Homeland Movement files complaint against Kaufland

The Homeland Movement has reported the Kaufland grocery store chain to the State Inspectorate and the Croatian Language Council over advertisements which prominently feature Asian and South Asian languages. 

MP Ivica Kukavica said that his party, a partner in the government's ruling coalition, understood that Kaufland had no obvious malicious intent.

"We also understand that this foreign retail chain wants to make a profit. However, we object to the way in which the Croatian language is marginalized in relation to Hindi. We do not object to the advertising itself, but it is absolutely imperative for the law to be respected," said Kukavica.

SDP President Siniša Hajdaš Dončić described the situation as "copy-paste outrage from the so-called far right".

At the same time, the opposition leader said he was intrigued by the fact that many people who support far right beliefs are actually large business owners who rely on cheap migrant labour.

"It's a circus," he said. "That's the only way I can describe it."

Meanwhile, speaking on behalf of the ruling HDZ, Culture Minister Nina Obuljen Koržinek described Croatia as a country that has traditionally welcomed visitors and tourists alike.

Furthermore, she added that over the past few years, Croatia had become a destination country for immigrants.

"In this way, if advertisements or messages promote a product or service in a language of our many visitors or someone who works in Croatia I think that is absolutely fine," said the minister.

For their part, the German hyper-market chain released a message saying the advertisements in question referred to the expansion of their assortment of Asian products.

"Namely, at Kaufland we offer an average of around 19,000 different products so that every customer can find what they are looking for."