KUZMANOVIĆ: EXHIBITION IN THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT - CONTRIBUTION TO INTERNATIONALISATION OF TRUTH ABOUT JASENOVAC

BELGRADE, APRIL 30 /SRNA/ – The Director of the Archives of Vojvodina Nebojša Kuzmanović assessed that the exhibition about Jasenovac in the European Parliament in Strasbourg would contribute to the internationalisation of the truth about Ustasha regime’s attempt to destroy Serbs, Jews, and Roma during World War II.

"Croatian Members of the European Parliament, Stjepan Bartulica and Karlo Resler, tried even before the exhibition opened to challenge it and prevent it from being installed. Interestingly, they organised two or three exhibitions about the `Homeland War` and Croats, but now they comment that this exhibition is `day-to-day political instrumentalisation of events from Jasenovac,` for which the Croatian state allegedly shows respect," Kuzmanović told SRNA.

He emphasized that the opposite is true – neither does Croatian state show respect, nor is the exhibition on Jasenovac in the European Parliament "day-to-day political instrumentalisation".

"We stand before people, before the law and before God with the truth that these are documents that truthfully testify to the events of World War II, when the Ustasha regime attempted to destroy Serbs, Jews, Roma, and Croat anti-fascists, and we have demonstrated this thanks to these documents," Kuzmanović said.

He pointed out that the exhibition "Jasenovac, Remembrance and Warning" was organised by Nemanja Dimitrijević, who leads the Federation of Young Serbs of Europe, together with French politician of Serb background Aleksandar Nikolić.

"The exhibition on Jasenovac is truly a historic event – never before has something like this about the Serb people been presented in the European Parliament. I congratulate the young people, and we are here to help /Republika Srpska National Assembly Speaker Nenad/ Stevandić and his team, as well as us as professionals – the Archives of Vojvodina and Republika Srpska. It is interesting that we also had documents from the State Archives of Croatia and some from Washington," Kuzmanović said.

The Director of the Archives of Vojvodina stated that Republika Srpska and Serbia would persevere in the struggle for truth.

"It is our obligation to bear witness to the truth in order to achieve justice. Only justice helps a person feel strength and be able to forgive those who committed such terrible acts, to pray for the souls of the innocent victims, and then to reach a sense of love from which everything arises," Kuzmanović emphasized.

An exhibition titled "Jasenovac, Remembrance and Warning" was opened on Monday, April 27, in the European Parliament in Strasbourg, presenting authentic documents from historical archives, photographs, and testimonies of survivors from this Ustasha-run concentration camp.

This is the first time that the European Parliament has addressed the NDH and the crimes of the Ustasha, while the exhibition was prepared by the archives of Republika Srpska and Vojvodina.