Melita Mulić, Presidential Envoy, Attends Anti-Fascist Struggle Day Commemoration

Melita Mulić, the President of the Republic’s envoy and Adviser for Human Rights and Civil Society, took part in the commemoration of Anti-Fascist Struggle Day in the Brezovica Forest near Sisak. The ceremony was held at the site where, on 22 June 1941, the first partisan detachment in Croatia – and the first anti-fascist unit in this part of Europe – was established.

At the monument in Brezovica Memorial Park, the President of the Republic’s envoy, Melita Mulić, laid a flower in honour of the beginning of the national liberation struggle. In her address, she emphasized that Brezovica and the date 22 June 1941 symbolically encapsulate the history of the anti-fascist struggle in Croatia as a key milestone in our historical path toward national freedom and state independence.

The success of the anti-fascist struggle and the mass resistance to fascism, she added, would not have been possible if driven solely by ideological motives. “It stemmed, above all, from our tradition of freedom, but also from the centuries-old foundations of Croatian statehood. Through resistance to fascism and Nazism, through resistance to occupation, the Croatian people – together with Serbs and many members of other nations for whom Croatia is home – demonstrated their commitment to this great legacy,” said Melita Mulić, Adviser to the President of the Republic for Human Rights and Civil Society.

Alongside the President’s envoy, the ceremony was attended by representatives of the Prime Minister and the Speaker of the Croatian Parliament, members of the Union of Anti-Fascist Fighters and Anti-Fascists of Croatia, the mayors of Sisak and Zagreb, and many citizens. The cultural and artistic programme featured performances by the Ivan Goran Kovačić Academic Choir and the Croatian Army Symphonic Wind Orchestra.

PHOTO: Office of the President of the Republic of Croatia / Dario Andrišek