Labour, Family and Social Affairs Minister Marjeta Cotman and Croatian Minister of Families, Veterans' Affairs and Intergenerational Solidarity Jadranka Kosor signed on Monday a reciprocal agreement on war graves. "We have added a piece into the mosaic called historical truth," said Kosor.
The document outlines how mass graves of victims of both World Wars and the killings that followed will be marked and managed. "We pledge to mark the graves on both the Slovenian and Croatian sides in accordance with international law in order to pay respect and piety to the dead," Cotman said.
The graves will be marked by special signs, and a monument in the shape of a charnel house for soldiers and civilians alike will be erected in the Tezno forest near Maribor, Cotman explained.
The remains of some 15,000 mostly Croatian victims of post-war killings are thought to lie in a former anti-tank ditch in the forest there.
The agreement applies to around 500 mass grave sites in Slovenia. "So far, we've discovered 110,000 bodies, but excavations and probes are still ongoing," Cotmain said.
She also announced the formation of an intergovernmental commission, which will oversee the implementation of the agreement. Slovenia and Croatia will appoint three commission members each.
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