ZAGREB CORPS 58TH ANNIVERSARY ZAGREB, Jan 19 (Hina) - Croatian President Stjepan Mesic on Saturday said at a ceremony marking the 58th anniversary of the 10th Zagreb Corps that Croatia's anti-fascist struggle, with the defence war in
1991 and the state's independence, left the biggest mark in Croatia's history in the 20th century.
ZAGREB, Jan 19 (Hina) - Croatian President Stjepan Mesic on
Saturday said at a ceremony marking the 58th anniversary of the 10th
Zagreb Corps that Croatia's anti-fascist struggle, with the
defence war in 1991 and the state's independence, left the biggest
mark in Croatia's history in the 20th century. #L#
The Zagreb Corps played a crucial role in the liberation of north-
western Croatia, as well as the entire Homeland, said Mesic, who was
greeted by the fighters of the People's Liberation War (during
W.W.II) with a roaring welcome. Today's commemoration also marked
last year's 60st anniversary of the anti-fascist movement in
Croatia.
The people's liberation struggle and the anti-fascist movement
placed the Republic of Croatia among victorious countries, to a
position in which it still belongs today, Mesic said. He described
the year 1991 as a new challenge and stressed the traditions of the
anti-fascist fighters, their just and courageous fighting, had
been reflected in the Homeland Defence War.
Joining the EU and NATO will be a crown of Croatia's efforts to
equally join democratic courses of the modern world. To achieve
this goal, it is necessary to reach a national consensus on the
strategic reference points of Croatia's development policy, the
president stressed.
Croatia's turbulent and rich history will always be a part of our
legacy and identity, Mesic said, stressing that one should not be
ashamed of their wrong estimates and bad moves from the past, but
rather face them and learn from them.
The Ustashi movement, as a part of Croatia's historic reality,
failed because it did not have the support of the Croatian people,
which clearly opted for anti-fascism. Mesic asserted that
equalising the anti-fascist movement with bolshevism was a result
of ignorance or purposeful misinterpretation.
He recalled that since the first days of occupation, Zagreb had
organised a strong anti-fascist movement and every fifth resident
actively participated in the People's Liberation Movement and the
People's Liberation Struggle. He said that the 10th Zagreb Corps
saw more than 20,000 fighters in its ranks during W.W.II, mostly
Croats, but also Serbs and members of other nationalities. More
than 7,000 fighters had been killed.
Speaking at the ceremony were also the head of the Committee for the
Corps's Tradition, General Josip Skupnjak, president of the
Alliance of Croatian Anti-fascist Fighters (SAB), Ivan Fumic,
deputy president Kresimir Piskulic, and the president of the
Slovene anti-fascist fighters' association, Vlado Kocijan, who
stressed that 60 years ago there had been no open issues between
Croatia and Slovenia, and fighters always were and always will be
united.
SAB deputy president Piskulic stressed the Alliance denounced any
kind of crime, and that it advocated that the rights of veterans of
W.W.II be equalised with those of veterans of the Homeland War. The
Alliance supports the act by President Mesic who apologised to the
Jewish people for crimes that had been committed during the
Independent State of Croatia (1941-1945), Piskulic concluded.
The ceremony was attended by the most senior officials of the
government, state and city, the Armed Forces, and representatives
of allies in W.W.II, representatives of Homeland War associations,
Croatian war veterans and non-government organisations.
(hina) lml