Socialist Workers' Party of Croatia condemns fascist terror

The Socialist Workers' Party of Croatia (SRP) expresses its deepest indignation at the series of coordinated attacks, threats and violent disruptions directed against anti-fascist citizens who were exercising their fundamental rights to freedom of speech and freedom of assembly during the celebration of the victory over fascism and the legacy of Comrade Josip Broz Tito in early May 2026. These incidents represent an organized attack on the very constitutional foundations of the Republic of Croatia and a blatant violation of the liberal-democratic principles that this state supposedly stands for.

We have always emphasized, with our unwavering commitment to socialist internationalism, that the rights to freedom of speech and peaceful assembly are indispensable tools in the hands of the working class. However, the events of the past two weeks expose the hypocrisy of a system that applies these rights selectively, giving free rein to neo-fascist gangs, while at the same time criminalizing and physically endangering citizens who commemorate the sacrifice of the partisans.

During the traditional “Trnjanski Kresovi” in Zagreb on May 9, 2026, on the 81st anniversary of the liberation of the city from fascist occupation, a group of far-right extremists, openly organized and led by Dražen Keleminec, violently disrupted a peaceful anti-fascist gathering. The rowdy group insulted participants, physically attacked activists, and attempted to destroy anti-fascist symbols, while shouting the genocidal Ustasha salute “Za dom spremni” (For the Homeland, Ready) . This was not an exercise in freedom of speech; it was mob violence aimed at suppressing speech and the gathering of others. Prior to this, anti-fascist commemorations in Pula on May 4 and wreath-laying in Split on May 9 were met with organized online threats and provocative chants, including the disgusting declaration of the liberators of this country as “occupiers.”

In responding to these provocations, the SRP stands firmly on the foundations of the Constitution of the Republic of Croatia itself. The Preamble to the Constitution explicitly states that the Republic of Croatia is founded on the anti-fascist decisions of the National Anti-Fascist Council of the People's Liberation of Croatia (ZAVNOH) and the Anti-Fascist Council of the People's Liberation of Yugoslavia (AVNOJ) . It unequivocally condemns the Independent State of Croatia (NDH), not considering it the foundation of Croatian statehood, but a fascist puppet regime whose character is "contrary to the very existence of the Croatian people".

Accordingly, Croatian law explicitly prohibits the public display of Ustasha symbols, salutes, and insignia. The cry “For the homeland, ready,” the black uniforms, and the iconography waved by Keleminč’s mob are not political opinions protected by the principle of freedom of speech; they are legally defined criminal offenses that constitute the promotion of genocidal ideology. The state’s tolerance of such phenomena, while simultaneously monitoring and restricting anti-fascist commemorations, constitutes a gross violation of the constitutional order and the principle of equal protection before the law.

It is crucial to emphasize that, unlike fascist symbols, communist and Yugoslav symbols, including the red pentagram and the name of Josip Broz Tito, are completely legal in Croatia. The gatherings in Pula, Zagreb, and Split, adorned with these symbols, were lawful assemblies protected by the Constitution and international liberal standards of civil liberties. The threats and violence directed against these gatherings are therefore not just an attack on a particular political option, but an attack on the very principle of lawful assembly . When a group of citizens cannot peacefully pay homage to a historical tradition that the state itself nominally recognizes as its founding act, without being physically attacked, then the very concept of “freedom” under the law becomes meaningless.

We insist on basic constitutional logic: if freedom of speech and assembly exist at all, then they must be universal and equally protected. What we are witnessing in Croatia today is a perversion of these concepts. The “right” to shout Nazi-Ustasha slogans is violently defended by the far right and tacitly permitted by institutions, while the right of anti-fascists to gather to celebrate the victory in 1945 is met with tear gas, threats, and political condemnation.

This selective application of the law has a clear class function. By encouraging fascist street terror against anti-fascists, the comprador regime seeks to intimidate any resistance to the neoliberal plunder of Croatian resources and NATO's war agenda. The rehabilitation of Ustasha ideology is not a cultural coincidence but a political strategy aimed at breaking the backbone of the working class, which historically found its strongest expression in the partisan anti-fascist movement.

Based on the Constitution of the Republic of Croatia, the very principles of AVNOJ and ZAVNOH that legitimize this state, and the universal rights that the ruling class invokes only when it suits them, the SRP demands that the Ministry of the Interior (MUP) immediately prosecute Dražen Keleminac and the organizers of the "Anti-Kresov" mob for using the Ustasha salute and violently disrupting a lawful public gathering.

The selective tolerance of fascist hate speech and the selective repression of anti-fascist speech must end. The state must guarantee, with police protection if necessary, the right of anti-fascist organizations to celebrate Victory Day, Tito’s legacy and all partisan anniversaries without fear of physical attack. Freedom of assembly has no meaning if the state allows violent counter-protesters to stifle it with the “noisemakers’ veto” and open violence. All institutions of the Republic must act in accordance with the constitutional preamble. Public funding that promotes revisionist history and glorifies the NDH must be stopped. The Croatian Parliament must enforce a law that explicitly bans fascist symbols and punishes those who display them publicly.

We reiterate that the public display of the red star, the hammer and sickle, and the portrait of Marshal Tito is a legal and legitimate expression of political opinion in Croatia. Any attempt to equate these symbols with banned fascist iconography is a politically motivated attack on freedom of speech and a direct insult to the anti-fascist foundations of the Republic.

The fight against fascism is inseparable from the fight for civil liberties, not for the empty freedoms of the bourgeoisie, but for real, tangible freedom of organization, speech, and assembly against exploitation and war. The Croatian Constitution provides the legal framework for waging this fight. We will use all legal and political means at our disposal to defend ourselves, but we rely primarily on the solidarity and strength of the working class and youth.

To the provocateurs who wave Ustasha flags, shout Ustasha slogans and who think they can drive us off the streets, we say: You will not succeed! The spirit of AVNOJ, the legacy of ZAVNOH and the memory of the People's Liberation Struggle are not museum exhibits. They are the living foundation of our right to resistance. We will gather. We will speak. We will organize. And no amount of fascist terror will silence us.

Presidency
of the Socialist Workers' Party of Croatia (SRP)

Zagreb, May 11, 2026.