KARAN: DOBRILA KUKOLJ REMEMBERED AS SYMBOL OF RESISTANCE TO EVIL

BANJA LUKA, MAY 21 /SRNA/ - Republika Srpska President Siniša Karan said that longtime president of the Banja Luka Association of WWII Camp Inmates Dobrila Kukolj will be remembered as a woman who experienced evil but did not allow it to defeat humanity, stressing that her testimonies about the suffering of Jasenovac inmates are a lasting reminder of the importance of remembering victims and preserving the dignity of the people.

Karan said that the citizens of Republika Srpska are today bidding farewell to Dobrila Kukolj, a woman whose life became a testimony to one of the most horrific sufferings of the Serb people in the 20th century. He noted that Dobrila Kukolj was not only a child who survived the Jasenovac concentration camp, but also a living witness of a system of evil that aimed to permanently erase the Serb people. "As a ten-year-old girl, she was taken to Jasenovac, where she spent months witnessing what no child should ever see. The Ustasha criminals did not take only her childhood from her, but also her family, security and peace", Karan said at the commemoration in Banja Luka marking Kukolj`s passing. He stressed that despite everything, Dobrila Kukolj did not allow fear to defeat truth. "All her life she carried the painful memory of the suffering of the Serb people, but also the strength to continuously speak about it, visiting Jasenovac and bearing witness, warning that the victims must not be forgotten", Karan stressed. He noted that her testimonies about the ordeal of the camp inmates represent a significant contribution to the culture of remembrance for future generations, as well as a lasting reminder of the importance of remembering victims and preserving the dignity of the people. "Dobrila Kukolj will be remembered as a woman who experienced evil but did not allow evil to defeat humanity and memory. Her name, courage and dignity will live on through all of us who will remember her with respect", Karan stated. The commemoration at the Banski Dvor Cultural Center in Banja Luka was attended, in addition to Kukolj's family members, by the Serb member of the BiH Presidency Željka Cvijanović, Republika Srpska Prime Minister Savo Minić and SNSD leader Milorad Dodik. Dobrila Kukolj, who passed away yesterday in Banja Luka at the age of 94, will be buried today at noon at the Sveti Pantelija cemetery.