Commemoration for victims of massacre in Škabrnja

On 18 November 2019 many locals, veterans, members of the Croatian Armed Forces and friends from all over Croatia came to pay their respects to the victims of Škabrnja.

The 28th anniversary of the massacre of Škabrnja was marked by a commemorative ceremony, the traditional memorial march and a three-day march by the members of the 3rd Mechanised Battalion “Pauci” of the Guards Mechanised Brigade from Knin to Škabrnja.

The marking ceremony was attended by the Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Damir Krstičević as Envoy of the President of the Republic of Croatia and of the Prime Minister, by Major General (Ret.) Miljenko Filipović as Envoy of the Speaker of the Croatian Parliament , a delegation of the Croatian Government headed by Minister of the Sea, Transport and Infrastructure Oleg Butković, by the Chief of the General Staff of the Croatian Armed Forces General Mirko Šundov, delegations of the Ministry of Homeland War Veterans and of the Ministry of the Interior, by the representatives of the Croatian Generals Association, many government and military officials and representatives of the associations from the Homeland War.

Minister Krstičević: The victims of Vukovar and Škabrnja must never be forgotten

The Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Damir Krstičević (who joined the members of the Battalion “Pauci” in the last stretch of the march) emphasised that the victims of Vukovar and Škabrnja had to be kept in lasting memory. 

“The Croatian soldiers walked the march from Knin to Škabrnja to pay respects to the fallen in the Homeland War. Our thoughts are with our friends. I am glad to see the young soldiers honour the values of the Homeland War. Each Croatian soldier guards the victims of Vukovar and Škabrnja in his heart. Croatia is protected by strong and respectable armed forces born in the Homeland War, to prevent the crimes from happening again”.

Mons. Puljić: The church bells are calling us to pray for the fallen in the Homeland War, to whom we owe freedom

The memorial march was walked with dignity and deep respect along the 18 November 1991 Street in Škabrnja to the Memorial Monument at the mass grave , where the delegation of the Union of Association of Croatian Civilian Victims of the Homeland War laid wreaths and a mass was recited in the Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary for the victims of the Homeland War, recited by Mons Želimir Puljić, Archbishop of Zadar.
Mons. Puljić in his homily recalled the centuries of suffering of Croatian people and the suppression of its cultural, historical and religious identity.

“However, the Croatian people has never accepted it – today we enjoy freedom and independence thanks to the courage of Croatian defenders. The day of 18 November is associated with the occupation of the heroic Vukovar and Škabrnja – the two places of profound suffering, but we had our sacred values that relied on for strength and comfort. Vukovar and Škabrnja succumbed to, but Croatia did not thanks to the courage of its defenders. The church bells are calling us today to pray for the fallen for the victims of the Homeland War to whom we owe freedom fenders. Today, church bells are calling us to pray for all our victims in the Homeland War because we owe them our freedom. It is our obligation to remember them and never forget our heroes and their places of rest”, said Mons Puljić.

Symbolic memorial march to the local cemetery of St. Luke

The visitors walked the symbolic memorial march titled “Step by Step” to the local cemetery of St. Luke, where a ceremonial programme was performed to revive the memories of the massacre committed in Škabrnja on 18 November 1991 of 43 civilians and 15 defenders in one day. During the defence of Škabrnja 36 Croatian defenders (members of the Self-Standing Battalion of Škabrnja and defenders from the neighbouring municipalities) and 56 civilians were killed, and 6 more got killed in mines explosions.

The roll of honour and respects to the military and civilians killed in Škabrnja by delegations of the President of the Republic, of the Croatian Parliament and of the Government of the Republic of Croatia, as well as by representatives of the Municipality of Škabrnja, of the Self-standing Battalion of Škabrnja, of the associations of Croatian volunteer combatants, of the Union of associations from the Homeland War, and of the Zadar County and of the City of Zadar.

On the 28th anniversary of the massacre of the citizens of Škabrnja the respects were paid with a symbolic three-day march by 57 members of the 3rd Mechanised Battalion “Pauci” of the Guards Mechanised Brigade and a group of members of the “Tigrovi” Guards Brigade. The 75-km march was walked in several phases, and the participants were joined by the members of the Association of Veterans of the 4th Guards Brigade in the last stretch towards Škabrnja.

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