Delegations from Croatia paid tribute to the victims in Bleiburg

Speaker of the Croatian Parliament Željko Reiner delivered a speech at the commemoration in Bleiburg (Bleiburg) where the 71st anniversary of the suffering of victims of communism, who were killed at this location or were taken to execution sites across the former Yugoslavia, is being marked, reports Patria.

- Not all were killed here, but this place symbolizes all execution sites, including those we have not yet discovered.

Communists committed a terrible crime by mass-murdering members of disarmed women and children after the war. People were killed without trial, thrown into pits, and it was forbidden to speak or write about it until the fall of communism. People were swallowed by darkness, and survivors were not allowed to talk about it, lest they too end up in communist prisons - Reiner said.

- Those who won the victory on the side of the anti-fascists in World War II, stained that victory after the war with horrific, unforgivable crimes, which we most strongly condemn and whose victims we remember with the greatest sadness and respect. Communist crimes have never been prosecuted or punished.

Fascists, Nazis, and Ustaše were mostly punished for their crimes in numerous just or unjust court proceedings. Communist crimes have never been prosecuted or punished, and the perpetrators lived freely.

There can be no reconciliation without truth, which has been hidden in Croatia for decades. Even today, some relativize the crimes of one side while condemning the crimes of the other. However, criminals have no sides; they are evil, no matter what ideologies they try to justify themselves with.

There is no point in talking about the numbers of the killed, let alone speculating about them. Everything that is truly important has been said in the holy books of various religions. All warn that whoever kills one innocent person is as if they have killed all of humanity.

We are not here to express regret for the Independent State of Croatia (NDH), let alone to celebrate or justify Ustaše crimes, but to express deep respect for the victims of communist crimes, writes Index.hr.