A cohort of NGOs gathered in 'Documenta' Centre for Dealing with the Past accused Croatia's authorities of exporting to Bosnia and Herzegovina the “discomfort of the policy" that had no strength to deal with the Ustasha salute 'For homeland ready'.

The letter comes on the occasion of the mass for the Nazi supporters killed in Bleiburg in 1945, which was held at Sarajevo’s Sacred Heart Cathedral on Saturday and led by Bosnian Archbishop, Cardinal Vinko Puljic.

In an open letter addressed to “Bosnian-Herzegovinian and Croatian friends,” the association said it was worried about the peace in the region.

“We regret that our country is not officially sending out the messages of the peacebuilding, but in the aftermath of the Victory Day and the Europe Day, Croatia as an EU member state exports to Bosnia the discomfort of the policy that has no strength to get done with the Ustasha salute,” said the letter.

Documenta said the mass was “part of this year’s commemoration of the 75th anniversary of the surrender of the Axis forces near Bleiburg, which is organised by the Bleiburg Guard of Honour and sponsored by the Croatian parliament.”

“The uncritical victimisation of those killed at Bleiburg sends the message that those killed in May 1945 were the people whose only crime was their love for their country. Such interpretations of World War II and post-war violence are not only historically incorrect but also toxic for the contemporary society,” said the letter.

The present is burdened by a confusing view of our past and “a peaceful and civilised future could be questionable if we do not have enough sense, courage, and strength to confront the virus of fascism,” it added.

“It is not enough to simply remember the victims of fascism, but it is also necessary to expose fascism in the present – at our doorstep, in our house. We need the sense to articulate clearly, point blank and without calculation, what we want to do and how. We need the courage to start implementing it, and strength to finish it,” Documenta noted.

Thousands gathered on Saturday in Sarajevo to protest against the Bleiburg mass at Sarajevo’s main cathedral, saying that glorifying the fascism meant a disaster for civilisation.