Question for written answer E-004753/2020 to the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Rule 138 Dominique Bilde (ID)
Subject: Reference to leading figures from the Ustashi regime in Bosnia and Herzegovina
According to a report in the Courrier des Balkans of 30 June 2016 1 , public references to leading figures with ties to the Ustashi regime continued to be made in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Until at least that date, streets in Mostar were named after individuals such as Mile Budak and Jure Francetić, who was commander of the Black Legion and ‘directly involved in the massacre of Jews and Serbs from Bosnia and Herzegovina’ 2 .
On 25 March 2019, Deutsche Welle reported that, despite a number of street-renaming initiatives being taken, no definitive solution had been found – a state of affairs that mirrors Mostar’s political and institutional situation 3 .
In a similar vein, in 2017, the Israeli State officially condemned the naming of a Sarajevo primary school after Mustafa Busuladžić, whose writings showed an affinity with the Nazi regime and the Utashi 4 .
The EU has long focused on remembering crimes against humanity. Within the context of the stabilisation and association dialogue with Bosnia and Herzegovina, and taking into account Mostar’s status as a candidate for European Capital of Culture 2024 5 , what will the High Representative do to encourage the removal of such references to controversial public figures?
1 Bosnia and Herzegovina: streets that still glorify fascists and Ustashis, Le Courrier des Balkans , Radio Slobodna Evropa , 30 June 2016 2 Ibid. ‘Those honoured include Mile Budak, one of the main “Independent State of Croatia” ideologists, Jure Francetić, who was commander of the Black Legion and directly involved in the massacre of Jews and Serbs from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ante Vokić, Utashi Army General, and Minister Mladen Lorković.’ 3 https://www.dw.com/hr/u-mostaru-osu%C4%91uju-fa%C5%A1izam-ali-usta%C5%A1ke-ulice-ostaju/a- 48042222 4 https://balkaninsight.com/2017/10/24/israel-protests-naming-bosnia-school-after-anti-semitic-author-10-24- 2017/ 5 https://ec.europa.eu/programmes/creative-europe/content/banja-luka-bod%C3%B8-and-mostar-short-listed- title-european-capital-culture-2024_en
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