CENTRAL ANTI-FASCIST STRUGGLE DAY CEREMONY HELD NEAR SISAK

BREZOVICA, June 22 (Hina) - Anti-Fascist Struggle Day was marked throughout Croatia on Thursday with wreath-laying ceremonies at sites commemorating the victims of fascism and the central ceremony took place in the Brezovica forest near Sisak. On June 22 1941, a group of Sisak Croats, led by Vlado Janic-Capo, in the Brezovica forest formed the first partisan unit, the first organised anti-fascist unit in Croatia and occupied Europe. #L# Delegations of the President of the Republic, Government, and the Croatian National Parliament laid wreaths at the Monument to the First Partisan Unit. Wreaths were also laid by representatives of Sisak-Moslavina County, the City of Sisak, the Sisak Jewish community, the Association of Croatian Anti-Fascist Fighters (SABH), and political parties. A member of the delegation of the President of the Republic, retired general Martin Spegelj, told Hina the formation of the Sisak unit had marked the beginning of a strong anti-fascist movement in Croatia. That movement had a dominant role in relation to other republics of the former Yugoslavia throughout the entire World War II, and the Sisak unit was the first organised anti-fascist unit in the then occupied Europe, Spegelj said. Croatia can be proud of its anti-fascism and that is our ticket to European associations, which consist of countries with anti- fascist tradition and orientation, he said. First Deputy Prime Minister Goran Granic said anti-fascism represented the victory of civilisation over evil. Today's Croatia must integrate into its policy through legislation and other activities the struggle against any form of totalitarianism, he said. "All totalitarian ideologies have been defeated and the Croatian state and authority, and I believe most Croatian citizens too, will take a very clear stand toward any ideology which leads into a conflict with the individual and his freedom," Granic said. Asked about neo-fascist occurrences, Granic said that cases in which persons and symbols related to totalitarian systems and fascism were extolled served for the promotion of people who craved for public attention and were unable to attract it with anything else. "The Government will always be very clear in the condemnation of such occurrences, but I believe they are of no special significance and cannot jeopardise Croatia's democracy, freedom and independence," Granic said. War Veterans' Minister Ivica Pancic also gave a statement on the importance of the anti-fascist struggle. Anti-fascism is a universal value of the western civilised and democratic world and it was a mistake to equalise it for 45 years with the communist ideology and to celebrate and mark it as such, Pancic said. "The Croatian people suffered a lot for those 45 years, as they did in the Homeland War. Today's Croatia was established in trenches in the Homeland War by the descendants of the members of both ideologies and that is where the reconciliation of all Croats took place," Pancic said. The first Sisak unit had 77 members. As it was made up mostly of Croats, the unit fought mostly on Croatian territory. Thirty-eight of its members lived to see the end of World War II. According to data by the Association of Croatian Anti-Fascist Fighters, more than 500,000 Croatian citizens actively participated in the anti-fascist movement. Some 230,000 people from Croatia fought in the National-Liberation Army (NOV), and 52 brigades, 17 divisions and five corps were formed on Croatian territory. For the sake of comparison, the NOV had 11 corps on the entire Yugoslav territory. Anti-Fascist Struggle Day has been marked since the establishment of the independent Croatian state. In the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY), Anti-Fascist Struggle Day in Croatia was marked on July 27 (Fighter's Day) to commemorate the first bullet fired in the village of Srb, although the formation of the Sisak unit had taken place more than a month before that event. (hina) jn rml