Austria's Interior Ministry is considering adopting a law to ban the use of World War II-era Ustasha insignia and symbols at the annual memorial ceremony held in Bleiburg, Austrian media reported on Tuesday.

Thousands of Croats gather near the southern Austrian town of Bleiburg every May in memory of civilians and soldiers loyal to the defeated Nazi-allied Independent State of Croatia (NDH) who had surrendered there to the British army in the closing days of World War II. The British handed them over to the communist Partisans who sent them on marches towards Slovenia, during which thousands of them perished.

Prior to the fall of communism in Yugoslavia in the early 1990s the commemoration was a low-key event, but has since grown and gained mainstream support, getting official support of the Croatian Parliament, which sponsors the event with 500,000 kuna (€67,500) per year.

The event is seen as controversial in Croatia as displays of Ustasha insignia and symbols were commonly displayed in the past at Bleiburg by right-wing and far-right groups.

However, the existing Austrian law only bans symbols and insignia related to Austria’s Nazi past.

“We are looking into legal options on (banning) insignia and symbols,” Interior Ministry spokesman, Alexander Marakovits, told APA news agency.

Governor of the southern region of Carinthia where Bleiburg is located, Peter Kaiser, has called for the current ban on fascist and Nazi symbols to be extended to include symbols of the Ustasha regime.

Kaiser, a member of the centre-left Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPO), asked the Chancellor Sebastian Kurz and Foreign Minister Karin Kneissl to intervene with Croatian authorities.

“We should get in touch with the Croatian leadership and demand a clear rejection of all fascist activities as part of the gathering in Bleiburg field,” APA quoted him as saying.

Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz, of the centre-right Austrian People’s Party (OVP), said that the memorial ceremony in Bleiburg was a “church event” which neither he nor the governor of Carinthia could ban. However, Kurz added that Austrian authorities would react to any violations of Austrian law.

The Austrian Interior Ministry issued a statement calling for restraint in displaying fascist symbols. “We have to distinguish between commemorating the dead, and using symbols reminiscent of totalitarian regimes,” it said.

Austrian media reported that the memorial ceremony is organised by the Croatian Bishops’ Conference and the Bleiburg Guard of Honour association, while the Croatian government funds the lease of the private land where it takes place. They noted that every year the ceremony is attended by  representatives of Croatia’s state leadership.

Earlier this week, three Austrian MEPs held a news conference in Vienna asking for the ban on Ustasha symbols at Bleiburg, describing the event as “harmful for the reputation of Austria and Europe.”

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