The Croatian delegation was headed by Frano Matušić, State Secretary for Political Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, who recalled that over 350 Croatian POWs had been held in the camp in the early 1990s.
"Today, we remember the sacrifice and suffering of the camp inmates in the context of the Serbian policy of territorial expansion," Matušić said.
"Today, Montenegro is our partner, a member of the NATO alliance and a candidate for EU membership, and we want to help it on the European path. It is in Croatia's interest that all Western Balkan countries become part of the European family. It is in our interest that we don't have Schengen on our borders, but more to the east of us. We will help Montenegro on that path as well," Matušić said.
Montenegrin Foreign Minister Ervin Ibrahimović recalled that Montenegro and Croatia had marked this date together for four years now, paying tribute to the victims of the Morinj camp.
"My presence here as Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister is proof that Montenegro is ready to face its past as the only right way in building good-neighbourly relations and a better future. I believe that together we are sending a strong message that we are ready, as two friendly countries, to improve our relations," Ibrahimović said.
Adrijan Vuksanović, the leader of the Croatian Civic Initiative (HGI), a political party of the Croats in Montenegro, said he was proud that the victims of the Morinj POW camp were commemorated in a dignified way.
"I am proud that the Croatian community in Montenegro actively participates in this, thus fostering the culture of remembrance. We cannot move on to the future unless we look back and process the past in the right way," Vuksanović said. "Unfortunately, in Montenegro there are also those questioning what happened in the Morinj camp. Our task and the task of pro-Western Montenegro is to respond to this in the right way so that this country can move forward."
The commemoration was also attended by former camp inmates, Dubrovnik-Neretva County Prefect Nikola Dobroslavić, Dubrovnik Mayor Mato Franković, and representatives of Croatian organisations in Montenegro.
Between 3 October 1991 and 18 August 1992, the Yugoslav People's Army (JNA) organised a centre for the reception of prisoners of war from Croatia in Morinj, known as the Morinj camp, where 292 people from the Dubrovnik region were held in inhumane conditions.
During a trial that opened in 2007 and ended in 2013, four JNA members were found guilty of war crimes against prisoners of war held in the camp. In addition, Montenegrin courts passed 154 rulings awarding compensation to the victims.