Composed of frugal ascetics and
avaricious operators, merciless romanticists and hard nosed
pragmatists, murderous sadists and refined intellectuals,
nationalist Croats and Serb-haters who had no coherent national
agenda bar the mass slaughter of the Serbs. Thus, it was a social
movement of the dispossessed, a cesspool of discontent and rage, of
aggression too long suppressed but never sublimated, of justified
social and political grievances irradiated by racism, national
chauvinism, militarism and sadism. A grassroots reaction turned
cancerous, led by a second hand, third rate Hitler-clone. A
terrorist organization displaying the trappings of a state in the
making. This is not to say that it lacked popular support. Tensions
ran so high between Serbs and Croats that daily brawls broke in pubs
and restaurants, trains and public places between Serb soldiers and
Croat citizens in Croatia. The Ustashe fed on real friction, were
charged by escalating tensions, mushroomed on growing violence.
Prince Paul, who acted as regent for 12 years old Peter II,
permitted the operation of political parties but did not reinstate
parliament. All this time, a Yugoslav opposition of democratic
forces included Croat as well as Serb intellectuals and wannabe
politicians.
Pages:
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73