BY REGISTERING VICTIMS OF THE 1990S, SRPSKA HAS SET A GOOD EXAMPLE

BELGRADE, MAY 24 /SRNA/ - Director of the Archives of Vojvodina Nebojša Kuzmanović told SRNA that it is good that Republika Srpska has compiled a register of Serb victims from the Patriotic Wars of the 1990s.

“This is a good example for everyone, including us in Serbia,” Kuzmanović said, adding that systematic collection and preservation of archival material is necessary to establish the truth about the victims, and that work is ongoing in this regard. Kuzmanović pointed out that the Serbian people, unfortunately, still do not have a complete register of victims from the First and Second World Wars. Kuzmanović also pointed to the excellent cooperation between the Archives of Vojvodina and the Archives of Republika Srpska, which jointly publish books, highlighting in particular work on the joint project “Ustasha Atrocities.” He especially emphasized cooperation in organizing archival material at Hilandar Monastery, which he described as a great privilege granted to three people from the Archives of Vojvodina and one from the Archives of Republika Srpska. “You can talk, make films, write books, but when you touch or see a document from eight hundred years ago about the founding of a monastery, or about the founding of the Serbian state, or about the coronation of our first king, what can you even say? You are left speechless, proud and happy that we are truly a historical nation,” Kuzmanović emphasized. Kuzmanović said that there was a Nemanjić monastery in Jerusalem, as well as places that Saint Sava had purchased. “That is something fascinating, that in the Middle Ages, Serbia was among only four or five states that had their own properties and monasteries in Jerusalem. That is something truly phenomenal. And it is the task of the archives to preserve original documents, which we are doing,” Kuzmanović said. Kuzmanović assessed that in the modern era, there is a risk of document loss due to reliance on electronic archives, and he appealed to citizens to preserve every piece of paper, as it may become a valuable historical source over time.