Supetar's SDP Mayor Criticizes Marko Perković Thompson's Concert Near Šubićevac Memorial Park, While Stalls Were Set Up in the Protected Cultural Heritage Site Ahead of the Concert, Reported to the Inspectorate.
Supetar's SDP mayor, Ivana Marković, sharply commented on social media about Marko Perković Thompson's concert, scheduled for August 4, 2026, at Šubićevac Stadium in Šibenik. Her reaction came due to the proximity of the Šubićevac Memorial Park, a memorial complex and protected cultural heritage site where anti-fascist Rade Končar and 25 of his comrades were killed.
"Regarding what has been happening in Šibenik these days, it's hard not to wonder: what kind of state allows sites of suffering to be turned first into spaces for profit, and then into stages for ideological clashes?" Marković wrote in her post, emphasizing that such places in democratic societies deserve special dignity and protection.
Marković believes that the event in Šibenik is not an isolated case but a symptom of a broader trend unfolding in Croatian society. She argued that the boundaries of what is acceptable are gradually shifting, and the values enshrined in the Republic of Croatia's system are being relativized.
"The problem doesn't arise when extreme ideas appear at the fringes of society. The problem arises when those fringes start moving toward the center, when history is rewritten to suit day-to-day political needs, and when, for the sake of those in power, clear lines between a democratic state and everything opposed to it are erased," Marković said. She added that the relativization of Ustasha ideology, historical revisionism, and the abuse of patriotism for political purposes are being normalized today.
The mayor of Supetar emphasized the difference between those who, in various periods of history, laid down their lives for freedom and those who today "under the guise of patriotism try to rehabilitate defeated and criminal ideologies." She stated that patriotism "cannot be an excuse for insulting victims, for trampling on the law, or for degrading places of collective memory."
According to her, a state begins to decay when institutions stop protecting constitutional values and adapt them to the political interests of those in power. She also believes that the government, for the sake of political survival, tolerates the relativization of extremism while ignoring the burning issues facing citizens.
"When there are no answers to corruption, youth emigration, rising living costs, housing shortages, the collapse of public services, and citizens' distrust in institutions, the easiest path is to manufacture divisions and offer conflicts over the past. But a nation is not strengthened by hatred. Hatred destroys it from within," Marković wrote.
Meanwhile, ahead of the concert, a problem also emerged with the placement of commercial content within the Šubićevac Memorial Park itself. According to information, about ten days ago, portable toilets appeared in the memorial complex, which were removed after a swift response from city services. However, a few days ago, tent canopies and access ramps were set up in the same location, without the necessary permits.
"Is this a disgrace for a proud City of Šibenik? Breaking into the entrance of a cultural heritage site of the Republic of Croatia and a cultural monument to set up stalls for selling 'something'," said the Šibenik Victory Museum on social media.
The Šibenik Regional Conservation Service also reacted, conducting an on-site inspection and determining that the canopies and ramps were installed without prior approval. The service sent a letter to the City of Šibenik, the owner of the cultural property, urging it to act in accordance with the Law on the Protection and Preservation of Cultural Heritage. The case will also be reported to the inspection service at the Ministry of Culture and Media. Failure to comply with the prescribed protection measures under the aforementioned law carries fines ranging from €15,000 to €100,000.
The Conservation Service reminds that on July 29, 2026, they had already sent a letter to the City regarding the placement of portable toilets, which were promptly removed at that time. It remains to be seen whether the canopies will be removed just hours before the concert begins.
Ivana Marković concluded her post with a message that transcends ideological divisions. "This is not a question of left or right. This is a question of the minimum standard of civilization, respect for victims, and responsibility toward future generations. Anyone involved in politics, who has sworn an oath to the Constitution of the Republic of Croatia and invokes democratic values, has no right to remain silent. Because there are moments when politics ceases to be a matter of ideology and becomes a matter of humanity," she wrote.
She added that silence in the face of the desecration of such places is not neutral but constitutes consent to the shifting of the boundaries of what is acceptable, stating that Croatia was not founded on defeated ideologies but on the anti-fascist struggle, the victory in the Homeland War, and the Constitution.
