TO PRESERVE REPUBLIKA SRPSKA SO THAT WWII SUFFERINGS NEVER REPEAT

BANJA LUKA, APRIL 17 /SRNA/ – Republika Srpska President Siniša Karan stated that the memories and truth about the suffering of Serbs in the Second World War represent experiences on the basis of which Republika Srpska was created, and that everyone is fully aware of the need to preserve it so that tragedies such as those in Jasenovac are never repeated.

After the premiere of the film “The Last Witness,” which depicts the life of the Jasenovac camp survivor Jelena Buhač-Radojčić, Karan said that presenting the truth through survivor testimony is the best way to preserve evidence. He stressed that Republika Srpska has an obligation toward current and future generations to ensure that such atrocities never happen again. “We are currently witnessing a revision of what happened to the Serb people in the Second World War in the NDH, where genocide was committed. Such testimonies and scientifically proven historical facts clearly confirm this,” Karan told reporters. According to him, the film has broad social, cultural, historical, and educational significance and should be watched by all generations, especially youth. “Let us remember, so that such things never happen again to anyone,” Karan said. The film premiere was held on the occasion of marking the Day of Remembrance for the victims of genocide against Serbs, Jews, and Roma in the Independent State of Croatia from 1941 to 1945. The film was directed by Nedeljko Lajšić and produced by Una Film Belgrade, organised by the Office of Republika Srpska President. The Republika Srpska Government declared April 19 a Day of Mourning in the entity, marking the Day of Remembrance for the victims of the Ustasha genocide in the Jasenovac concentration camp and its largest execution site, Donja Gradina in the NDH from 1941 to 1945. According to data of the Donja Gradina Memorial Zone, 700,000 victims of Ustasha crimes were killed in the notorious Jasenovac camp during World War II, including 500,000 Serbs, 40,000 Roma, 33,000 Jews, and 127,000 anti-fascists. Around 20,000 children were killed in Jasenovac.