Prime Minister Mario Draghi spoke at Palazzo Madama during the celebration of the 'Day of Remembrance', in memory of the victims of the foibe, the Julian-Dalmatian exodus, and the events on the eastern border.

Mr President of the Republic,
Honorable President of the Senate,
Honorable Vice President of the Chamber,
Madam Vice-President of the Constitutional Court,
Ministers,

I would first like to thank the representatives of the Associations of Istrian, Fiuman and Dalmatian Exiles and of the National Association of Venezia Giulia and Dalmatia, for their words today and for their efforts throughout these years.
“Remembrance Day” requires us to stop and reflect, to reflect on the terrible suffering experienced by Italians in the Upper Adriatic around the end of the Second World War.

Today we commemorate the women and men killed at the hands of the Yugoslav partisans and the persecution of the Tito regime.
And we remember all those who were forced to leave their land.
Their stories are a timely warning of the dangers posed by totalitarianism and political violence.
So that those divisions, that hatred, those abuses never find space again either in Italy or in Europe.

More than seventy years later, we must take this day as an opportunity to continue investigating the root causes of what happened.
And we must continue to build a shared historical memory.
Time, sadness, a better understanding of events, the desire to share the future push us in this direction and distance us forever from those who continue to cultivate hatred and division.

The awarded students remind us that behind history there are people's lives, their traumas and that without participation there can be no memory.
And it is up to young people to pass on this memory to future generations.
I want to congratulate you for your work and the great sensitivity you have shown.

Today's anniversary must also be an opportunity to strengthen ties with our neighbors.
We must look at each other with kindness and respect.
Don't make borders a cause of conflict.
And prevent past mistakes from becoming a cause of division and resentment.

When we remember the civilian victims of the persecutions that took place in Istria, Dalmatia, and Venezia Giulia, we also mourn the defeat of a free and open world, where the mixing of cultures and languages ​​was a source of wealth and joy.
We must continue to strive to find common ground between different nations and find unity in diversity.

With the “Day of Remembrance” we continue this path of reconciliation and pay homage to all the victims of those years, Italian and Slavic.
The same path – as also recalled by the Vice President of the Chamber – that led President Mattarella to hold the hand of the President of the Republic of Slovenia Borut Pahor in Basovizza in 2020.
An alignment of “all the stars”, as the Slovenian President said on that occasion.
To make the past a “common heritage”, in the words of President Mattarella.

This dialogue must be inspired by the values ​​that accompany us today: pluralism, democracy, freedom.
They are the founding principles of the Italian Republic and of the European Union.
The only true guarantees of authentic coexistence between nations and between people.
Thank you.