ZAGREB, Nov 13 (Hina) - The exiled aldermen of Vukovar held a press conference on Wednesday to acquaint the public with the schedule of events for marking the fifth anniversary of the fall of Vukovar and the exile of its
citizens.
ZAGREB, Nov 13 (Hina) - The exiled aldermen of Vukovar held a press
conference on Wednesday to acquaint the public with the schedule of
events for marking the fifth anniversary of the fall of Vukovar and
the exile of its citizens.#L#
During the three months of fighting in the winter of 1991,
JNA's heavy artillery razed to the ground the besieged town of
Vukovar; the old baroque city nucleus, churches, museum, the house
in which the Nobel Prize winner Lavoslav Ruzicka was born, the
library with 90,000 volumes, the Bauer collection of paintings,
three grammar and six primary schools, four cemeteries and about
90% of all other buidlings in Vukovar simply disappeared in
explosions and flames. On November 19/20 1991, the JNA and Serbian
paramilitary troops finally entered Vukovar and immediately started
with killings, deportations and forced displacement of its
inhabitants. So the old town of Vukovar, inhabited by about 45,000
people, simply disappeared. (Data compiled from Mass Killing and
Genocide in Croatia 1991/92: A Book of Evidence, Zagreb 1992).
The anniversary will be marked by the following events:
An exhibition entitled "The Franciscan Monastery and the St.
Philip and Jacob Church - Heritage and Reconstruction" will be
opened on Sunday, November 17, in Zagreb. The exhibition includes
ten pictures salvaged from the Franciscan monastery in Vukovar and
restored at the Restoration Institute in Zagreb.
The exhibition will be accompanied by an exhaustive catalogue
showing the treasures kept at the Vukovar Franciscan Monastery
before the war.
The exhibition on the Vukovar Franciscan Monastery will open a
cycle of exhibition entitled "Vukovar - Preparing to Return,"
organised by the Vukovar City Museum in exile.
On Monday, Nov 18, wreaths will be laid at the Homeland Altar
and at the feet of the main cross at the Zagreb cemetery.
A commemoration will be held in front of the Wall of Suffering
erected outside the UNPROFOR seat in Zagreb. Masses will be
celebrated across Croatia.
The Vukovar aldermen called on citizens to honour the fallen
citizens of Vukovar by lighting candles in their windows at 19:00
hours on Nov 18.
(hina) jn as
131909 MET nov 96