Wreaths were laid at the Vukovar Homeland War Victims' Memorial Cemetery on Sunday as the first of day-long events commemorating the 31st death anniversary of one of the commanders of Vukovar's defence, Major Blago Zadro, as well as Colonel Alfred Hill, both killed in Croatia's 1991-95 war of independence.

Wreaths were laid at Zadro and Hill’s graves by members of their families, President Zoran Milanovic and delegations of the parliament, government and city authorities.
The prime minister’s envoy and State Secretary at the Croatian War Veterans Ministry, Spiro Janovic, said that Croatians could be proud of Zadro and all Homeland War heroes as well as of everything that was achieved so that Croatia could be a country Zadro would want it to be.

Nikola Mazar, an envoy for the parliament speaker, said that Croatia was honouring Zadro and Hill’s sacrifice for Croatia’s and Vukovar’s freedom as they were people who in the most difficult moments of the country’s defence sent a message of unity and love for the homeland.

Vukovar Mayor Ivan Penava said Zadro embodied positive human values such as courage and selflessness.

Asked to comment on a visit by the head of the Serbian Orthodox Church (SPC), Patriarch Porfirije, to Vukovar today, Penava said that the visit of any SPC representative to Vukovar, after that church allowed itself to decorate war criminal Vojislav Seselj, “is a step in the wrong direction.”

The purpose of the SPC head’s visit to Vukovar is the consecration of the local Serb Orthodox Church of St Nicholas.

“That’s definitely the line that I, and I believe a large number of Croats, would not cross, and people who should be much more spiritual and wiser should have thought about it. Unfortunately, instead of faith, love and ecumenism, we have again witnessed a pure reflection of Serbian hegemony in the SPC’s act,” said Penava.