Selak’s Benčić Statement and Danube Wreath Incident: A Covered-Up Political Stunt

On Sunday, Sandra Benčić laid a wreath in the Danube in Vukovar for all the civilian victims of the war, after Milorad Pupovac was unable to do so. This action was meant to acknowledge and regret the suffering of all those who experienced the war, and to call for punishment for those responsible in order to build lasting peace. However, their move was criticized by Most who accused Benčić of nurturing a typical Yugoslav complex and being a bigger Pupovac than Pupovac himself.

According to them, Benčić’s action represents external humanism that is more dehumanizing than callousness because it serves to give a sense of superiority to the one making the gesture. They believe that recognizing the suffering and sacrifice of Croatia for the victory in the defensive war should come before recognizing the suffering of the Serbs. They also criticized the timing of Benčić’s action, saying it was extremely inappropriate to throw a wreath on that day without acknowledging the specific civilian victims that the official Column of Remembrance does not recognize.

Overall, they labeled Benčić’s move as a quasi-leftist move that offends all citizens of Croatia and serves as an expressed form of callousness. They concluded by stating that Pupovac is bigger than Pupovac himself for making such a gesture.