Bleiburg, (IKA) – The central commemoration of the 63rd anniversary of the Bleiburg tragedy was held on Saturday, May 17, at the Bleiburg field. The commemoration began with a prayer at the graves of Croatian victims at the local cemetery in Unter-Loibach, after which those assembled formed a procession and went to the Bleiburg field. A Mass before approximately ten thousand pilgrims from all parts of Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina was led by Bishop Slobodan Štambuk of Hvar-Brač-Vis, in concelebration with the general secretary of the Croatian Conference of Bishops, Msgr. Vjekoslav Huzjak; the head of the Office for Pastoral Ministry Outside Croatia of the Bishops’ Conferences of Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Rev. Ante Kutleša; and approximately 50 priests. At the beginning of the Mass, on behalf of the Bishops’ Conferences of Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bishop Štambuk particularly greeted those who remembered May 19, 1945, and who have kept this memory alive. He urged young persons from the homeland and other countries to love their homeland and sincerely desire to live in peace with everyone. He urged representatives of other religious communities, the government and members of the Croatian Parliament to make this a sincere meeting before God “who loves us and who would want us to love one another and to bring prayer into our lives.”
“I come here at this first station of the Croatian cross, believing in God. I come as a person who has love for my Church that taught me to love, which I love as I love my own mother, and constantly ponder its principles and the Holy Ten Commandments of God, including the fifth, “Thou shalt not kill,” emphasized the bishop at the beginning of the homily. He said that he was brought by love for the homeland, nation, particularly that part that had passed through this valley of tears in the true meaning of the word, which had embarked upon death marches here in Bleiburg. “My Church brought me, which wants to be with my nation for better or worse, in sickness and in health,” said the bishop. He pointed out that he does not want to sow violence and hatred in this place, because the teacher Jesus Christ teaches love, forgiveness and mercy.” Furthermore, he did not want to be a judge, and did not at all want to take the role of Pontius Pilate and wash his hands, pass hasty judgment and characterize someone as a criminal or murderer, because in us as believers there is no violence but there is a yearning for the truth, he said, in reference to statements made last year at the Bleiburg field by the archbishop of Zagreb, Cardinal Josip Bozanić.
The bishop then appealed to all who know where there are gravesites, caves, “who gave the orders, who carried them out.” “Be brave and admit what happened and repent. All of you who know something should help, all of you who participated here. Help this nation finally arrive at the whole truth, which liberates,” urged Bishop Štambuk.
He emphasized that he did not want to compare Bleiburg and Jasenovac. “It is a crime to kill the innocent, whether in Jasenovac or in Bleiburg. Due to Jasenovac, many have paid with their lives, and the victims have their flower and justice …, while it was not permitted even to mention the victims of Bleiburg, because only mentioning them was characterized as a crime. I sincerely want to mourn all the innocent victims, particularly innocent people executed without a trial and evidence of guilt,” said Bishop Štambuk, and urged the state of Croatia to investigate all the camps, regardless of to whom they belonged, all the factories of death, to investigate all the 1,300 mass graves from the end of World War II and afterwards. He urged historians to investigate the truth about all who were executed during World War II, at the end of the war, and particularly after the war.
Bleiburg is the first station of the cross. Bishop Štambuk noted that Bleiburg is a symbol of everything that followed and lasted for a full 45 years. However, the Croatian Way of the Cross, unfortunately, still continues. It continues with other methods and will continue until justice and the whole truth are brought into view, said Bishop Štambuk.
The liturgical singing was led by choirs from the Gospić-Senj Diocese, conducted by Ivan Prpić, and accompanied on the organ by Milan Dučić.
The commemoration was organized by the Bleiburg Honor Guard, under the sponsorship of the Croatian Parliament. In words of greeting at the beginning of the commemoration, the deputy speaker of the Croatian Parliament, Josip Friščić, among other things stated that the survivors do not seek vengeance but human satisfaction of justice. It is a civilized requirement that every crime should be punished and justice should be satisfied because a just peace can only be built upon justice, and the assertion that war crimes are justified is equally pernicious today as it was in Bleiburg on May 15, 1945. He pointed out that reviving the memory of the Bleiburg tragedy is an immeasurable contribution by the Catholic Church, which followed God’s truth regarding the right of every person to life, liberty and homeland, and has always sided with the Croatian nation. He cited the example of Cardinal Alojzije Stepinac, who protected many during World War II. On behalf of the Bleiburg Honor Guard, Rudolf Popović announced the construction of a Croatian military cemetery to which the mortal remains of “fellow nationals from the surrounding cemeteries” will be brought. He urged that victims should no longer be discriminated against according to ideological criteria. In greetings on behalf of the Meshihat of the Islamic Community in Croatia, Idriz Bešić pointed out that Bleiburg is the largest Muslim cemetery, data to date on the number of Muslims killed do not correspond to the truth and there are studies indicating that the number was much larger.
After the celebration of the Mass, at which those attending included Minister Berislav Rončević on behalf of the Government of the Republic of Croatia; the Croatian ambassador to Austria, Zoran Jašić, on behalf of President Stjepan Mesić; and the speaker of the Slovenian Parliament, Antun Drobnić, wreaths were placed before the Bleiburg memorial.