The President of the Republic of Srpska, Milorad Dodik, attended today the marking of the Day of Remembrance for the Victims of the Ustasha Crimes - Genocide of the NDH in the Jasenovac concentration camp and its largest execution site, Donja Gradina.
The President of the Republic of Srpska stated that the Serbian people have not forgotten the evil of the Ustasha crimes committed in the Jasenovac camp, where half a million Serbs were killed.
“We have not forgotten the evil and we know what the NDH was. We knew about the Ustasha regime’s plans to kill one third, expel one third, and convert one third to Catholicism”, the President Dodik said.
He emphasized that this place is sacred because martyrs suffered here, noting that 700,000 were cruelly killed, including half a million Serbs.
The President of the Republic recalled that it is often said that Jasenovac is the largest underground city that Serbs have, but it is a dead city.
“Mass killings took place here, and that’s why they said this was a camp where everyone could fit”, the President Dodik said, adding that this is a site of horrific crimes.
The President Dodik highlighted that very few members of the Croatian people did not show solidarity with the Ustasha regime.
“Once again, we are here to refresh collective memory and Jasenovac cannot be erased”, the President Milorad Dodik emphasized.
Today, the President Dodik stated that Germany sponsored the Independent State of Croatia, the Ustasha movement, killings, and today sponsors the resolution on Srebrenica, which is ought to place the suffering Serbian people on the dark side of history.
The President Dodik stressed that genocide did not happen in Srebrenica, but it did happen at this site, and that it is incomparable.
“The number is not important, what is important is who stands behind all of that”, the President Dodik said, adding that the resolution is a political document.
The President of the Republic of Srpska noted that Serbs had two anti-fascist movements, partisan and homeland, and he is proud that there was no division among Serbs in the past war.
“We are more united today than ever, dedicated to showing the real truth”, the President Dodik emphasized, mentioning efforts by the Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić and numerous friends of the Serbian people.
The President of the Republic of Srpska asked how it is possible to continue making joint decisions with Bosniaks after the resolution. “We will not go further, and we will find a way how”, the President Dodik said.
“We are here to defend not only the Republic of Srpska but with Serbia to defend the interests of the Serbian people, whether someone likes it or not”, the President Dodik said.
The President of the Republic of Srpska stated that next year this event will be even bigger, confident that everyone will gather to say that the Serbian people have suffered, that they are in solidarity with other peoples who are suffering.
“Our desire is for all of this to stop, and for that to stop, the big ones have to go to some history that is worthy only of them, but we must never forget what they did to us”, the President Dodik said.
The President Dodik conveyed that Serbs are a peaceful people who will fight against all injustices and ensure peace for others in these areas.
The President of the Republic of Srpska emphasized at the marking of the Day of Remembrance for the victims of genocide in the Independent State of Croatia that the pain for the victims undoubtedly continues today and will not disappear because that would mean that the Serbian people have renounced their victims.
“We are here to tell our ancestors that we are aware of their martyrdom, unique in history, and to tell the young generation that they must understand this for themselves, not as a burden”, the President Dodik added.
The President expressed contentment that, despite all the vicissitudes, the Republic of Srpska and Serbia, at the proposal of the President of Serbia Aleksandar Vučić, will begin a sacred work for this generation - building a monumental monument to the total suffering of the Serbian people not only in Jasenovac but everywhere it is difficult for Serbs to come, where they are restricted and prevented from commemorating.
“That is why I am proud of the Republic of Srpska and I know that if the Republic of Srpska were not here, neither would we be here. They would have prevented us from coming, as they prevent today the representatives of the Russian Federation from coming to commemorate the place of suffering of Russians”, the President Dodik said, recalling that more than 28 million Soviets died in World War II.
The President of the Republic of Srpska conveyed that Serbs in the Republic of Srpska, Serbia, and Montenegro are members of one people in history because they believe in the Serbian Orthodox Church, their identity, and everything that belongs to them.
The President of the Republic added that Serbs have never hated others and different ones, gave them freedoms, were supportive, and always tried to help humanely, and continue to do so today.
“But do not try to ever prevent us from having our way of life, to devote ourselves to our victims, to celebrate our patron saints, to write in Cyrillic, and to speak the Serbian language”, the President Dodik said.
The President of the Republic of Srpska emphasized that peace is the greatest stake invested by the Serbian people.
“Even when they oppress us and brazenly take away Kosovo and Metohija and expel Serbs from that area, when in Montenegro they do not want to accept our identity, in Croatia they consider us minorities, or in Slovenia they do not give us the status of a national minority, when they take away our church in Macedonia, we must say that we are one people and that we want to live in peace”, concluded the President Dodik.
