Phrases like "on Serbian soil" and "died for Serbian Krajina" will no longer be allowed on monuments in Croatia.
Those with such signs, erected after May 1990, will have to be removed.
The new Law on Cemeteries prohibits inscriptions and symbols that "glorify aggression against Croatia or armed rebellion against Croatia" during the Homeland War of the 1990s.
The law was adopted on April 30th in Parliament, and the Serbian community in Croatia fears how it will be implemented in practice.
For Croatian historian Dragan Markovina, there would be no problem with the law if it were, as he says, a "decent anti-fascist state."
"This is an exclusively nationalistically motivated law that was passed at the insistence of the Homeland Movement solely because they are bothered by the Serbian nationalist symbols on some of the graves," he said.
He adds that the law "does not include the sea of Ustasha symbolism in cemeteries at all," stating that "Milorad Pupovac is right to draw attention to that."
MPs from the Independent Democratic Serbian Party (SDSS), led by Pupovac, left the debate during which they entered into a polemic with the Homeland Movement (DP).
The Homeland Movement is the minority partner of the ruling Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) of Prime Minister Andrej Plenković.
What does the relevant Ministry say?
The Croatian Ministry of Physical Planning, Construction and State Property told Radio Free Europe (RSE) that it is possible to remove monuments that are contrary to the highest values of the constitutional order or positive regulations of Croatia.
The response to the inquiry stated that each grave site and memorial would be decided in a separate administrative procedure.
The ministry rejected the claim that only monuments inscribed in Cyrillic will be removed.
"All monuments that are not in accordance with the Law on Cemeteries will be removed regardless of the language and script in which they are written," the Ministry stated.
The decision is made by the regional self-government unit, and removal is the owner's responsibility.
The expert opinion is given by a five-member Commission, which must include at least one historian, art historian, architect and lawyer.
This body is appointed by the prefect or mayor of Zagreb.
The decision on the disputability or compliance of the inscription is made by the Administrative Department for Communal Affairs of the county.
The relevant minister, Branko Bačić, told Croatian Radio and Television on April 17 that, according to estimates, there are around forty memorial plaques with "inappropriate content."
The Croatian Ministry of Physical Planning, Construction and State Property did not provide examples of monuments that could be removed in its response to RFE/RL.
During the parliamentary debate, members of the Homeland Movement pointed to the memorial plaque to Vukašin Šoškoćanin at the family chapel at the local cemetery in Borovo Selo.
The plaque said that Šoškoćanin was a "national hero", and the Croatian soil was called "Serbian".
Šoškoćanin was the commander of the Territorial Defense in Borovo at the beginning of the war in 1991. In a clash with his forces in May of that year, 12 Croatian policemen were killed.
He himself died a few weeks later on the Danube, under unclear circumstances, when his boat capsized.
Croatian media characterize him as the leader of the Serb rebellion in the Borovo area.
In November 2024, Croatian media reported, along with photographs, that the tombstone had been removed.
How did the parliamentary debate go?
SDSS MP Milorad Pupovac said during the debate that the impression was being created that there were "Chetnik cemeteries scattered throughout Croatia," which, he said, was not true.
The Homeland Movement previously expressed satisfaction that their initiative would enable the removal of Chetnik monuments.
"If by insulting religious, national and other feelings one means those who glorify Chetnik ideology and symbols, who glorify a creation that caused enormous pain, victims, destruction and lasting trauma to both Serbs and Croats, I am against that too," said Pupovac.
But he asked whether it was considered that there are people who are bothered by symbols associated with Ustasha ideology at certain grave sites.
"Does anyone think that there are people who are bothered by this and that it may offend the religious and national feelings of Croatian citizens?" he added.
As reported by Croatian media, Vukovar defender of Serbian nationality Predrag Mišić (DP) said that there is not a single offensive inscription at the memorial cemetery of Croatian defenders.
"On every Chetnik monument it says that he died defending Serbian land in Croatia," said Mišić.
Pupovac responded that SDSS advocated for removing obstacles and preventing conflicts from deepening.
