President Milanović Takes Part in Unveiling of Restored Monument to Victims of El Shatt “Motherland”
The President of the Republic Zoran Milanović took part today on the island of Drvenik Veli in the unveiling of a restored monument to the victims of El Shatt “Majka Domovina” (Motherland) on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the repatriation of war refugees from El Shatt and the 81st anniversary of the liberation of Dalmatia. The unveiling ceremony of the restored monument, stone plaque with the names of the deceased members of the refugee movement was held under the auspices of the President of the Republic.
“The story of El Shatt is a deeply intimate Dalmatia thing, an epic about which little was known outside Dalmatia at the time. This story is special, Dalmatian, and at that time, which had very few beautiful stories and even fewer with a happy ending – I am talking about the Second World War – this story had a somewhat happy ending. From the beginning, it was conducted in an organized and smart way, it was known where one was going, it was known that there was no chaos or terror there. And after two years, people mostly returned to their homes in Croatia, to our Dalmatia”, President Milanović stated at the ceremony.
The decision to let thousands of civilians flee was the right one, he added, as demonstrated by the events that followed, which show what would have happened to the people if they had stayed. “The people of Dalmatia had gone through a lot with the Italians, and the arrival of the Nazis foresaw great evil,” the President continued, recalling that shortly after, the Nazis had liquidated over 1,500 civilians from the foothills of Kamešnica in just two days. “It was a time of evil and death, a time when smart decisions were made. That is why it is not just a story about emotions and good organization, but remains an epic, a deeply intimate Dalmatian story,” President Milanović said, recalling that he himself, as Head of state, went to El Shatt during his official visit to Egypt and visited the monument that stands there, which he called “Mother Dalmatian”, as the monument is called in Dalmatia.
Ahead of the unveiling ceremony of the restored monument to the victims of El Shatt “Motherland”, wreaths were laid and candles were lit in memory of the deceased members of the refugee movement. President Milanović was joined at the wreath-laying ceremony by the Head of the Office of the President of the Republic, Orsat Miljenić; the Head of the Cabinet of the President, Bartol Šimunić; the Adviser to the President for Human Rights and Civil Society, Melita Mulić; and the Adviser to the President of the Republic for Local and Regional Self-Government Relations, Nikša Peronja.
PHOTO: Office of the President of the Republic of Croatia / Filip Glas