English

18.07.2025

Time10:08:00

DODIK: EVERY CHILD DESERVES LIFE, THEIR SACRIFICE REMINDS US - HUMANITY IS NOT A MATTER OF CHOICE, BUT A SACRED DUTY

BANJA LUKA, JULY 18 /SRNA/ – President of Republika Srpska Milorad Dodik emphasized that in the Independent State of Croatia /NDH/, according to incomplete data, 74,642 children, from newborns to 14-year-olds, were tortured, tormented, and killed in a bestial manner, stating that these innocent little people are a symbol of the deepest injustice and a cry of humanity’s conscience against hatred and human evil.

BANJA LUKA, JULY 18 /SRNA/ – President of Republika Srpska Milorad Dodik emphasized that in the Independent State of Croatia /NDH/, according to incomplete data, 74,642 children, from newborns to 14-year-olds, were tortured, tormented, and killed in a bestial manner, stating that these innocent little people are a symbol of the deepest injustice and a cry of humanity’s conscience against hatred and human evil.



On the occasion of the Day of Remembrance for the murdered and tormented children in the NDH, which will be marked tomorrow in the hamlet of Macure, in the Prijedor settlement of Gornji Jelovac, Dodik told SRNA that their suffering must not remain just a number, because behind each of those numbers is an innocent child, their first and last name, a heart that was violently stopped in the darkness of crime. "These are names that never heard the first school bell, hands that never drew a flower, eyes that saw the world only through fear. They perished only because they were `different,` because they belonged to another nationality, but in reality – they were the purest and most innocent. That is why it is our obligation, as a people and as a state, not to forget them, because remembrance is resistance to evil and monstrosity, remembrance is justice, and silence is complicity in crime and human bestiality. Truth is our obligation, and remembrance is our debt," President Dodik said. He emphasized that every murdered child is a violently interrupted dream, a silenced innocent smile, an unfulfilled childhood, and they were killed only because they were Serbs, Roma, Jews, or because they were not “suitable enough” in the system of hatred built by the NDH. "Many of those little ones perished in horrific agony in camps such as Jasenovac, Stara Gradiška, Jastrebarsko, Sisak, where there was no mercy even for pure, innocent children’s souls. The crime committed against children remains one of the darkest chapters in the history of this region. The Ustasha regime took their lives before they even got to know life. In fact, they only knew its dark side. They did not live to learn what love is, to hug a parent, a brother, a sister, a friend... Their suffering and murder by the hand of hatred oblige us not only to remember, but also to persistently fight against all forms of revisionism, forgetting, and denial of crimes," the President of Srpska emphasized. He asked how it is possible that hands created for hugging became hands that kill children, and that a human heart became so numb that it could extinguish the lives of those who had just begun to live, to rejoice in life!? "That is why it is necessary to nurture a culture of remembrance, to speak the truth loudly and to give voice to those from whom it was violently taken – the children who perished under the Ustasha regime of the NDH. There is no progress as long as there is forgetting. There is no peace if it is built on lies. And that is why every day, from the many sites of horrific crimes, we must send a clear message – the truth will not be silenced, and the victims will not be erased from memory. Our obligation remains sacred – to speak in their name, to teach new generations what happened, and what must never happen again. By remembering the innocent souls who perished, we are not calling for hatred, but for responsibility. We do not seek revenge, but justice. We do not build the future on wounds, but on the truth about those wounds. Countless times in the past, Serbs have been victims of crimes precisely because we were naive, because we forgot, and mostly because others concealed and hid the truth," President Dodik stressed. He stated that the suffering of these and all other children in past wars must remain an eternal warning to us that evil can repeat itself when man turns his head away, when he forgets the past. "It is our duty and obligation to remember them, for the wounds of our people to always hurt us, and never to allow anyone to say that the crime did not happen. If we forget, we kill them again. Their sacrifice reminds us and eternally teaches us that humanity is not a matter of choice, but a sacred duty. We all came to this world to be human, so let us be human," President Dodik emphasized. He highlighted that the decision of the Government of Republika Srpska to commemorate this day is of great importance for the Serb people, because every dark date reminds Serbs and constantly recalls the time of evil and the crimes committed against them. "Such decisions confirm that Republika Srpska and its institutions stand with their people and do not allow forgetting. Therefore, every day, and especially important historical dates, should remind us of what we have created and what we have – our Republika Srpska and our institutions that we must defend, because without them, there is no us. That is our strength and our existence!" President Dodik stated. The Day of Remembrance for the murdered and tormented children in the NDH will be marked tomorrow in the hamlet of Macure in the Prijedor settlement of Gornji Jelovac. At 6:00 p.m. memorial service will be held at the ossuary in Macure for the murdered children in the NDH, followed by the laying of wreaths and flowers, and a spiritual program. The marking of the Day of Remembrance for the children killed during the genocide against Serbs, Jews, and Roma in the NDH from 1941–1945 is organized by the Committee of the Government of Republika Srpska for Nurturing the Traditions of Liberation Wars.

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