President Milanović in Pazin: Battle for Istria Was National Movement
The President of the Republic Zoran Milanović attended a ceremony marking the proclamation of the Pazin Decision and the 40th anniversary of the construction of the Unification and Freedom Memorial Home. At that event he underlined the importance of the proclamation of the Pazin Decision stating that they signified a major victory and triumph of the Croatian nation and something worth fighting for.
“Nearly eighty years ago Istria resolved to be a part of Croatia, to unify with the Croatian homeland. Then, in those first days of September 1943, it was something longed for, but so remote. It was evident and expected that the war would end with an Allied victory, no one knew, but felt it. There was a long way to go, the path was difficult, it lasted two years, the same as for Croatia after declaring independence on 8 October 1991”, President Milanović stated in his address. Comparing these two events, he said that from Croatia’s declaration of independence to international recognition, several months of bloody fighting, destruction, war, crimes, and Vukovar happened. “It was just on 15 January 1992 that Croatia could finally breathe as a free state. A contribution was also made by the Croatian Istrian soldiers, members of a brigade founded exactly thirty years ago. This also illustrated the way Istrians think today, the same way as nearly eighty years ago”, President Milanović noted.
Speaking about the events of eighty years ago, the President underlined the role of Dalmatian fighters in Istria. “The strike force in Istria was the 8th Dalmatian Corps. They were fighters, the strongest part of the armed forces of that time, the national-liberation army, fighters who already then had experience. They put an end to the war here, liberating the Croatian land they scarcely knew, to which they never returned. Besides Istrians, hundreds of Dalmatians lost their lives here, and I believe that they deserve our recollection and a small memorial”, President Milanović stated.
The fight for Istria was primarily a national movement with a lot of nationalism President Milanović said, and added that the other side cannot be called fascist. He emphasized that there is no equal sign between Italian nationalism and fascism. “It was a national movement, nationalistic to a certain extent, and only as such it could have rounded up the church and the most noble, most dedicated priests from the ranks of the Croatian people, antifascists, communists as the organizers, but only as part of that story. For this reason it was a major victory and triumph of the Croatian people and something worth fighting for”, President Milanović said in concluding his address.
Speaking about the significance of the proclamation of the Pazin Decision in addition to President Milanović was historian Slaven Bertoša, President of the Association of Antifascist Fighters of Pazin Milan Antolović, Curator of the Museum of Pazin Ivan Smoljan, Mayor of the Town of Pazin Suzana Jašić, County Prefect of Istrian County Boris Miletić and the State Secretary of the Central State Office for Public Procurement and envoy of the Prime Minister Ivan Bubić.
Accompanying President Milanović at the ceremony marking the proclamation of the Pazin Decision and the 40th anniversary of the construction of the Unification and Freedom Memorial Home in Pazin were the Head of the Cabinet of the President Bartol Šimunić and the Adviser to the President for Human Rights and Civil Society Melita Mulić.
PHOTO: Office of the President of the Republic of Croatia / Ana Marija Katić