In marking the centenary of the end of World War I, we remember one of the deadliest conflicts in the history of humankind which claimed the lives of ten million soldiers and eight million civilians leaving an indelible mark on the collective conscience of present-day Europe, Croatian government said on Sunday.
As a watershed event in modern European history, the armistice reached on 11 November 1918 marked the end of the Great War and terrible human suffering as well as paving the way to a number of peace agreements which changed the political order of the then world as well as the geopolitical picture of a large part of Europe, the government said.
The painful memories of the 20th century which brought Europe two and Croatia, unfortunately, three big wars should first and foremost serve as a lesson to the international community to be more responsible and more active in strengthening global security and peace as well as in preventing conflicts and wars between peoples, so that such human suffering never happens again, the government added.
As a member of the European Union and NATO which responsibly and equally participates in the resolution of numerous global issues and challenges, Croatia is committed to multilateralism and respect for international law, which is the foundation of lasting peace and stability in the world, they noted.
Joining an international initiative of countries which were hit the hardest by WWI, the government coordinated projects commemorating the centenary of its end, honouring all the victims from Croatia as well as all those killed here.
Over the past four years, scientific and cultural institutions, associations, libraries, museums, schools, towns and municipalities around Croatia participated in marking the centenary. Around Europe, Croatian embassies participated in events commemorating Croatian troops killed in countries hit by WWI. Croatian scientists also took part in seminars on WWI held abroad.
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