Delegates of the President of the Republic Ivica Olujić and Bartol Šimunić Participate in the Commemoration of the Day of Remembrancefor the Victims of the Homeland War in Škabrnja
On the occasion of the Day of Remembrance for the Victims of the Homeland War and the Day of Remembrance for the Victims of Vukovar and Škabrnja, the delegates of the President of the Republic and Commander in Chief of the Croatian Armed Forces – the Adviser to the President for Defense, Ivica Olujić, and the Head of the Cabinet of the President, Bartol Šimunić – participated in the commemoration of the 34th anniversary of the suffering of Škabrnja.
Škabrnja, along with Vukovar, is a symbol of the suffering of Croatia during the Homeland War. On 18 November 1991, 43 civilians and 15 Croatian defenders were killed and butchered in Škabrnja. Until its liberation in Operation Storm in 1995, 86 people were killed in Škabrnja.
During the commemoration, a joint wreath was laid on behalf of all the participants at the Memorial to the Mass Grave by a delegation of the Community of Associations of Croatian Civilian Victims of the Homeland War. Following the wreath-laying at the Memorial to the Mass Grave and holy mass in the Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the delegates of the President of the Republic joined the procession that departed from Dr. Franjo Tuđman Square to the Central Cross and the Memorial to the Victims of the Homeland War in St. Luke’s cemetery.
At the Central Cross and the Memorial to the Victims of the Homeland War in St. Luke’s cemetery, the names of the Croatian defenders and civilians perished and killed were read, and wreaths were laid and candles were lit.
Present at the laying of the wreaths of the President of the Republic and Commander in Chief of the Croatian Armed Forces, in addition to the delegates of the President of the Republic were the Commander of the Croatian Army, Major General Blaž Beretin; the Commander of the Croatian Navy, Rear Admiral Damir Dojkić; the Commander of the Croatian Air Force, Colonel Krešimir Ražov; the Head of the Operations Directorate of the General Staff of the Croatian Armed Forces, Brigadier General Ivan Raos; the Commander of the Support Command, Colonel Mile Vukičević; the Head of the Logistics Directorate, Colonel Milan Slavica; the Commander of the Personnel Management Centre, Colonel Ilija Pašalić; the Commander of the Intelligence Regiment, Colonel Željko Perić; and the Deputy Commander of the Croatian Defense Academy, Colonel Damir Stručić.
PHOTO: Office of the President of the Republic of Croatia / Tomislav Bušljeta