ALEKSANDAR VUČIĆ: We must not forget Jasenovac, but we must not dream of revenge

A commemoration for the victims of the Ustasha regime in the Independent State of Croatia (NDH), founded on April 10, 1941, was held at the Yugoslav Cinematheque in Belgrade on Sunday. Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vučić said that "we do not dream of revenge because life is and must be our answer".

"We will not and must not forget, but we want peace and good relations with Croatia," Vučić said at the commemorative gathering, Hina reports. He added that it was "the largest grave of Serbs and a mass grave for Jews and Roma".

"When the NDH was proclaimed on April 10, more than a million Serbs lived there, and today there are 80 percent fewer. That is the decimation of an entire people in just 75 years," Vučić said, emphasizing that this must be preserved from oblivion and any revision of history.

"According to the testimonies of those who exterminated them, 500,000 Serbs were killed in four years, other sources claim the final number is 700,000. The question remains whether it was extermination or not, whether there is remorse or not," said Vučić.

The Serbian Prime Minister also stated on Sunday that he expects even more "stumbling blocks for Serbia" from Croatia on its path to European integration, but that he also expects support from the EU.

"Now everything is up to the Croats. We have not said a single harsh word, and let them do what they want. We will continue to develop and we will see what Europe will say, and we expect its support," Vučić told the commercial pro-government TV Pink, reports Jutarnji list.

The Serbian Prime Minister added that he had not spoken with any Croatian officials after Zagreb's decision to deny Serbia the green light to open Chapter 23, emphasizing that he did not intend to call "those who come out with an ultimatum position".

The President of Republika Srpska, Milorad Dodik, also spoke at the gathering, who assessed that the formation of the NDH was "the beginning of enormous suffering of Serbs in these areas".

The Yugoslav Cinematheque, as part of the program "Time of Crimes", will screen the films "Jasenovac" by Bogdan Žižić (1966), "Gospa - Queen of Croats" (1992) by Krsto Škanata, and "Blood and Ash of Jasenovac" by Lordan Zafranović (1983).

On Monday, the films "Children from Hell" by Suad Mrkonjić (1967), Gojko Kastratović's film "Gospel of Evil" (1973), "Tower of Death - Stara Gradiška Camp No. V" by Vladimir Tadej (1987) will be screened, and on Tuesday, a screening of Zdravko Šotra's film "Brothers by Mother" (1988) is planned, reports Patria.