30 YEARS LATER Day of Remembrance for Vukovar Victims, Džaferović to Pay Tribute

(Patria) - The Day of Remembrance for the Victims of the Homeland War and the Day of Remembrance for the Sacrifice of Vukovar and Škabrnja is a state holiday observed in Croatia on November 18, in memory of the day in 1991 when the heroic defense of the City of Vukovar was broken, the massacre in Škabrnja was committed, and when the defenders of Saborsko, Slunj, Cetingrad, and Rakovica showed their bravery.

The Day of Remembrance for the Sacrifice of Vukovar 1991-2021 will be marked under the slogan "Vukovar – a place of special national reverence." A Column of Remembrance will proceed from the Vukovar hospital towards the Memorial Cemetery. Wreaths will be laid and a holy mass will be held at the cemetery. The Column of Remembrance will be led by Croatian defenders and family members of fallen, killed, and forcibly taken Croatian defenders of Vukovar. The member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Šefik Džaferović, will attend the commemoration of the anniversary of Vukovar.

The Battle of Vukovar, in which about 1,800 defenders participated, began on August 25 and ended on November 18, 1991. By the tragic collapse of the city's defense, 1,624 people were killed and more than 2,500 were wounded. About 7,000 captured defenders and civilians were taken to concentration camps, and about 22,000 of its inhabitants were expelled from the city. Several hundred people from the Vukovar area are still on the list of detained and missing persons from the Homeland War.

In addition to the sacrifice of Vukovar, Croatia also remembers the massacre of 43 Croatian civilians in Škabrnja on the same day in 1991, committed by members of the Yugoslav People's Army and Serb rebels, who burned and completely destroyed Škabrnja after the attack, and demolished the Catholic church to the ground. After the village was devastated, the entire area was mined. Those civilians who were spared were later handed over to the Croatian side in the village of Pristeg, and the men were detained in Knin camps and later exchanged.

The crime in Škabrnja was carried out systematically, at the same time as members of the Yugoslav People's Army and Chetniks rampaged in occupied Vukovar and in other areas of Croatia where crimes were committed. After the liberation of Škabrnja in the military-police operation "Oluja" and the return to Škabrnja, several more Škabrnja civilians died as a result of moving through minefields, it was announced from the Croatian Parliament.