Croatia

Nazi hunter slams right-wing singer at Croatia celebration

Published Jul. 18, 2018 12:39 p.m. ET

ZAGREB, Croatia (AP) The Nazi-hunting Simon Wiesenthal Center has strongly criticized a far-right singer's participation in the celebration welcoming Croatia's national soccer team home from the World Cup.

The center issued a statement on Wednesday that described Marko Perkovic - who goes by the stage name Thompson - as a ''notorious'' sympathizer of Croatia's World War II pro-Nazi regime whose songs have advocated killing minority Serbs.

The statement says Perkovic's prominent appearance at the festivities ''gives his fascist views a legitimacy they do not deserve.''

Perkovic climbed the bus carrying the Croatian players from the airport on Monday and sang a couple of songs when he joined them on stage at a central square. He told Croatian media team members had invited him.

Nazi hunter Efraim Zuroff says Perkovic ''should not be an honored guest anywhere.''

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