.png)
Zagreb - Croatian Parliament Speaker Josip Leko on Friday issued a message on the occasion of the Day of the Anti-Fascist Struggle, June 22, saying that marking that day contributed to building a society of peace, tolerance and democracy.
- Marking the Day of the Anti-Fascist Struggle contributes to building a society of peace, tolerance and democracy. Wishing that the evil of extremism and totalitarianism may never again befall this region, I offer my best wishes to Croatian citizens for the Day of the Anti-Fascist Struggle, Leko said in his message.
He recalled that the resistance movement against the brutal, racist Nazi and Fascist ideologies in Croatia started with the establishment of the 1st Sisak Partisan unit on 22 June 1941 in the Brezovica forest near Sisak. He said that those ideologies, assisted by local, Ustasha and Chetnik collaborators, occupied and carved up Croatia's territory, with its people, primarily Jews, Serbs and Roma, living in fear of terror and killing.
- Anti-fascism was a freedom-loving movement of European peoples against extremism, totalitarianism, violence, killing and war. Owing to the strength of the Partisan movement on its soil, Croatia was a proud member of the Allied's victorious coalition in World War II. Those values are built into the foundations of today's independent, European Croatia, Leko says in the message among other things. Those who call for violence and hate towards those who are different and those who glorify Nazi and Fascist symbols do harm to Croatia... attacking the very foundations of its freedom and independence, Leko said. (Hina)