MACUT: PEACE CANNOT BE TAKEN FOR GRANTED, IT MUST BE PRESERVED

BELGRADE, OCTOBER 4 /SRNA/ - The Serbian people must understand that peace is not something that can be taken for granted, but must be preserved every day, while dialogue must be nurtured, Serbian Prime Minister Đuro Macut said at the Jajinci Memorial Park during a commemoration marking the Day of Remembrance for the suffering of Serbs, Roma and Jews during World War II.

Macut pointed out that the commemoration is not merely an act of remembrance, but also a promise that everything will be done to ensure that future generations never experience the horrors that took place there.

"We must teach them that every human life is worthy of respect and, by our own example, show that Serbia stands for peace, stability and dialogue. Because our strength lies in peace and stability," Macut said.

He stressed that history sometimes gives warnings quietly, and sometimes through places such as Jajinci, which Serbia will never forget, Tanjug reported.

Jajinci was the site of the largest mass suffering and executions in the territory of occupied Serbia during World War II, where, according to official data, the Nazis executed 80,000 Serbs, Jews and Roma between July 1941 and autumn 1943.

From November 8, 1943 to April 2, 1944, the German Gestapo exhumed and burned the bodies in an attempt to conceal traces of the crimes.

The Day of Remembrance for the suffering of Serbs, Roma and Jews during World War II has officially been observed in Serbia's state calendar since 2022.