The City of Rijeka removed the HOS graffiti from the wall alongside Osnovna škola "Ivan Ražan" in Škurinje this week. The move prompted a sharp reaction from Marin Miletić, MP, who claims that the mayor, Iva Rožić, has broken a promise made to supporters.
The civic initiative 'Streets Without Hate' had previously warned the mayor about the Ustaše graffiti on the overpass leading to the school's courtyard, as reported by Fiuman.hr. The city's Department for the Communal System, urban planning, safety, mobility, and the environment, responded this month that the unauthorised graffiti on public land would be removed 'as soon as possible'. The removal, they stated, had to wait for a police inspection, and was carried out mid-week.
Miletić posted on social media that he was ashamed that he had urged Rijeka residents to vote for Rožić. According to his claims, the mayor had given her word that the murals of the fan groups and the Croatian coat of arms with the first white field would not be touched.
'I am ashamed that I asked people to vote for Iva Rožić! I will never again guarantee anyone from outside the Party of Freedom and Democracy (HS)', Miletić wrote in a post which was also picked up by N1.
The MP believes that the image on the wall is a legitimate emblem of the Homeland War and that the city authorities' decision is an insult to veterans. On the wall in Škurinje, he says, the coats of arms of the units from the Homeland War in which Rijeka residents participated are depicted. Milević compared the current mayor's policy to that of her predecessor, Vjekoslav Obersnel, noting that he had not removed HOS symbols either.
The City of Rijeka explained the removal by citing municipal regulations: the graffiti in question was an unauthorised addition to the public surface alongside the primary school.
