Controversy
In 2009, Bosnian and Croatian people protested her concerts in Sarajevo on 30 May and in Zagreb on 13 June. The reason behind the protests were pictures printed of her in 1993 during the Bosnian War wearing the uniform of the Army of Republika Srpska in her besieged hometown, Brčko. The Army of Republika Srpska were Serbs who were ethnically cleansing Bosnian Muslim and Croat populations. That combined with the fact that she herself was a Muslim woman, born in Bosnia, who married a Serb, moved to Serbia, gave her two children Serbian names and allegedly legally changed her Muslim name "Fahreta" to the Serb name "Jelena" (which she denied). Croatian and Bosnian protesters were angered that she was performing in their countries and called her a "traitor" and "Chetnik". The concerts went ahead as scheduled with no incident and she claimed the uniform was from the set of a 1990 music video for her song "Tamba Lamba", in which she wore a similar uniform while filming at a zoo in Kenya for the movie, Hajde da se volimo 3. Although, when compared side by side, the uniforms are different. Brena also claimed she was only in Brčko in 1993 to rescue her parents.
Read more about this topic: Lepa Brena
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