National Post, December 11, 2008
Croatian 'Hate' Site Linked To Edmonton
EDMONTON - A Web site claiming to be based in Edmonton is selling fascist memorabilia under the banner of Croatian national pride, prompting a group of young Canadian Serbs to call its contents hateful.
The site sells CDs and DVDs glorifying the Ustasa, a far-right movement that ruled a Nazi puppet state called the Independent State of Croatia during the Second World War.
The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum says the Ustasa was responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Serbs, Jews and Roma in its concentration camps.
The largest camp was Jasenovac, where 56,000 to 97,000 people are believed to have been killed.
The Web site also carries key chains and belts adorned in silver with the movement's U insignia.
"Under this symbol, hundreds of thousands of Serbs were killed, as well as thousands of Jews and Roma. And they're selling it for the low, low price of 79 euros," said Boris Malagurski of the Serbian Youth League, a Canadian non-profit organization that promotes Serbian-Canadian friendship and unity.
The Web site's slogan is: "Proud to be a Croat!"
"They're selling fascism as patriotism," Mr. Malagurski said. "I'm pretty sure this is hate speech because it's promoting fascism and hate towards Serbs."
Dr. Mate Banovac is apparently the man behind the Web site. His contact information on the site is limited to a street and postal code in Edmonton -- the exact address is left out.
There is reason to doubt the site is based in Edmonton, however. The site is both hosted and registered in Germany. Someone using the name Dr. Mate Banovac sells the same DVDs through eBay. The eBay seller is in Austria.
An interview request sent to the e-mail used to take online orders was not returned.
"I would like to see [the Web site] closed," Mr. Malagurski said. "I have no problems with them selling real Croatian, patriotic stuff, with their flag, their national heroes or uniforms. I think that's all fine. But they are presenting this horrible time of the Ustasa as the real patriotic renaissance of Croatia, and it was nothing like that."
Much as some people embrace the neo-Nazi movement, a few Croats continue to latch onto the Ustasa's message and history, said a former Yugoslavian who is half Croat and half Serb and did not want to be named.
"There is a sizeable group of young Croats who are associated with the Ustasa and that kind of nationalism, unfortunately," he said. "This is the equivalent of selling the German swastika."
Some of the CDs the Web site sells contain songs by musicians notorious for their anti-Serb lyrics.
One song available on the site, titled Jasenovac I Gradiska Stara, cheers the puppet state's leader, Ante Pavelic.
"He was instrumental in establishing the concentration camps," the former Yugoslavian said.
"These products are a symbol of one ugly era."
Following the Second World War, many members of the Ustasa fled to Canada, Argentina and Australia, he said.
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