Thousands took to the streets of Bosnia Saturday to march in protest against a Mass held to commemorate Croatia's Nazi collaborators and civilians killed after World War II.
The annual service, usually held in Austria at the site of the Croatian regime's last stand, was moved to Sarajevo this year due to coronavirus restrictions. Only about 20 people attended the service which, like the march, ended without incidents.
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The Nazi-hunting Simon Wiesenthal Center urged the Bosnian government to ban the Mass, labeling it a "travesty of memory and justice."
Sarajevo Archbishop Vinko Puljic, who held the Mass in the Bosnian capital's cathedral, earlier rejected the accusations and said praying for victims' souls did not mean approval of their acts.
The service provoked outrage from most political parties, Jewish leaders, the Serbian Orthodox Church and anti-fascist NGOs, who held a march during the Mass in central Sarajevo.
The marchers, who rallied despite a ban on public gatherings during the coronavirus pandemic, sang songs linked to the anti-Nazi struggle.
Above a monument with names of 55 people from Sarajevo killed by the Croatian fascist regime known as Ustasha, the organizers of the march placed a large photo showing the hanged victims.
More than 10,000 Sarajevo residents – mostly Jews but also Serbs and Roma – were killed by the Ustasha regime during WWII.
This article was originally published by i24NEWS
