WREATHS AND FLOWERS LAID AT TOPOLE BURIAL FIELD

KOZARSKA DUBICA, APRIL 27 /SRNA/ - Wreaths were laid at the Topole Burial Field in the Donja Gradina Memorial Area near Kozarska Dubica today in remembrance of half a million Serbs, 40,000 Roma, and 33,000 Jews who were killed in the Jasenovac concentration camp system of the Independent State of Croatia /NDH/.

The wreath and roses were laid by the President of Republika Srpska, Milorad Dodik, the Chairwoman and Serbian member of the Presidency of BiH, Željka Cvijanović, the Speaker of the National Assembly of Srpska, Nenad Stevandić, and the Prime Minister of Srpska, Radovan Višković, as well as the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, with the Serbian delegation.

Flowers and wreaths were also laid by the surviving camp inmates, delegations from Jewish communities and organizations, the Roma community delegation, the Ambassador of Israel to BiH, Galit Peleg, representatives of the Russian Embassy in BiH, and representatives of the Hungarian Embassy in BiH.

Flowers were laid by the delegation of the Republika Srpska Council of Peoples, ministers in the Government of Republika Srpska, ministers in the Council of Ministers, members of the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH, representatives of municipalities and cities of Republika Srpska and Serbia, representatives of the Third Infantry Regiment /Republika Srpska/ of the Armed Forces of BiH, the delegation of the Serbian Ministry of Defense and the Serbian Army, the delegation of the SUBNOR /Veterans' Association of the National Liberation War/, and other delegations and individuals.

After the laying of wreaths and flowers, a memorial service will be held at the plateau next to the Topole burial field, in remembrance of the victims of the Ustasha crime – the genocide committed by the NDH, followed by speeches from officials.

The Day of Remembrance for the victims of genocide against Serbs, Jews, and Roma in the Independent State of Croatia from 1941 to 1945, and the 80th anniversary of the breakout from the Jasenovac concentration camp, is jointly commemorated by the governments of Republika Srpska and Serbia.

The system of death camps in the NDH included around 80 camps, and Donja Gradina, as the largest execution site in the Jasenovac concentration camp system, was formed in August 1941.

The last surviving inmates of the Jasenovac Ustasha concentration camp began their breakout on April 22, 1945, in an attempt to escape from this death factory, the largest in Southeast Europe.

According to the data from the Donja Gradina Memorial Area, 700,000 victims of the Ustasha crimes perished in the notorious Jasenovac camp during World War II, including 500,000 Serbs, 40,000 Roma, 33,000 Jews, and 127,000 anti-fascists. Among the victims in Jasenovac were 20,000 children.