LEARN ABOUT SUFFERING OF SERBS EXHIBITION PRESENTED AT U.S. CONGRESS

WASHINGTON, SEPTEMBER 22 /SRNA/ – The Republika Srpska Memorial Centre presented Learn about Suffering of Serbs exhibition at the US Congress which, through documents, testimonies and historical facts, speaks about the suffering of the Serb people throughout the 20th century.

The exhibition has been installed in the US House of Representatives building, through which members of Congress, their staff, employees, journalists and visitors pass every day, the Republika Srpska Memorial Centre announced. Željka Cvijanović, the Serb BiH Presidency member, visited the exhibition and emphasized the importance of the exhibition being presented precisely at the US Congress. "This gives all visitors, as well as Congress members, an opportunity to become better acquainted with the history and suffering of the Serb people," Cvijanović said. Denis Bojić, director of the Republika Srpska Memorial Centre, said that presenting the exhibition at Congress was an important step in the effort to give the suffering of Serbs issue greater visibility in the US political and institutional environment. He stressed that this was an exceptionally important step for both Republika Srpska and Serb people's national issue. "We have established contacts with important people in the US administration and received a firm commitment that the suffering of Serbs issue will be highly positioned and presented at important venues in the period ahead," Bojić said. He stated that the goal was also to present the suffering of Serbs as an issue relevant to understanding the Balkans and broader international relations. Former US Congressman Bob McEwen said it was important for new generations of US political representatives to become familiar with the history of the Serb people. "It is important that every new generation of members of Congress, congressional and political leaders understand the significant role Serbia has played in development - economic and political, and in the struggle for peace. The entire world should know what is presented here in order to avoid repeating such things," McEwen said. One of the exhibition's visitors, Brandon Welsh, said that he had previously been unaware of all the historical facts presented. "Honestly, until today I was not familiar with all of this, and I believe this is an important story that members of Congress, congressional staff and everyone who passes through Rayburn house office building today should learn about," Welsh said. Dušan Marinković, an international trade expert at the US Department of Commerce, said it was significant that history and suffering of Serbs were being discussed in institutions of this kind, adding that most of the world was unfortunately not familiar with these matters. "I am glad that you have organised this so well and that, at least, we have institutions and people who care about preserving the memory of the victims and who organise events like this in places like this, so that this story can be heard from the Serbs," Marinković said. The exhibition covers the suffering of the Serb people during the First and Second World Wars, as well as during the 1990s wars and is part of the international Learn about Suffering of Serbs campaign. The Republika Srpska Memorial Centre has so far collected more than 1,500 audio-visual testimonies about the suffering of the Serb people. Following presentations in New York, Vienna and Rome, the campaign has now been presented in Washington, with the support of the Ministry for European Integration and International Cooperation of Republika Srpska and the Republika Srpska Representative Office in Washington.