The President of the Slovenian Parliament Igor Zorčič and his Austrian collegue Wolfgang Sobotka accepted the invitation to the event „Meeting and dialogue in Globasnitz“. They were invited by the Mayor of the Municipality Globasnitz and the President of the AACC Bernard Sadovnik. At the memorial ceremony at Peršman later on the important representatives of Austria and Slovenia paid tribute to the victims of the nacistic terror in the Second World War and met the descendants of the victims, among others Lukas Sadovnik and his wife Amalia.
„We have to understand the meaning of the events, such as the present one, as a warning for future generations, not as a reason for the quarrel between the two nations. Only with attending such memorials , we prove that we are civilisationally mature and politically responsible, so we can send the messages of reconciliation and that we intend to use the historical experience for tracing a better way to the future. This is our main message, which we are sending to both nations,“ stressed Igor Zorčič at laying wreaths at Peršman.
For Wolfgang Sobotka the essential reason for the second meeting of the Presidents was the memory on the event, which happened 75 years ago at Peršman’s homestead. He emphasised that at Peršman and other places in Austria tragedies, which shocked the whole community, were happening. „The end of the war was near and regardless this cruel crime happened“. The speciality of Peršman’s tragedy was , that it was jurisdictionally never relevantly treated , that the process was interrupted and never continued. „This shows , how Austria acted after the end of the war, it did not invite the people, who were in exile in the nacist period, to come back. Austria did not apologize and always reffered to the Moscow Declaration from 1943, that we are the victims. Although we know, we had among us also perpetrators,“ warned Sobotka.
Before visiting the memorial place at Peršman Sobotka and Zorčič visited Globasnitz and besides the bilateral talks also met the representatives of the Slovenia minority. In Globasnitz could Sadovnik also greet the Minister Elisabeth Koestinger, the Delegate of the Green Party Olga Voslauer, the President of the Country parliament Reinhart Rohr, the Ambasador Ksenija Škrilec and Elisabeth Ellison-Kramer, Zdravko Inzko, Manuel Jug, the President of the Einheitsliste Gabriel Hribar, the Mayor Franc Jožef Smrtnik, the Mayor of Brda Franc Mužič, the President of the Geopark Karavanke Gerhard Visotschnig and numerous other representatives of Carinthia and the Municipality. Sadovnik- as a descendant of the Peršman’s family- expressed his satisfaction with the visit of both high ranked officials and the mutual commemoration with the descendants of the victims.
