CVIJANOVIĆ: PREBILOVCI CRIME A SYMBOL OF THE SUFFERING OF SERBS IN HERZEGOVINA DURING THE GENOCIDE IN THE NDH

EAST SARAJEVO, AUGUST 6 /SRNA/ – Serb member of the BiH Presidency, Željka Cvijanović, stated that the massacre in Prebilovci stands as a symbol of the suffering of Serbs in Herzegovina during the genocide committed by the Independent State of Croatia /NDH/.

"Out of around one thousand residents living in Prebilovci before World War II, more than 800 villagers who were in the village at the time, primarily women, children, and the elderly, were brutally murdered in August 1941 in the most monstrous way. The testimonies of this gruesome massacre are beyond the comprehension of any sane human mind and vividly reflect the pathological hatred of the perpetrators," Cvijanović told SRNA on the occasion of the 84th anniversary of the massacre committed by the Ustasha in Prebilovci between August 6 and 11, 1941, under the command of Ivan Jovanović Crni. She emphasized that this was not a military operation, but a genocidal campaign, during which all villagers were murdered in the most inhumane ways simply because they were Orthodox Serbs. "In Prebilovci, as across the NDH, they tried to erase every trace of our existence, which makes it all the more our duty never to forget their savage crimes or our innocent martyred victims. Remembering the past and learning its lessons is the only way for us to build a more peaceful and secure future for the generations to come," Cvijanović concluded.