Zagreb - Croatian Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandroković and delegations of the government and the Office of the President on Friday laid wreaths at the Jewish section of Zagreb's central Mirogoj ceremony to mark International Holocaust Remembrance Day.
Jandroković said that by marking International Holocaust Remembrance Day "we are commemorating the six million people -- men, women and children -- who were killed or persecuted simply because they were Jewish, as well as members of other minority groups who were persecuted because of their race, religion, nationality or political beliefs and who were the victims of the monstrous Nazi system, regime and ideology."
"We remember all those killed, but we also pay tribute to the survivors without whose testimonies we would not know what exactly was happening. Today, we also honour those who helped them and who were ready to sacrifice their own lives to help the victims of the Nazi regime," Jandroković said.
He stressed that it was important to commemorate this day so that future generations would understand the great value of democracy, the rule of law, and protection of human and minority rights.
Asked if 2018 would be the year when the position towards totalitarian systems and their victims would be defined and the year in which there would be a single commemoration in Jasenovac, Jandroković said he expected this to happen. Asked if a solution would be found to pay tribute also to Partisan fighters in WWII, for example those killed at the Sutjeska River, Jandroković said today was International Holocaust Remembrance Day and that he would not comment on that issue, but added that every victim should be commemorated.
International Holocaust Remembrance Day is observed on January 27, the day when in 1945, 7,500 inmates of the concentration camp Auschwitz were liberated.(Hina)