Italian MEP Compares Foibe to Nazi Concentration Camps
The recent stirring of old differences between World War II foes Italy and Slovenia has moved to the European Parliament, where an Italian MP called for "the forgotten and denied" story about foibe to be laid bare. This prompted a response from a Slovenian MEP, who said Italy was using the story as an alibi for its own war crimes.
According to Cristiana Muscardini, a member of Italy's far-right National Alliance and the Union for European Nations, the story of the Italians killed by Yugoslav partisan forces and thrown into foibe, Karst pits, is one of the first cases of ethnic cleansing in Europe in the 20th century.
Between 3,000 and 20,000 Italians were killed and thrown into foibe only because they were Italians, Muscardini claimed during today's session of the European Parliament. She added that many people still mistakenly believe that those thrown into foibe were victims of Nazi violence.
It is only right that the real story be told and that we recognise the atrocities of communism, Muscardini said, adding that the foibe rate right up there with Nazi concentration camps on a scale of the most horrific war crimes.
Muscardini's comments have prompted a response from Slovenian MEP Mojca Drcar Murko, a member of the European Liberals, who said in a press statement that Italy was trying to change history with its claim that it was the victim of expansionist Slav policies.
Murko claims that Yugoslav forces had killed around 300 high-ranking Fascist officials in 1943 and that there were cases of reprisals against Italians in Istria by the local population.
The claims of ethnic cleansing of Italians were first made by Nazi forces which occupied the territories after Italy's withdrawal in 1943, Murko says.
Italy has never allowed a proper investigation into the foibe, she adds. Instead, it has been happy to use the foibe as an instrument for ideological attacks against the former Yugoslavia and as an alibi for Italian war crimes.
According to Murko, the events that took place in Istria must be consider keeping in mind the circumstances of the time and considering all facts.
Old hatreds between Italy and Slovenia were dug up recently by a controversial Italian film and a national holiday in Italy to remember Italians who left the former Yugoslav territories after WWII.
The film in the centre of the controversy, "Il cuore nel pozzo" (The Heart in a Pit), tells a story of the summary executions in the 1940s of Italian civilians by the Yugoslav partisans.
Despite the claims of the film's creators that it is a work of art, the film has become highly politicised. In Italy, the National Alliance, which has its roots in Mussolini's Fascist party, has virtually become its sponsor.
In Slovenia and Croatia the film has been branded as an attempt to depict the partisans as the aggressors of WWII.
Slovenian veteran groups have decried the film, calling it an attempt to change history.
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