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October 30, 2001
WIESENTHAL CENTER
LAUDS CROATIAN PRESIDENTS APOLOGY FOR USTASHA CRIMES AND CALL FOR
CONTINUED PROSECUTION OF HOLOCAUST PERPETRATORS IN KNESSET SPEECH
The Simon Wiesenthal Center praised Croatian President Stjepan Mesic
for his repudiation of Croatias fascist past and his unequivocal
apology to the Jewish people for the World War II crimes of the Ustasha
Nazi collaborators in a speech delivered this morning at the Knesset.
The Center
also expressed its deep satisfaction that President Mesics speech
included a call for the continued prosecution of Nazi war criminals, an
issue on which the Center has been particularly active in Croatia during the past four years.
In an article published in todays Jerusalem Post, Israel director Dr. Efraim Zuroff noted that President Mesic
has an impeccable record as an outspoken anti-fascist, who has
courageously opposed all attempts to glorify Croatias Ustasha legacy
and as such is the perfect person to be the first president of independent Croatia invited for a state visit to Jerusalem.
Last night in a meeting with President Mesic,
Zuroff submitted evidence against two Croatian Nazi war criminals
currently living in Argentina and he expressed the hope that the
investigations of former Dubrovnik governor Ivo Rojnica and high
Ustasha official Mirko Eterovic would be expedited in the wake of the
state visit to Israel.
For more information, contact the Centers Communications Department, 310-553-9036.
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