SERBS - THE MOST SUFFERING PEOPLE OF CENTRAL PODRINJE AND BIRAČ

SARAJEVO, JULY 3 /SRNA/ – His Eminence Metropolitan of Dabar-Bosnia and Archbishop of Sarajevo and Srebrenica Hrizostom told SRNA that Central Podrinje and Birač are among the areas of the most horrific suffering of the Serb people, emphasizing that Serbs will no longer allow political and historical manipulators to impose forgetfulness upon them, but will permanently remember that they are the most suffering people of this region.

Metropolitan Hrizostom pointed out that Serbs in Central Podrinje and Birač suffered during three wars – World War I, World War II, and the 1992 – 1995 civil-ethnic war in BiH. Unfortunately, Metropolitan Hrizostom noted, certain political circles are once again trying to impose forgetfulness on the Serb people, urging them to forget the victims of Central Podrinje and Birač, which will not happen. "We will no longer allow political and historical manipulators to impose forgetfulness on the Serb people. Instead, God willing, we will build a Memorial Centre in Bratunac with a memorial church and a monument, which will forever remind both us Serbs and others passing through Podrinje and Birač that the Serb people are indeed the most suffering people in this region," emphasized the Metropolitan of Dabar-Bosnia in a SRNA interview. With God's blessing, the Metropolitan of Dabar-Bosnia called upon all Orthodox Serbs and all people of good will, all lovers of truth and justice, to join the prayer gathering in Bratunac on Saturday, July 5. Metropolitan Hrizostom pointed out that many other nations of Europe and the world suffered during the First and Second World Wars, but that the Serb people also suffered during the Balkan Wars, and for the fifth time during the civil-ethnic war in the former Yugoslavia - Croatia and BiH, as well as in Kosovo and Metohija in 1999. "These are all great sufferings of the Serb people, but many forget that the Serbs suffered even more under the communist regime between 1945 and 1991. The suffering of the Serb people under the communist regime was just as horrific and difficult as during World War II. The so-called liberators mercilessly executed thousands and thousands of Serbs, both in Serbia itself and in Montenegro, BiH, and Croatia," stated Metropolitan Hrizostom. That period, Metropolitan Hrizostom reminded, could be referred to - as Đilas called it - as the time of "dog’s graves" and the ideology whose motto was: "It doesn't matter who lives in Serbia and in these areas, what matters is that they are communists!" "Therefore, when we speak about the suffering of the Serb people in the 20th century, we must take into account all the horrors and dreadful places where Serbs suffered during the wars, as well as during the communist revolution," Hrizostom emphasized. According to him, we have had the opportunity to hear the testimonies and see the tears and pain of the victims of Goli Otok and other Yugoslav communist prisons, where Serbs were tortured, abused, and killed. Speaking about the much-suffering Central Podrinje and Birač regions, the Metropolitan recalled that the Serbs in this area found themselves on the path of conquerors heading east, and thus suffered repeatedly - they were gathered into the first concentration camp in Europe, established by the Austro-Hungarian authorities in Doboj from 1915 to 1918. Later, during World War II, Nazi Germany sent the infamous Handschar Division to exterminate those who remained after Jure Francetić and the Ustasha in 1942-1943. "And during the 1992–1995 war, Podrinje together with Birač was a particular target of both Muslim paramilitary units and NATO forces in Europe. This suffering was especially painful and difficult because the criminals and murderers were protected and hidden in the so-called UN-protected zones," noted Metropolitan Hrizostom. The Metropolitan of Dabar-Bosnia also reminded that from these zones, which were turned into military camps, murderers and criminals were allowed to go out and massacre the Serb people in Podrinje and Birač. "Therefore, we must finally expose the hypocrisy of the UN personnel from 1992 to 1995," concluded Metropolitan Hrizostom. THE CULTURE OF REMEMBRANCE MUST BE PRECEDED BY THE CULTURE OF MEMORY The Metropolitan warns that it is very important for the Serb people to remember everything that happened in the 20th century, because forgetfulness was imposed upon the Serbs, and today we wonder how it was possible for children to forget the suffering of their grandfathers, fathers, brothers, and sisters in Jasenovac, Jadovno, Brod na Drini, and thousands of other places. The communist regime, the Metropolitan added, systematically and deliberately imposed forgetfulness as an axiom. "We remember well how we were taught in elementary schools and taken to the unveiling of monuments to the fighters of World War II, and how it all turned into entertainment events -festivities, horse races, and all sorts of activities. We knew nothing and heard nothing about Jasenovac, nor about Jadovno, Brod na Drini, the pits and sinkholes in Istria. Everything was covered with flowers and roses, over which we, as pioneers and new generations, played and sang, while beneath those flowers and roses were the execution sites, martyrs, and victims," Metropolitan Hrizostom emphasized. That is why, Metropolitan Hrizostom stresses, it is extremely important to preserve the culture of memory, and based on that culture, to remember all the victims, wars, and sufferings.