KARAN: DONJA GRADINA - SACRED SERBIAN LAND, CONSECRATED BY BLOOD OF MARTYRS

DONJA GRADINA, APRIL 19 /SRNA/ - The President of Republika Srpska, Siniša Karan, emphasized that Donja Gradina is not an ordinary execution site, but a sacred Serbian land consecrated by the blood of martyrs.

"The Jasenovac death camp and Donja Gradina as its largest execution site are an eternal warning to humanity, proof of how far evil can go when it becomes an ideology, and when ideology becomes state policy," Karan stated in his address at the commemoration of the Day of Remembrance for the victims of the Ustasha genocide in the Jasenovac concentration camp and its largest execution site, Donja Gradina in the NDH /Independent State of Croatia/.

The President of Republika Srpska emphasized that there is no room here for ambiguity, but that one must speak honestly, responsibly, and with truth and facts - genocide was committed against the Serbian people in the NDH.

He pointed out that this is not a matter of interpretation, but a historical fact confirmed by numerous pieces of evidence, testimonies of survivors, and scientific research.

"However, if we do not repeat the truth often enough, while others distort it at the same time, we risk losing it. That is precisely why the National Assembly of Republika Srpska adopted in 2015 the ‘Declaration on the Genocide of the Independent State of Croatia against Serbs, Jews, and Roma during the Second World War,’ which clearly established that this was a systemic, state-organized crime with the intent of the complete destruction of a people, primarily the Serbian people," President Karan emphasized.

He reminded that the genocide against Serbs was carried out through individual and mass killings, torture, deportations, forced conversions to Catholicism, the destruction of cultural, religious, and spiritual identity, and mass execution sites across the territory of the NDH.

Karan emphasized that the genocidal policy of the then Croatian state was publicly formulated - to kill one third of the Serbs, expel one third, and forcibly convert one third to Catholicism in order to assimilate them.

This policy, he added, was carried out consistently and uncompromisingly by the Ustashe. He stressed that Republika Srpska was established so that genocide against Serbs would never happen again.

"In all founding acts of Republika Srpska, the memory and experience of the genocide against Serbs during the Second World War are emphasized. By adopting the Declaration, Republika Srpska laid the foundations of institutional remembrance and a permanent obligation to preserve and defend the truth about this crime," Karan said.

He stated that Republika Srpska pursues a responsible policy of protecting the Serbian people, as demonstrated by the adoption of the "Resolution on condemning and banning the promotion and glorification of the ideology and symbols of the Independent State of Croatia and Ustasha, Nazi and fascist ideologies and symbols," which was recently adopted by the National Assembly of Republika Srpska.

In this resolution, he said, the concept of genocide is precisely defined in accordance with international law, and it emphasizes that in the NDH there was a clear intent to destroy the Serbian people as a national and religious group.

According to him, the resolution particularly highlights that killings, persecution, deportations, forced assimilation, and the destruction of identity were part of a systemic policy, and that any attempt to relativize or deny these facts poses a danger to society.

It is also emphasized, Karan recalled, that the glorification of the Ustasha ideology, the use of its symbols and salute, as well as a negative revisionist approach to history, are indicators of potential future conflicts and violence.

"These are not historical, political, and legal formulations. These are warnings. Jasenovac was the central site of that genocide. It was not just a camp, but a system of destruction," the President of Republika Srpska pointed out.

According to historical sources and institutions, he added, around one million Serbs, Jews, and Roma were killed in that system and at numerous execution sites across the NDH.

"These are all people with names, entire families, children, newborns! These are all futures that were cut short. That is the Serbian people who were erased from their centuries-old homes by the Ustasha knife and the ‘Srbosjek.'

It is particularly horrifying that there were camps for children in the NDH. That is a crime that surpasses every notion of humanity. Killing children means attempting to erase the future of an entire people. It is a complete civilizational collapse that characterized the then Croatian state," Karan stated.

Therefore, he said, Donja Gradina today stands as a place of warning.

"But our duty is not only to speak about the past. Today we are witnessing attempts to revise history. In some countries and institutions, the number of victims of Jasenovac and the overall genocide against Serbs in the NDH is being systematically reduced, the nature of the crime is being relativized, and an attempt is being made to create a narrative that conceals the truth," Karan said.

He reminded that the Ustasha salute is increasingly appearing in public spaces, along with attempts to present the criminal ideology as acceptable, as well as the installation of memorial plaques with Ustasha symbols.

"My dear Serbian people, none of this is a coincidence. This is a systematic attempt to change the truth. That is why our message must be clear and unambiguous. Republika Srpska will not allow the revision of history!

We will not allow the genocide against the Serbian people to be questioned. We will not allow the victims to be humiliated. We will not allow the truth to be relativized. Because whoever relativizes a crime opens the space for it to be repeated. We will not allow a new genocide against our people!" Karan stated.

He said that Republika Srpska and its people especially express gratitude to Serbia and President Aleksandar Vučić, who has repeatedly stated that Serbia will never again allow the Serbian people to suffer, wherever they may live.

Karan reminded that the Serbian people in the 20th century endured enormous sacrifices, but did not disappear; they survived because they did not give up the truth and their Orthodox identity.

Out of that historical experience, he added, Republika Srpska was created as an institutional response and a guarantee that such evil will never happen again.

"That is why it is our duty to preserve the truth, not out of revenge, but out of responsibility. Because a people that forgets risks suffering again. And therefore today, from this place, we say that the truth about Jasenovac will not be diminished. The truth about genocide will not be changed. The truth about the suffering of the Serbian people will be preserved.

We will fight against every form of revisionism - publicly, with arguments, and without compromise. Because truth is not a matter of negotiation or agreement. Truth is one, and it carries obligation. And therefore, before these countless graves, on this sacred land, before the victims and before history, we proudly say: we will not forget, we will not remain silent, and we will not allow evil to be repeated," Karan stated.

He stressed that truth and remembrance will be preserved, as well as Republika Srpska.

“That is our duty. That is our obligation. That is our oath. Eternal remembrance to all innocent victims of the genocide against Serbs, Jews, and Roma in the NDH!” said the President of Republika Srpska, Siniša Karan.