Gov't commemorates int'l remembrance day for victims of totalitarian ideologies

The Croatian government on Wednesday joined in commemorations of the international remembrance day for victims of totalitarian ideologies, specifically totalitarian communist regimes, Stalinism, Nazism and fascism. observed on 23 August.

23 August was chosen to coincide with the date of the signing of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, a 1939 non-aggression pact between the USSR and Nazi Germany which contained a protocol dividing Romania, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, and Finland into designated German and Soviet spheres of influence.The European Day of Remembrance for Victims of Stalinism and Nazism, known as the Black Ribbon Day in some countries. was designated by the European Parliament in 2008/2009 as "a Europe-wide Day of Remembrance for the victims of all totalitarian and authoritarian regimes, to be commemorated with dignity and impartiality."

According to a press release issued by the Croatian government, Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic and a few cabinet ministers lit candles in Zagreb's Mirogoj cemetery on Wednesday morning to pay tribute to victims of undemocratic regimes in the 20th century in Croatia.

"Shedding light on the truth, condemning systematic violations of fundamental human rights and paying tribute to the victims and their families are prerequisites for a responsible way of dealing with the past, and the Croatian society has no alternative to that. An unequivocal distancing from any totalitarianism, commemoration of victims of totalitarian system, and education of young generations can help us to build a society free of ideological and societal divisions so as to be focused on key challenges facing Croatia in the 21st century," Plenkovic was quoted as saying.

In 2011, Croatia's parliament declared 23 August remembrance day for victims of totalitarian and autocratic regimes.

In the same vein, in February this year, the government decided to establish a council for dealing with the past.

The main task of the Council is to try to come up with a guideline that will ensure a long-term easing and reconciliation of different, most often extremist and uncritical views, and prevent their transfer onto younger generations, according to the council's chairman and the president of the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts (HAZU), Zvonko Kusic.

The Council is entrusted with defining comprehensive recommendations for coming to terms with the past and legally regulating the use and display of symbols and insignia of undemocratic regimes.

Text: Hina

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