Daughter of Pavelic's assassin gets Serbian passport, citizenship

BELGRADE - Serbian Minister of Labour, Employment and Veteran and Social Affairs Nikola Selakovic on Tuesday awarded a Serbian passport and citizenship to Marija Jovovic, daughter of Blagoje Jovovic, the assassin of Ante Pavelic, who was the leader of the Independent State of Croatia, the WWII-era pro-Nazi puppet state.

Selakovic told Jovovic he was honoured that she, as a daughter of Blagoje Jovovic, had always been "one of us."

"Marija made it her task to learn Serbian well, and we are talking in Serbian now. She has wrestled from oblivion the memories of her father, an incredible figure in our history and a man who, for a long time, was unknown in Serbia and across the territories where the Serbs live. That is why I think a great injustice has been put right in this way," Selakovic said.

He said he hoped Marija's brother and two sisters would soon get Serbian passports, too.

"This citizenship awarded by Serbia today also represents a recognition to Blagoje Jovovic as one of the greatest Serbian heroes who will forever remain in the hearts of the Serbs. One million souls (of Serbs, Jews and Roma killed by Pavelic's regime), one million martyrs from the Independent State of Croatia, are today with us, and we must always pray for them," Jovovic said.

Born in Kosic, Montenegro, in 1922, Blagoje Jovovic shot Pavelic in Argentina on April 10, 1957, after which the Independent State of Croatia leader fled to Spain, where he died of wounds inflicted by gunshots fired by Jovovic.