Delegate of the President of the Republic Orsat Miljenić Attends Day of Remembrance for the Victims of the Homeland War Commemoration in Škabrnja
On the occasion of the observance of the Day of Remembrance for the Victims of the Homeland War and Day of Remembrance for the Victims of Vukovar and Škabrnja, the delegate of the President of the Republic and Commander in Chief of the Croatian Armed Forces, Head of the Office of the President of the Republic Orsat Miljenić, attended a commemoration held in observance of the 32nd anniversary of the suffering of Škabrnja.
Škabrnja, along with Vukovar, is a symbol of Croatia’s suffering in the Homeland War. On the 18th of November 1991, 43 civilians and 15 Croatian defenders were killed and massacred in Škabrnja. By the time the community was liberated in 1995 in Operation Storm, 86 people had been killed in Škabrnja.
During the commemoration, a joint wreath was laid next to the Memorial at the mass grave. The wreath was laid by a delegation of the Union of Associations of Croatian Civilian Victims of the Homeland War, on behalf of all the participants. The procession Korak po korak [Step by Step] was held from Dr. Franjo Tuđman Square to the Central Cross and Memorial for those killed in the Homeland War in St. Luke’s Cemetery, where the victims’ names were read out, wreaths were laid and candles were lit.
The Head of the Office of the President Orsat Miljenić was accompanied at the laying of the wreath of the President of the Republic and Commander in Chief of the Croatian Armed Forces by the Commander of Support Command Brigadier General Mladen Fuzul, Commander of the Croatian Navy Rear Admiral Ivo Raffanelli, Assistant Head of the General Staff of the Croatian Armed Forces for Healthcare Major General Boris Zdilar, Chief of the Personnel Directorate in the General Staff of the Croatian Armed Forces Brigadier General Ivan Zelić, Chief of the Staff-Deputy Commander of the Croatian Navy Commodore Damir Dojkić, Deputy Commander of the Croatian Defence Academy Brigadier General Blaž Beretin, Commander of the Croatian Coast Guard Commodore Milan Blažević, Commander of the Special Forces Command Colonel Ivan Miloš, Commander of the Croatian Army Guards Mechanized Brigade Colonel Mirko Stošić, Commander of the 93rd Wing of the Croatian Air Force Colonel Krešimir Ražov and Commander of the Intelligence Regiment Lieutenant Colonel Željko Perić, as well as the Adviser to the President of the Republic for National Security Dragan Lozančić and Head of the Military Office in the Cabinet for Defence and National Security of the Office of the President Colonel Ivica Kranjčević.
PHOTO: Office of the President of the Republic of Croatia / Marko Beljan