The event was held in the Zagreb City Hall on Saturday to commemorate the 65th anniversary of the start of the anti-fascist rebellion and the 62nd anniversary of the establishment of the Zagreb Corps of Anti-Fascist Fighters.
The truth about the immeasurable contribution of Croatian anti-fascists to the establishment of the present-day independent Croatia must never sink into oblivion, just as horrors committed by fascists, so as to prevent the revision of Croatia's history, Mesic said at the commemoration which was held under his auspices in the packed hall.
The anti-fascist resistance to fascism has been written on golden pages of Croatia's recent history, and thanks to anti-fascists Croatia was sided with the victorious allies after World War II, Mesic said.
When we cherish ideals which Croatian anti-fascists lived up to, we show to our young people that we can appreciate genuine values and recognise endeavors of those who were ready to sacrifice their lives for them, Mesic said.
"We shall never forget or abandon ideals of anti-fascist fighters. We shall never forget that we owe a debt of gratitude to you and we shall not allow that you slide into oblivion either though devastation of your monuments of being neglectful to your living comrades," Mesic said drawing thunderous applause.
Kresimir Piskulic, the leader of the Croatian Association of Anti-Fascist Fighters whose acronym is SAB, recalled that in 1941, smaller illegal groups and units of Partisans began with resistance. Three years later, the 20,000-strong 10th Zagreb anti-fascist corps was established.
Piskulic said that SAB members supported Croatia's efforts to join the European Union for the sake of better life of its citizens. The association promotes peace, the rule of law and tolerance, and condemns any form of xenophobia and hatred against which its members had also fought, he added.