President attended a memorial service in Maribor in Slovenia.
“I came to pay tribute to all Croats and other victims of mass murders committed by the communist regime after World War II. Each victim deserves sympathy, and today is the day we remember them in peace and with dignity. The historical truth must be determined because it is a pledge for the future”, said Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović at the cemetery in Maribor in Slovenia, during a funeral for 800 exhumed victims whose bodies were found at Huda Jama, where they were buried 70 years ago, reports Večernji List on October 27, 2016.
Croatian President was joined by her Slovenian colleague Borut Pahor and about a thousand people. Among them was Željko Glasnović, a member of Croatian Parliament who is one of the main proponents of lustration of members of communist regime. “This is one of the first steps towards the discovery of communist crimes. This is part of the lustration process, which is necessary because we lived in a country that had systematically falsified history. It is unfortunate that every civilized country has a commission to investigate war crimes, except Croatia. Just in Slovenia about 150,000 people were killed and buried in 700 mass graves. Just in Zagreb County there are still 60,000 buried victims and I do not know how it is possible that no one is talking about it. It is sad and scary”, said Glasnović.
One of the attendees was Vesna Teršelić, from the Documenta Association. “It is our duty to enable dignified burial to victims after 70 years. This is part of an important process for them and their families, as well as for both countries, Croatia and Slovenia, which should undertake all the necessary steps to investigate the fate of the victims”, said Teršelić.
Huda Jama is a mass grave in which communists buried alive more than 3,000 prisoners. It is one of a number of execution sites and graves of Croatian soldiers and civilians killed in Slovenia in May and June 1945, shortly after the end of World War II. At Huda Jama, the Slovenian national commission found remains of 778 killed persons without gunshot wounds, so it is presumed they were buried alive. Later it turned out that the number of victims was much higher, reaching several thousands.
It is expected that later during the day the site will also be visited by Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković and Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Davor Ivo Stier. The delegation of Parliament will be led by Speaker Božo Petrov and Deputy Speakers Željko Reiner and Milijan Brkić.
