Milorad Dodik said in Donja Gradina that the people murdered in Jasenovac concentration camp and Donja Gradina were killed solely because of their identity, names, faith, and because they were born as members of the Serb, Jewish, and Roma communities.
Dodik stated that known truths must continue to be repeated, noting that the silence of Donja Gradina speaks most powerfully about the crimes committed there. He recalled that the Ustasha regime operated child camps, killed children, forcibly converted them, and subjected them to starvation.
He said the pain spread through Jasenovac and its largest execution site, Donja Gradina, will live for centuries and continue to testify to the suffering of murdered Serbs, Jews, and Roma.
“We will not forget,” Dodik said, adding that remembrance is a duty owed to the victims.
He described the Independent State of Croatia as a state built on an ideology of evil and accused its authorities and collaborators of crimes against the Serb population throughout the region.
Dodik also criticized the absence of EU ambassadors at the commemoration and linked it to political disagreements over Christian Schmidt.
“We did not want this to be about politics. There is no place for politics here. This is the truth,” Dodik said.
He stressed that the Serb people today have Republika Srpska, Serbia, and their dignity, adding that they will not allow revision of history.
Dodik thanked guests from Israel, the United States, and Russia for attending, and gave special thanks to Aleksandar Vučić, saying his political victory in Serbia helped establish the joint marking of important dates from Serb history.
Source: RTRS
