JASENOVAC WAS PLACE OF EXTENDED CRIME

BELGRADE, APRIL 17 /SRNA/ – SNSD Leader Milorad Dodik says that Serbs and Jews suffered extremely dramatic tragedies in Jasenovac, which was not only a place of suffering but also a place of extended crime.

Dodik told the press in Belgrade that the atrocities that occurred in the Ustasha concentration camp Jasenovac were attempted to be concealed and downplayed by the communist authorities in Yugoslavia in order to preserve the false brotherhood and unity.

"This was suppressed during communist era over brotherhood and unity, due to the unwillingness to attribute such a crime, undoubtedly genocide, to the fascist NDH, which left behind hundreds of thousands killed in the most horrific ways," Dodik emphasized ahead of the commemorative - educational gathering "The Truth about Jasenovac in the NDH /1941–1945/: Historical Perspectives, Remembrance and Documentation".

He stressed that the brutality of the NDH is also evidenced by the fact that a special camp for children was organised within Jasenovac, something no dark ideology in human history had ever done before, but which was done by the Ustasha - Croatian fascists and Nazis.

"The suffering was massive; there was no selection based on anything. It was important only that one belonged to another nation, Serbs or Jews, so the one was immediately destined for liquidation," Dodik said.

He also pointed to contemporary attempts at serious revisionism aimed at minimizing the scale of the crime, emphasizing that this is why today's gathering in Belgrade dedicated to Jasenovac is important, as well as the commemoration of Remembrance Day on Sunday, April 19, in Donja Gradina, which will be attended by the most important representatives of the Serb and Jewish peoples, Serbia's President Aleksandar Vučić, and the entire leadership of Republika Srpska.

Dodik says the memorial service will also be attended by the special envoy of US President Yehuda Kaploun, representatives of Israel, the Jewish people, and Serbs from the region.

"We call on all people to come to Gradina, because it is an important place. We must not forget, others want to do that!" Dodik emphasized.