ZAGREB, Aug 23, 2020 – On the occassion of the European Day of Remembrance for the victims of all totalitarian and authoritarian regimes – Nazism, fascism and communism – and in memory of the victims of the communist massacre in Macelj, a holy mass was said on Sunday in a church in Macelj.
The mass was followed by a commemoration in the graveyard next to the church in the northern Croatian village close to the border with Slovenia.
Thousands of victims died in Macelj, and with the 1,250 exhumed victims, including 21 priests, it is so far the biggest site of Communist crimes in Croatia.
Damir Borovcak, vice-president of the Macelj 1945 NGO, which organised the commemoration this year again, recalled the NGO’s principle: “No to hate, no to revenge, we only want the truth available to the public.”
He said that after the 1992 exhumations, the search around Macelj forests and mountains finally resumed, after 28 long years, during the term of the previous government.
“In May this year 82 new victims were found,” he said.
Zdravko Cepo, president of the Macelj 1945 NGO, said that there were many graves around Macelj that needed to be thoroughly searched.
“We hope that we will manage to do that, that we will have the time and resources to find them and give them all a dignified burial,” he said, adding that the search will continue in cooperation with the Veterans’ Affairs Ministry.
As a delegate of Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandrokovic, MP Zdravka Busic also attended the commemoration. She called the Macelj area a sacred place that deserved to be respected and revered.
“Civilians, priests, nuns were killed here, and you see how many graves, mass graves there are here, still hidden in these forests. But let us be grateful for everything that the Croatian government has been doing, we have had an exhumation this summer, and I hope we are on the right path, a path of reconciliation,” said Busic, undescoring that she hoped everyone will realise that every victim is equal.
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