April 10, 2021 - A wreath-laying ceremony was held in Split on Saturday to commemorate 30 years since the formation of the 9th Croatian Defence Force (HOS) Battalion, with participants using the Ustaša salute "For the Homeland Ready".
The unit's wartime commander, Colonel Marko Skejo, defended the salute in his speech saying that with this rallying cry HOS had fought for the freedom of the Croatian state.
"The antifascist hysteria of red fascists will not and cannot change the fact that in 1991, with the rallying cry 'For the Homeland Ready', HOS fought for the freedom of the Croatian state. That state was destroyed by Tito's Yugoslav People's Army under the criminal red star which is so dear to them," Skejo said.
"To antifascists, the Croatian coat of arms is a fascist symbol, patriotism is fascism, and the criminal Tito is a model to them," he added. He concluded his speech with the salute "God and the Croats!"
Members of the association of the 9th HOS Battalion were wearing patches with "For the Homeland Ready" written on them.
Speaking to the press after his speech, Skejo said that the 9th HOS Battalion was a victorious unit like all other units of the Croatian Army.
Asked to comment on today's statement by the Social Democratic Party's candidate for Mayor of Split, Ante Franić, that the Ustasha salute "For the Homeland Ready" should be banned, Skejo said that this was "a sacred Croatian salute".
"'For the Homeland Ready' is to the Croatian people what 'Praised be Jesus and Mary' is to the Church," he said.
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