Former HOS commander Marko Skejo and a group of his followers first chanted the Ustasha salute at the Operation Storm celebration, then sang a song glorifying Ustasha criminals in a restaurant. SDSS has reacted and announced a press conference.
The celebration of the 31st anniversary of the military-police operation Storm in Knin turned into a scandal after Marko Skejo, former commander of the 9th HOS Battalion 'Rafael Boban', and a group of his like-minded associates first publicly chanted the Ustasha salute 'Za dom spremni' (For home - ready), and then sang the Ustasha march 'Evo zore, evo dana' (Here comes the dawn, here comes the day) in a restaurant. The video of the singing quickly spread on social media but was soon removed.
As reported by Slobodna Dalmacija, Skejo and his company sang the march, also known as 'Jure i Boban', in a Knin restaurant. The song glorifies Ustasha commanders Jure Francetić and Rafael Boban, individuals responsible for numerous crimes against civilians during World War II. Ironically, the HOS unit that Skejo commanded bore the name of Rafael Boban.
The rest of the evening in the same restaurant took a somewhat different tone, with remaining footage capturing songs from the repertoire of Marko Perković Thompson and Miroslav Škoro.
Skejo was not the only one using the banned salute. At a separate location, Dražen Keleminec, president of the extreme right-wing Autohtona Hrvatska stranka prava (Indigenous Croatian Party of Rights), roared 'Za dom spremni' three times. He arrived at the celebration accompanied by several men dressed in black, wearing a shirt that read 'Death to Chetniks, freedom to Croats'.
Over the loudspeaker, he stated that the police could file reports against him without issue, but he had no fear because he claimed he was only 'telling the truth', and then began the Ustasha chanting.
In response to the events that echoed through Knin on August 5, 2026, in the afternoon hours, the SDSS (Independent Democratic Serb Party) reacted. Party president and MP Milorad Pupovac, who also chairs the Croatian Parliament's Committee on Human Rights and National Minority Rights, has called an extraordinary press conference for Friday at 10:30 AM.
As stated by the party, Pupovac will 'share with the public his concern over calls for violence, as well as hate speech, which no political actor or media outlet has addressed'.
The case gains additional weight given that less than a month ago, the Municipal Misdemeanor Court in Split acquitted Skejo and 12 other HOS members of charges of disturbing public order and peace. They were charged with the exact same offense, namely shouting the 'Za dom spremni' salute in Knin four years ago, with the report filed by the Knin Police Station under Article 5 of the law governing misdemeanors related to public order and peace.
In the explanation of the acquittal, the judge stated that the 'Za dom spremni' salute, as a symbol of the Ustasha regime, is prohibited in public and represents a totalitarian sign contrary to the Constitution of the Republic of Croatia. She noted that judicial practice and recommendations from the Council for Confronting the Consequences of Undemocratic Regimes provide exceptions only when done to honor fallen HOS members from the Homeland War.
