The President of the Republic, Sergio Mattarella, released the following statement:

«The Day of Remembrance was established by Parliament to remember a distressing page that our country experienced in the twentieth century. A tragedy caused by a planned desire for purification on an ethnic and nationalistic basis.

The foibe, with their load of death, of unheard-of cruelty, of unjustified and unjustifiable violence, are the tragic symbol of a chapter of history, still little known and sometimes even misunderstood, which tells of the great suffering of the Istrian, Fiume, Dalmatian and Julian populations.

The harsh Nazi-Fascist occupation of these lands, where different peoples, cultures and religions once coexisted, was followed by the violence of Tito's communism, which unleashed reprisals on defenceless Italians for a very long time: from 1943 to 1945.

Even the foibe and the forced exodus were the poisoned fruit of the exasperated nationalism and totalitarian ideology that characterized many decades in the last century.

The damage of extremist nationalism, ethnic, racial and religious hatred has continued, even in years much closer to us, in the Balkans, generating fratricidal wars, massacres and inhuman violence.

The European Union was born to counter the totalitarianism and nationalism of the twentieth century with a perspective of peace, of common growth, in democracy and freedom.

Today, thanks also to the European Union, in those tormented areas, dialogue, collaboration, friendship between peoples and states are developing.

The massacres, the violence, the suffering endured by the Julian, Istrian, Fiume and Dalmatian exiles cannot be forgotten, diminished or removed. They are an integral part of national history and represent an indelible chapter, which warns us of the very serious risks of extreme nationalism, ethnic hatred, and ideological violence erected into a system".

Rome, February 9 2018

Source: Presidency of the Republic