KUKOLJ ONE OF THE LAST WITNESSES OF HUMAN DEPRAVITY

BANJA LUKA, MAY 21 /SRNA/ - The late longtime president of the Banja Luka Association of WWII Camp Inmates Dobrila Kukolj will be remembered for her fight for truth and as one of the last witnesses of human madness, said the director of the Donja Gradina Memorial Area, Tanja Tuleković.

"She was the voice of tens of thousands of murdered children, hundreds of thousands of women, men and the elderly", Tuleković said in Banja Luka at the commemoration marking Kukolj’s passing.

She stressed that Kukolj left an indelible mark on the history of the Serb people, as she spoke about their suffering with dignity, without hatred and with the intention of ensuring that the truth would be widely heard.

"We will remember her dedication to the Serb people, to her history and culture, her fight for truth and her consistency until her very last earthly day" Tuleković emphasized.

She added that Dobrila Kukolj will be remembered as a symbol of human endurance and strength.

"Seeing death through a child’s eyes, she gave herself the task of preserving every moment of the suffering of the Serb people from oblivion", Tuleković stressed.

She reminded that Međeđa, Kukolj’s native village, due to its proximity to the Jasenovac concentration camp, found itself in the epicenter of the most monstrous Ustasha crimes, during which 31 members of her family were killed.

"Having experienced the brutality of human madness, Kukolj did not allow forgetfulness to cover the victims. For years, she tirelessly spoke on behalf of those whose voices can no longer be heard", Tuleković said.

She noted that Kukolj also turned her memories of the suffering in Jasenovac into a book, intended to warn future generations not to allow evil to ever happen again.

The commemoration was attended by Kukolj's family members, Serb member of the BiH Presidency Željka Cvijanović, Republika Srpska President Siniša Karan, Prime Minister Savo Minić, SNSD leader Milorad Dodik, and Banja Luka Mayor Draško Stanivuković.

Dobrila Kukolj, who passed away yesterday in Banja Luka at the age of 94, will be buried today at 12:00 noon at the Sveti Pantelija cemetery.