ZAGREB, Croatia
- Croatia has imposed a ban on three Montenegrin officials after they made a declaration claiming genocide occurred in a WWII concentration camp run by a Croatian regime.
- The officials involved have been labeled persona non grata as diplomatic tensions rise between the two nations.
- This action highlights the historical grievances stemming from World War II that continue to affect relations between Croatia and Montenegro.
– Croatia has declared three senior Montenegrin officials persona non grata following their involvement in a parliamentary declaration that accused a pro-Nazi Croatian regime of committing genocide during World War II at the Jasenovac concentration camp. The officials—parliament speaker Andrija Mandic, lawmaker Milan Knezevic, and Vice Premier Aleksa Becic—are now unwelcome in Croatia, as confirmed by the Croatian Foreign Ministry. The declaration from Montenegro's parliament labeled the atrocities at Jasenovac, where tens of thousands of ethnic Serbs, Jews, and anti-Nazi Croats were killed, as genocide. Croatia's government condemned the resolution as “unacceptable, inappropriate and unnecessary,” asserting that it undermines efforts to foster a respectful remembrance of the victims and instead serves short-term political agendas. The tensions surrounding the Jasenovac camp have intensified following Montenegro's support for a UN resolution commemorating the Srebrenica genocide, which has angered Serbia. This political backdrop is complicated by the fact that a significant portion of Montenegro's population identifies as ethnic Serbs, and the recent actions of the Montenegrin officials have been interpreted as aligning with pro-Serb and pro-Russian sentiments. Croatia's foreign ministry emphasized that the actions of the Montenegrin officials do not reflect good neighborly relations and contradict Montenegro's aspirations for European Union membership. Montenegro, which joined NATO in 2017, is currently navigating a political landscape that includes a recent government reshuffle favoring pro-Serb and pro-Russian parties, raising concerns from the United States.