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Croatia. HSP Hrvatska stranka prava lapel insignia. Croatian Party of Rights. 1991.
The Croatian Party of Rights (in Croatian: Hrvatska stranka prava, abbreviated HSP) is an extra-parliamentary far-right nationalist political party in Croatia. The word «right(s)» in its name refers to the legal and moral reasons for Croatia’s autonomy, independence, and sovereignty.
A group of people re-established the Croatian Party of Rights on February 25, 1990. Dobroslav Paraga, its first president, recognized historical links with the original Party of Rights. Party membership grew rapidly, reaching 18,000 by the end of 1990 and exceeding 100,000 by the fall of 1991, with thousands of supporters attending the party’s rallies and protests.
The appeal and political strength of the HSP reached its peak during 1991-92, when the Croatian Defense Forces, a military wing of the HSP, took on major responsibility for the defense of Croatia. Paraga was the defender of the Croatian will for freedom and independence. He harshly and openly criticized Franjo Tuđman for his cooperation with Serbia and the conflict with Bosnians in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The HSP used the writings of Ante Starčević and ideologists of the Ustasha, such as Mile Budak, to argue that Tuđman was not radical enough in defending the Croatian state.
After the fall of Vukovar, during which the leaders of the HSP and HOS were imprisoned for «terrorist activities» and «obstructing the democratically elected government,» Paraga and the Croatian Party of Rights appeared before a military court accused of insubordination. They were subsequently released.
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