ZAGREB, May 4, 2019 - Addressing a special session of the Vukovar Town Council on Friday, the Feast Day of Saints Phillip and James who are the town's patrons, President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović said that Vukovar was not only the symbol of heroic resistance during the Homeland War but also of the development of Croatia.
In her speech, the president paid tribute to the forces that defended the eastern town at the start of the war in 1991 and to all who suffered and made sacrifice, and she promised that Croatia would never give up on the search for those who went missing in the war.
The president praised Prime Minister Andrej Plenković and Mayor Ivan Penava for the many development projects in the town.
Extending his best wishes to Vukovar residents on the occasion of the town's day, Plenković said that his cabinet was dedicated to implementing projects to the benefit of Vukovar.
"Yesterday we endorsed a development aid programme for Vukovar estimated at 1.4 billion kuna," Plenković said referring to the programme for the reconstruction of municipal and power infrastructure and for the conservation of the town's historical heritage, which encompasses 59 projects. At the same time, the Fund for the Reconstruction and Development of Vukovar was increased by 50% or 20 million kuna.
In reference to the 1991-1995 war which hit the east of Croatia hardest, Plenković said that people in that part of the country appreciate the truth most and they want to hear the truth which is a precondition for forgiveness, reconciliation and coexistence.
Therefore, the truth must be established. I can understand the mayor's and numerous Croatian defenders' efforts in that regard, he added.
"This should be done by the institutions of the Croatian state and they perhaps should be more intensively engaged. However, we should do that in the political sense being aware that we are now in 2019 and that our key national goals have been accomplished and that Vukovar is a free Croatian town in which Serbs also live. This is the town in which we need to build a European Croatia," the premier said.
Mayor Penava said that in 2018, a total of 13 million kuna was invested in economic programmes, and the number of created jobs rose by 579 from 2017.
Penava thanked the government for investments in the town. "After a huge setback during the Homeland War, Vukovar has recovered and is making good progress," he underscored.
More Vukovar news can be found in the Lifestyle section.
