What did Milorad Pupovac criticize about the Storm celebration in Knin?

Pupovac stated that the celebration included 'horrifying' scenes, including glorification of the NDH, and described it as an attack on democracy, veterans, and the constitutional values of the Republic of Croatia.

How did Ivica Marijačić respond to Pupovac's criticisms?

Marijačić rejected all criticisms, stating that there was nothing objectionable about the celebration. He confirmed that HOS members used the salute 'Za dom spremni' and sang songs about Jure and Boban, but believes this is not banned.

What does Marijačić accuse Milorad Pupovac of?

He accuses him of participating in the Uprising Day celebration in Srb, 'bowing' to the Chetniks who killed priest Father Juraj Gospodnetić in 1941, and claims that his family participated in the aggression against Croatia in the 1990s.

What is Marijačić's stance on the NDH and Yugoslavia?

Marijačić claims that Yugoslavia was 'absolute evil' and a negation of Croatia, while the NDH was not a complete negation but a failed attempt to realize the idea of an independent state that transferred its energy to the Homeland War.

Croatia

Marijačić to Pupovac: You Bowed to the Chetniks

A.H. · Prije 2h | 4 min

The editor-in-chief of Hrvatski tjednik sharply responds to the SDSS president, who called the marking of the 31st anniversary of Operation Storm an attack on democracy and constitutional values.

Summary

Ivica Marijačić fiercely responded to Milorad Pupovac, who called the celebration of the 31st anniversary of Operation Storm an attack on democracy.
Marijačić claims there was nothing objectionable about the celebration and defends the right of HOS members to use the salute 'Za dom spremni' and sing songs about Jure and Boban.
He accuses Pupovac of participating in the Uprising Day celebration in Srb and 'bowing' to the Chetniks who killed priest Father Juraj Gospodnetić.
He concludes that the celebration was appropriate and calls Yugoslavia 'absolute evil.'

The editor-in-chief of Hrvatski tjednik, Ivica Marijačić, has fiercely responded to statements by the president of the SDSS, Milorad Pupovac, who described the celebration of the 31st anniversary of the military-police operation Storm in Knin as a "vicious attack on democracy" and the fundamental values of the Constitution of the Republic of Croatia. Marijačić rejects all of Pupovac's claims and states that there was nothing objectionable about the celebration on August 5, 2026, neither in the official nor the unofficial part of the program.

Pupovac Outraged by Songs and Salutes

At a press conference on August 7, 2026, Pupovac said that what could be heard in the main street of Knin and in a restaurant near Knin was "horrifying." "This is an attack on every freedom-loving and open-minded citizen of Croatia, on every veteran, their descendants, and on democracy," Pupovac said. He added that it was "permitted to glorify a criminal regime such as the NDH, on a day of great importance for the Republic of Croatia."

"Why Shouldn't HOS Members Sing?"

Marijačić confirms that HOS members again this year used their salute "Za dom spremni" (For home, ready) and sang the song "Evo zore, evo dana, evo Jure i Bobana" in honor of the military leaders from the NDH era. "And why shouldn't they sing?" Marijačić asks. He emphasizes that the salute "Za dom spremni" is not banned, nor is the controversial song, and that Jure Francetić and Rafael Boban were never charged or convicted of war crimes. "They are war criminals only in the sick pro-Chetnik imagination of individuals poisoned by Yugo-Serbian mythomania," Marijačić points out.

Accusations Against Pupovac and His Family

Marijačić also made a series of personal accusations against Pupovac. He reminded that the SDSS president participated a few days earlier in the marking of the Uprising Day in Srb and accused him of "bowing to the Chetniks who roasted Father Juraj Gospodnetić on a spit in 1941" and to Chetnik Duke Momčilo Đujić. "Shameless Pupovac bowed last week to the Chetniks who roasted Father Juraj Gospodnetić on a spit; a man whose entire family participated in the aggression against Croatia, today again lies about the Republic of Croatia and the NDH and screams against the celebration of Storm," Marijačić said.

He added that Pupovac's house was a Chetnik headquarters during the aggression in the 1990s and that his entire family was active in the armed aggression against Croatia. "If this is too much even for this notorious Greater Serbian liar, it's too much. No one is forcing him to live in this country; if he doesn't like it, let him follow in the footsteps of his brother, an officer of the aggressor army," Marijačić concluded.

Yugoslavia as "Absolute Evil," Celebration Appropriate

In his response, Marijačić claimed that Yugoslavia, unlike the NDH, was "absolute evil." He believes that a legitimate feeling of nostalgia for the NDH exists in Croatia, if Yugo-nostalgia is also allowed. "When some choir of identity-less creatures at Tomašević's celebration by the Sava or in the middle of Zagreb, or in Brezovica, performs Yugoslav songs and marches in honor of the bloody criminal Tito, then these on-duty social hygienists are not upset," he stressed.

He also commented on journalist Jelena Lovrić, claiming that in the 1990s she "openly and impatiently called on the JNA to send tanks and crush Tuđman's Croatia." Marijačić concludes that the celebration in Knin was "perfectly appropriate, even with less national pathos than there should have been." He considers any inappropriate verses or shouts negligible, emphasizing that "their undoubted readiness to defend the Republic of Croatia with their lives tomorrow, if necessary, covers everything." He also reminded of the mass killings of Croats "from Bleiburg, Macelj to Ovčara and Škabrnja," for which he claims the state has not punished the perpetrators.