RISTIĆ: JASENOVAC IS A PLACE OF GREATEST GOLGOTHA, BUT ALSO RESURRECTION OF THE SERBIAN PEOPLE

JASENOVAC, SEPTEMBER 7 /SRNA/ - Dejan Ristić, Serbia's Minister of Information and Telecommunications, who attended the prayer celebration of the Holy New Martyrs of Jasenovac at the Monastery of the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist in Jasenovac and the Jasenovac Memorial Area, said that Jasenovac is the place of the greatest Golgotha in the history of the Serbian people, but also of their resurrection, in all their nobility, goodness, and strength.

Following the Holy Liturgy, Ristić emphasized that Jasenovac is a place of unimaginable suffering for the Serbian people, where the atmosphere of Holy Saturday permanently reigns, according to the Serbian Ministry of Information and Telecommunications. He emphasized that Jasenovac is also a place of victory of life over death and love over hatred, as the Serbian people, despite the immense suffering they endured during the genocide committed against them by the Croatian state during World War II, emerged from the conflict as victors. "Jasenovac is a place that transcends all human logic because, following Christ's sacrifice, the Serbian people suffered terribly here, but after April 22, 1945, they resurrected in all their nobility, goodness, and strength," Ristić said. The prayer celebration of the Holy New Martyrs of Jasenovac, organized by the Serbian Orthodox Diocese of Pakrac-Slavonia, was attended by Republika Srpska President Milorad Dodik, the envoy of the Prime Minister of Serbia, Sava Stambolić, the Minister without Portfolio in the Government of Serbia, Đorđe Milićević, state secretaries from various Serbian ministries, the Serbian Ambassador to Croatia, Jelena Milić, the acting director of the Museum of Genocide Victims, Bojan Arbutina, Prince Filip Karađorđević, and many other notable figures. The Holy Hierarchical Liturgy was led by the Archbishop and Metropolitan of Mileševa, Atanasije, with the concelebration of Bishop Jovan of Pakrac-Slavonia, Bishop Isihije of Valjevo, Bishop Justin of Western Europe, and a large number of hieromonks and priests of the Serbian Orthodox Church. The prayer celebration was also attended by a large number of descendants of the victims, government officials, public figures, and citizens from several countries. As part of the rich, multi-day program commemorating the Holy New Martyrs of Jasenovac, the Museum of Genocide Victims ceremoniously opened a permanent exhibition on Thursday, September 5th, in the building of the "Ustasha Hospital," one of the two remaining authentic structures from the former system of concentration and death camps of the Independent State of Croatia in Jasenovac. The prayer celebration of the Holy New Martyrs of Jasenovac is held in memory of the victims of the genocide that the Independent State of Croatia carried out against the Serbian people during World War II across its entire territory.