Ivanić: A nation that does not respect its victims has a serious problem

ŠARANOVE JAME, (Patria) - The cabinet of the BiH Presidency member Mladen Ivanić announced that Ivanić attended the commemoration service at Šaranova Jama on Velebit on Saturday for Serbs killed in World War II and the commemoration of the Day of Remembrance of Jadovno 1941.

After the service and laying of wreaths and flowers, Ivanić addressed the attendees, emphasizing that with great reverence, he once again came this year to bow to, as he said, the souls of innocent victims.

"Coming here along these roads, I thought about the columns of these people who were brought from various regions and executed here simply because they were people who thought differently, prayed differently," said Ivanić, reports Patria agency.

"There were cases before, but this was a symbolic beginning of a great suffering of the Serbian people from this region. Unfortunately, this is still a place that does not have the weight it should have in our schools, in textbooks, and in places of remembrance. A nation that does not respect its victims has a serious problem, and we, as a nation, must give this place much greater significance," Ivanić stressed.

The BiH Presidency member also spoke about the need and necessity, as he said, for serious involvement of institutions in nurturing the culture of remembrance of the suffering of the Serbian people at this and all other execution sites, so that future generations can learn and remember the victims of horrific crimes.