Perković's concerts as a display 'of support for pro-Nazi values.' Elsewhere, former Serbian liberal leader Boris Tadic said it was a 'great shame for Croatia" and "the European Union' because the concert 'glorifies the killing of members of one nation, in this case Serbian.' His post on X reads: "Tomposon's concert tonight in Zagreb is a great shame for Croatia, but also for the European Union! It is eerie that today in the 21st century concerts are being organized on the soil of Europe that glorify the Quisling fascist hordes and the killing of members of one nation - in this case Serbian." "It is especially devastating to see how many young people came to the concert of the man who greets the audience with the Ustasha salute and how many of them follow the black shirt iconography of the Ustasha movement from World War II." He added: "Such images not only send tragic messages about the relationship to the past, but also to the future."
