Post by boris on Nov 2, 2007 19:49:06 GMT 1
Croatian rock star canned
Marko Perkovic was to perform in Toronto this weekend but controversy about Nazi references in his act has prompted Kool Haus to cancel show
A performance by a controversial Croatian rock star, scheduled for Sunday at the Kool Haus concert hall has been cancelled amid concerns his shows glorify the regime in Croatia that collaborated with the Nazis during World War II.
Marko Perkovic is popular in his homeland where his folk-inspired, heavy metal music fills concert venues. But critics say his fans sometimes use the Nazi salute during his shows and wear clothes styled after the uniforms of the Ustasha, Croatia's Nazi-linked government.
"It's the equivalent of people showing up wearing Nazi gear," said Len Rudner, national director of community relations for the Canadian Jewish Congress.
Others have criticized him directly for incorporating slogans used by the Ustasha regime and for referring to concentration camps where 90,000 Jews, Serbs and Gypsies were sent during the war.
"Lyrics that make reference to concentration camps and to throwing Serbs down a river, I consider that kind of problematic," said Rudner.
Rudner became aware of Perkovic in early October when members of Toronto's Serb community voiced concerns to the CJC over Perkovic's planned performances in Toronto and Vancouver.
Christina Vlahos, spokesperson for the Toronto venue said yesterday Kool Haus CEO Charlie Khabouth cancelled the show as soon as he was told about the controversy. The club had received no protests from local residents, but has since received a few emails in praise of the cancellation.
Vlahos said Kool Haus has been told the promoters were still selling tickets to Sunday's show and hoped publicity about the controversy will bring an end to it.
Marija Blazanin, the Toronto-based independent organizer of the North American tour, released a statement from Perkovic saying that he has "always condemned the crimes of the Nazi regime that ruled parts of Croatia."
Blazanin did not immediately return several calls from the Star yesterday.
The Simon Wiesenthal Center, dedicated to fighting anti-Semitism, is among those who have expressed concern about Perkovic, who uses the stage name Thompson – for the American submachine gun he used while fighting for Croatia during the Yugoslav war in the 1990s.
Many of his songs "seem to have a positive message of patriotism and peace," said Mark Weitzman, a spokesperson for the centre. "But there's also an element that appears to glorify the regime that collaborated with the Nazis in World War II and that was responsible for thousands and thousands of deaths of Jews, Serbs and other Croats."
Nenad Milinkovic, a Serbian-American who's president of the board of a Serbian Orthodox church in Manhattan, also had harsh words for the singer.
"It's despicable that in this day and age, a neo-Nazi ultranationalist can glorify the actions of the Ustasha Nazi state of Croatia that murdered Serbs, Jews and Gypsies in Croatian death camps," he said.
Weitzman is urging Cardinal Edward Egan, the archbishop of New York, to cancel a concert scheduled for tomorrow in Manhattan.
Joseph Zwilling, a spokesperson for the New York archdiocese, said church officials were investigating.
Perkovic, 42, says his performances have been misinterpreted.
"I've had enough of the unjustified attacks!" he said after a June concert in the Croatian capital of Zagreb, that drew 50,000 fans. "I'm a musician not a politician. At my concerts I sing about love, God and the homeland – only about that and nothing else."
Thompson claims that he has never made the Ustasha salute and is just a patriotic Croatian performer.
His songs are accompanied by videos showing men dressed as soldiers and carrying weapons. One includes the patriotic slogan "Za dom – spremni!" which means "For the homeland – ready!" The phrase was used by the Ustasha, but also by patriotic Croats since at least the 1800s. Perkovic's tour is scheduled to take him to Cleveland, Chicago, Los Angeles and San Jose, Calif., in addition to Toronto and Vancouver.
Marko Perkovic was to perform in Toronto this weekend but controversy about Nazi references in his act has prompted Kool Haus to cancel show
A performance by a controversial Croatian rock star, scheduled for Sunday at the Kool Haus concert hall has been cancelled amid concerns his shows glorify the regime in Croatia that collaborated with the Nazis during World War II.
Marko Perkovic is popular in his homeland where his folk-inspired, heavy metal music fills concert venues. But critics say his fans sometimes use the Nazi salute during his shows and wear clothes styled after the uniforms of the Ustasha, Croatia's Nazi-linked government.
"It's the equivalent of people showing up wearing Nazi gear," said Len Rudner, national director of community relations for the Canadian Jewish Congress.
Others have criticized him directly for incorporating slogans used by the Ustasha regime and for referring to concentration camps where 90,000 Jews, Serbs and Gypsies were sent during the war.
"Lyrics that make reference to concentration camps and to throwing Serbs down a river, I consider that kind of problematic," said Rudner.
Rudner became aware of Perkovic in early October when members of Toronto's Serb community voiced concerns to the CJC over Perkovic's planned performances in Toronto and Vancouver.
Christina Vlahos, spokesperson for the Toronto venue said yesterday Kool Haus CEO Charlie Khabouth cancelled the show as soon as he was told about the controversy. The club had received no protests from local residents, but has since received a few emails in praise of the cancellation.
Vlahos said Kool Haus has been told the promoters were still selling tickets to Sunday's show and hoped publicity about the controversy will bring an end to it.
Marija Blazanin, the Toronto-based independent organizer of the North American tour, released a statement from Perkovic saying that he has "always condemned the crimes of the Nazi regime that ruled parts of Croatia."
Blazanin did not immediately return several calls from the Star yesterday.
The Simon Wiesenthal Center, dedicated to fighting anti-Semitism, is among those who have expressed concern about Perkovic, who uses the stage name Thompson – for the American submachine gun he used while fighting for Croatia during the Yugoslav war in the 1990s.
Many of his songs "seem to have a positive message of patriotism and peace," said Mark Weitzman, a spokesperson for the centre. "But there's also an element that appears to glorify the regime that collaborated with the Nazis in World War II and that was responsible for thousands and thousands of deaths of Jews, Serbs and other Croats."
Nenad Milinkovic, a Serbian-American who's president of the board of a Serbian Orthodox church in Manhattan, also had harsh words for the singer.
"It's despicable that in this day and age, a neo-Nazi ultranationalist can glorify the actions of the Ustasha Nazi state of Croatia that murdered Serbs, Jews and Gypsies in Croatian death camps," he said.
Weitzman is urging Cardinal Edward Egan, the archbishop of New York, to cancel a concert scheduled for tomorrow in Manhattan.
Joseph Zwilling, a spokesperson for the New York archdiocese, said church officials were investigating.
Perkovic, 42, says his performances have been misinterpreted.
"I've had enough of the unjustified attacks!" he said after a June concert in the Croatian capital of Zagreb, that drew 50,000 fans. "I'm a musician not a politician. At my concerts I sing about love, God and the homeland – only about that and nothing else."
Thompson claims that he has never made the Ustasha salute and is just a patriotic Croatian performer.
His songs are accompanied by videos showing men dressed as soldiers and carrying weapons. One includes the patriotic slogan "Za dom – spremni!" which means "For the homeland – ready!" The phrase was used by the Ustasha, but also by patriotic Croats since at least the 1800s. Perkovic's tour is scheduled to take him to Cleveland, Chicago, Los Angeles and San Jose, Calif., in addition to Toronto and Vancouver.
and of course U2 is the name of an american spy plane. Also it is quite a common English surname anyway and seems strange to see it surrounded by such dark paraphernalia. Anyone remember the Thompson Twins? 
