Summary
The Croatian Liberation Movement (Croatian: Hrvatski oslobodilački pokret, HOP) is a minor far-right political party founded in 1956 in Buenos Aires, Argentina, by Ante Pavelić, poglavnik of the Independent State of Croatia and its ruling party Ustashe – Croatian Revolutionary Movement from 1941 to 1945, and some Croatian emigrants.[1][2]
Croatian Liberation Movement Hrvatski oslobodilački pokret | |
|---|---|
 | |
| President | Ljubomir Vlašić |
| Founder | Ante Pavelić |
| Founded | 8 June 1956 |
| Registered | 9 October 1991 |
| Preceded by | Ustaše |
| Headquarters | Zagreb, Croatia |
| Membership (2010) | 650[1] |
| Ideology | Croatian nationalism Anti-communism Euroscepticism Neo-fascism |
| Political position | Far-right |
| International affiliation | World League for Freedom and Democracy |
| Sabor | 0 / 151 |
| European Parliament | 0 / 11 |
| County Prefects | 0 / 21 |
| Mayors | 0 / 128 |
| Party flag | |
 | |
Until the 1970s HOP was a Croatian emigrant organization with more than 80 percent of its members made up of people who had been politically active in some way in the 1941–1945 Independent State of Croatia regime. Originally led by Ante Pavelić,[1] the former poglavnik, other signatories of HOP's first foundation charter included former Independent State of Croatia government officials such as Džafer Kulenović and Vjekoslav Vrančić, which caused it to be considered a successor of the Ustashe, the Croatian fascist movement which ran the Independent State of Croatia.
The stated goal of the organization was the re-establishment of the Independent State of Croatia in its World War II borders, encompassing most of the territory of present-day Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, which was at the time of HOP's foundation part of SFR Yugoslavia. Although considered by outsiders to be the most radical Croatian nationalist organization, HOP officially described itself as an anti-communist organization committed to democratic political means.
After the collapse of communism in Yugoslavia in the early 1990s, the organization's headquarters were moved from Buenos Aires to Zagreb and it was officially registered as a political party in Croatia in October 1991.[1]
Following registration, HOP ran in the August 1992 parliamentary election with little success. It has remained a marginal political force ever since. Their only other election campaign came six years later for the 2007 election, in which they also fared poorly.
Today, HOP functions as a minor political party in Croatia without holding any seats in the Croatian Parliament or at any other government level. The organization has active branches in Canada (in Toronto, Winnipeg, and Vancouver), and Australia (in Melbourne and Sydney).
References edit
- ^ a b c d "Croatian Liberation Movement" (PDF) (in Croatian). Croatian Information-Documentation Referral Agency. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 January 2017. Retrieved 29 April 2012.
- ^ Sabrina P. Ramet, Serbia, Croatia and Slovenia at Peace and at War: Selected Writings, 1983-2007, (Transaction Publishers, 2008), 23.