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Serbian President Aleksander Vučić stated during a public appearance on Monday, July 18 that Croatian authorities had twice rejected his request to visit Jasenovac, while he accused Zagreb of making “crazy nonsense” claims.
Commenting on the refusal by the Croatian authorities to allow him a “private” visit to the memorial complex dedicated to the victims of World War II crimes, because it had not been officially notified, Vucic said he had sent requests for the visit in September of 2021 and in March of this year.
“We received a response that the visit was not welcome at the moment. I said that I don’t care to hear any more of that nonsense, that it’s not the right time, and that I just want to put a flower and nothing more. And then they created this circus”, said Vucic.
The President of Serbia said that he intended to go on a private visit, “without special media coverage” and that he would not make statements that would imply provocation.
“It is a pity that in the 81 years since the establishment of one of the most terrible Nazi death camps in Europe, no Serbian president has been to Jasenovac. I have been there on two occasions, but not as president. The goal is to show respect for the victims and nothing more than that,” said Vucic.
Croatian authorities announced that the visit was unannounced and that the mandatory procedure applicable to visits by senior officials was missing.
Belgrade responded by condemning the decision and announcing that it would implement a special vetting regime for all Croatian officials who want to visit Serbia.
Vučić criticized the media in Croatia and repeatedly returned to the statement of the Croatian Foreign Minister, Goran Grlić Radman, who said that the visit to Jasenovac was not a trip to the sea and that it was the visit of a president of a country, where it is necessary to respect procedures.
“I’m not going to the sea, I want to go to Jasenovac”, Vucic repeated several times, adding that many citizens go to the sea in Croatia and boast of this fact, but that “this was not his case”, and that especially he did not would go to Dubrovnik or Rovinj.
He added that Serbia always wants to have “civilized communication” with Croatia, but that after this event “we realized that Jasenovac is a forbidden place”.
“We will work so that it is not a forbidden place in the minds of Serbian children”, Vučić said and warned of “big, systematic changes in the Serbian education system” and that more and more investments would be made in new plays, films , series and books about Jasenovac.
Croatian Foreign Minister Gordan Gërlić Radman, through a media conference, clarified on July 17 that the Croatian authorities had been informed through unofficial channels that Vučić was planning to visit Jasenovac and Pakrac and stated that he had submitted a note of protest to Serbia.
“We reminded them that in the case of any visit by foreign officials, the time, place and plan of the visit must be agreed between the two parties in advance. Croatia has not been informed, this is unacceptable for Croatia”, he said.
After the dispute, Serbian Foreign Minister Nikola Selakovic stated that Belgrade sent a request to Zagreb expressing Vučić’s willingness to officially visit Jasenovac.
“Since they objected to our procedure and are trying to object to our honesty, here we are announcing that the president wants to come and that the visit will be accompanied by everything needed in an official visit of a state president,” said Selakovic on “Pink TV”. on July 18.
According to him, Serbia is submitting an official request for Vuçiqi to visit Jasenovac on September 17.
There is still no official confirmation from Zagreb if the request for the visit of the Serbian president has arrived
In the Jasenovac camp, on the territory of the then Independent State of Croatia (NDH), during the Second World War, large-scale crimes against Serbs, Jews and Roma were committed.
The number of victims in Jasenovac is the object of disagreement between the official historiography of Serbia and Croatia, as well as accusations from one side and from the other for exaggerating or minimizing the number of people killed.
Belgrade and Zagreb also have unresolved issues thirty years after the war in the former Yugoslavia – such as finding the remains of the missing and prosecuting war crimes, while the two countries also clash over the border on the Danube River.
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