PHOTO: President Attends Ivo Pukanic’s Funeral

Around one thousand people gathered at the final farewell to Ivo Pukanic. President Stjepan Mesic also attended the funeral.

VELIKA GORICA, CROATIA - Ivo Pukanic has been buried at the cemetery in Velika Gorica. He was killed last Thursday in a bomb explosion in front of the Nacional building in Zagreb’s Vlaska Street.

“Today we are saying farewell to brother Ivo, and we pray that his soul be cleaned. I am stricken by emotions. I have been with him for 13 years and my soul laments for him. We did not dream that something like this could happen to Pukanic. He could not speak about that a lot, but he knew that something was being prepared” said Srecko Jurdana in his speech at the funeral of Ivo Pukanic, where around one thousand people gathered.

A large number of uniformed and civilian police officers monitored the cemetery in Velika Gorica. Bags and cameras are were searched.

The funeral of Ivo Pukanic which starts at 4:00pm at the cemetery in Velika Gorica, which is expected to gather many people from Croatia’s public and political life, is being secured by a large number of police officers.

The security measures are really rigorous. Apart from uniformed police officers, the whole event at the cemetery in Velika Gorica was monitored by police officers wearing civilian clothing. The bags and cameras of journalists and photographers who attended the event were searched.

Amongst the five or so dozen wreathes with messages of farewell to Ivo Pukanic have been placed on his coffin. Besides those placed by members of his family, friends and relatives, there is also a wreath from the city of Zagreb, and from various restaurants that Pukanic liked to visit.

An increasingly long line of people formed near his final resting place, who voiced their condolence to members of his family, amongst which were Ratko Macek, Zlatko Canjuga, Sina Karli, Ljubo Pavasovic Viskovic, Zlatko Maric, Jure Garparac, Srecko Jurdana, Ivo Jelusic and Hana Tabakovic.

The funeral of Ivo Pukanic started with the song “Duga Cesta” (Long Road), which was performed by a male group of singers. The coffin was lowered into the grave accompanied by the Dalmatian song “Da Te Mogu Pismom Zvati” (If I Could Call You With a Song).

As he announced, the Croatian president Stjepan Mesic attended at the funeral to pay his respects to his friend.

He was also accompanied by six bodyguards, and at one moment he could not hold back the tears.