A concert by Croatian singer Marko Perkovic, known as Thompson, has drawn tens of thousands to Zagreb. A concert by right-wing singer Marko Perkovic, notorious for his perceived sympathy for Croatia’s World War II pro-Nazi puppet regime, has drawn tens of thousands of his fans to Zagreb on Saturday. Some 450,000 are expected to be in attendance at the Hippodrome later in the evening, the biggest concert in Croatia’s history, according to the police, viewed as a major security challenge. Perkovic, also known as Thompson, has been banned from performing in some European cities over frequent pro-Nazi displays at his gigs, but he remains hugely popular in Croatia, frequently attending rallies and sports events.
via abcnews: Controversial right-wing singer Marko Perkovic draws tens of thousands to Zagreb concert
siehe auch: Croatian right-wing singer Marko Perkovic and fans perform pro-Nazi salute at massive concert Perkovic, whose stage name is Thompson after a U.S.-made machine gun, had previously said both the song and the salute focus on the 1991-95 ethnic war in Croatia. A hugely popular right-wing Croatian singer and hundreds of thousands of his fans performed a pro-Nazi World War II salute at a massive concert in Zagreb, drawing criticism. One of Marko Perkovic’s most popular songs, played in the late Saturday concert, starts with the dreaded “For the homeland — Ready!” salute, used by Croatia’s Nazi-era puppet Ustasha regime that ran concentration camps at the time.(…) Organizers said that half a million people attended Perkovic’s concert in the Croatian capital. Video footage aired by Croatian media showed many fans displaying pro-Nazi salutes earlier in the day. The salute is punishable by law in Croatia, but courts have ruled Perkovic can use it as part of his song, the Croatian state television HRT said. Perkovic has been banned from performing in some European cities over frequent pro-Nazi references and displays at his gigs. Croatia’s Vecernji List daily wrote that the concert’s “supreme organization” has been overshadowed by the use of the salute of a regime that signed off on “mass executions of people.”