President Meloni’s statement on 20th anniversary of Law no. 92/2004

Today we celebrate the twentieth anniversary of Law no. 92 of 30 March 2004, which established the national day of remembrance for the martyrs of the Foibe massacres and the Istrian–Dalmatian exodus.

This law marked a turning point, making it possible to write pages of history that had never before been written and breaking the conspiracy of silence that had shrouded the tragedy of the Foibe massacres and dramatic exodus for decades, leading to them being forgotten and to indifference.

Thanks to this law, which Parliament further strengthened and implemented recently, the memory of that tragedy has become part of everyone’s heritage, rendering any attempt at denying or justifying what happened futile.

Today’s is a national anniversary that the Government has honoured with several initiatives, two of which are of particular importance: the Council of Minsters’ approval of a draft law to establish a national remembrance museum in Rome; and, the ‘remembrance train’, a historical train similar to the one that took the exiles to the various refugee camps in Italy after the war. From 10 to 27 February this year, this train travelled from the north to the south of the country, receiving a great response from the public with more than 15 thousand visitors over its thirteen stops, from Trieste to Taranto.

The journey of remembrance continues, ensuring the memory of what happened never fades and is preserved over time.

[Courtesy translation]