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In 1998, Dinko Sakic was extradited from Argentina, where he had fled after WWII, to Croatia.
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ZAGREB (EJP)---The Jewish community in Croatia has condemned he organization of a funeral for a former concentration camp commander, saying it was turned into a celebration of his crimes.
Dinko Sakic, a former commander at the Jasenovac death camp, who died earlier this month, was cremated last week in the Ustasha Croatian pro-Nazi uniform he reportedly wore as head of the camp.
Some 70,000 victims, mostly Jews, Serbs and Roma, died in Jasenovac during World War II.
Sakic died at the age of 86 while serving a 20-year prison sentence for crimes against humanity.
After WWII, he fled to Argentina but was extradited to Croatia in 1998.
Jasminka Domas, vice-president of the Croatian Jewish community, stated: "The disgraceful events that occurred at the funeral of Dinko Sakic in Zagreb insult the memory of all the victims of the ustasha regime, and besmirch the Republic of Croatia’s good name."
During the funeral, which was attended by some 300 people, a Roman Catholic priest said that "any honest Croat should be proud of Sakic."
Israel's ambassador to Croatia on Thursday criticised the priest.
"I strongly condemn the inadequate words of the priest who conducted the funeral, who pronounced (Dinko) Sakic a role model for Croats," ambassador Shmuel Meirom said in statement.
"I am sure that this is not the official stance of the Croatian Catholic Church," said Meirom.
The July 24 funeral did "not contribute to the image of the Republic of Croatia which has made praiseworthy steps to renounce the memory of the darkest years" of its pro-Nazi Ustasha regime during WWII, he added.
Croatia's president Stipe Mesic has expressed concern that fascist symbolism at Sakic’s funeral could hurt the aspiring European Union member's reputation.
Since Croatia broke free of Yugoslavia in the 1990s on a wave of nationalism, its progress toward the EU and NATO has been dotted with reminders of the Ustasha, the pro-Nazi regime that led an "independent" Croatian state in 1941-45.
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 I strongly condemn the inadequate words of the priest who conducted the funeral, who pronounced Sakic a role model for Croats.
Shmuel Meirom, Israel's ambassador to Croatia. |
Mesic has spoken out in the past against glorifying the Ustasha. That stand contrasts with the ambiguous attitude of his late predecessor Franjo Tudjman, who led Croatia in its 1991-95 war of independence from the former Yugoslavia.
In April, Mesic said Jasenovac victims "were murdered in the name of a quasi-state which abused and compromised the Croatian name.”