"I know we're bothering you here, but we're not afraid," said Pupovac, after which the SDSS deputies left the hall.
What are the reactions in Serbia?
The Minister of Labor, Employment, Veterans and Social Affairs in the Government of Serbia, Milica Đurđević Stamenkovski, who comes from the right-wing party Zavetnici, assessed that this is a matter of legalizing discrimination and dehumanizing the victims of the Serbian people.
Assessing that the state of Croatia is "bothered by dead Serbs," she stated on April 25th that the Ministry would inform all relevant international addresses about the adoption of a new law on cemeteries in the Croatian parliament.
The ministry did not respond to RFE/RL's inquiry about whether they had contacted international institutions.
And the director of the Office for Public and Cultural Diplomacy of Serbia, Arno Guillon, publicly asked the European Union (EU) whether it would react to the adoption of the law in Croatia.
In an English-language video posted on social media on May 11, Gujon said that these monuments are not symbols of hatred, but symbols of loss, suffering and resistance.
He assessed that this is "pure Serbophobia" and institutional discrimination, stating that the law "targets monuments that pay tribute to Serbian soldiers and civilian victims during the 1991-1995 war or are inscribed in the Cyrillic script used by Serbs."
Where does the law lead?
Representatives of the Serbian minority in Croatia are concerned about whether the law will be abused, while the initiators claim that it will prevent historical revisionism and divisions.
However, Croatian historian Dragan Markovina says that historical revisionism is "part of state policy in Croatia."
"Historical revisionism lives in Croatia, it is almost in power, when we talk about World War II, and especially about the war in the 90s, which is officially called the Homeland War," he says.
He adds that "the historical revisionism they are referring to is the Serbian version of the war or, more precisely, the nationalist Serbian version of the war," although they do not define it that way.
"Which annoys them and which is, not only from the Croatian perspective but also from the perspective of historiographic facts, revisionism, but this small percentage of Serbs remaining in Croatia will not affect the attitude towards history in Croatia, nor will it lead to any divisions," Markovina assesses.
"These are just traces of an erased community and their ideological beliefs, perverse, I agree, but nothing more than that," he adds.
Marko Milosavljević from the Belgrade-based Youth Initiative for Human Rights, which has been working on reconciliation in the region for years, believes that the Law on Cemeteries is bringing unrest and fear to the Serbian community in Croatia.
"But that this is also contributed to by statements by government representatives in Serbia who have further spread this fear by abusing their position to criticize, of course rightly, this law."
He says that it creates a worrying impression that this is a major abuse on both sides.
"In Croatia, this can be used to remove memorials to Serbian civilians who were killed in war crimes by the Croatian army. On the other hand, this modus operandi already exists as a threat in Serbia in the Law on War Memorials," Milosavljević said.
The Serbian Law on War Memorials states, among other things, that it can be removed if it is dedicated to an event that is not in line with the achievements of Serbia's liberation wars, or symbolizes the loss of sovereignty, territorial integrity, integrity and independence or freedom of Serbia.
Commenting on the changes in the Croatian Law on Cemeteries, Milosavljević says that it is important that political parties in Croatia and civil society become active now.
"Which will monitor this process and point out the shortcomings of this legal solution and always refer to the Constitution of Croatia, which can protect the rights of all citizens, and in this case especially those of Serbian nationality," he stated.
The war in Croatia lasted from 1991 to 1995.
With the military-police operation "Storm" in August 1995, Croatia regained control over part of its territory, where a part of Croatian Serbs formed the so-called Republic of Serbian Krajina.
According to Croatian sources, around 130.000 Serbs left Croatia in convoys before "Storm", and according to Serbian sources, 200.000 - 300.000 of them were exiled or fled to Bosnia and Herzegovina or Serbia.
The anniversary of Operation Storm is celebrated in Croatia on August 5, the day it ended, as Victory and Homeland Gratitude Day.
In Serbia, the anniversary of Operation Storm is commemorated on August 4, the day it began, as the Day of Remembrance for the Victims and Exiled Serbs.
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