Starović: This is the first time the head of state was banned from visiting a concentration camp

State Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Nemanja Starović assessed that the decision of the Croatian authorities to ban the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, from a private visit to Jasenovac is a scandal that cannot have a favorable impact on the further development of relations between the two countries. He also points out that never in the history of Europe and post WWII was a head of state forbidden from visiting the location of a concentration camp, either in official or private capacity.

Starović stated that the Serbian authorities have not yet received any rational explanation for this move by the Croatian authorities and added that the explanations from the Croatian press, where this event is connected with the anniversary of the criminal operation “Storm”, cannot be accepted or plausible, since the first request for organization of the official visit arrived in September of last year, 11 months before the announced commemoration of that action in Knin.

He added that the real reasons lie somewhere else and that the time will tell that it perhaps lies in the unwillingness of the Croatian authorities and society as a whole to properly come to terms with the facts about the terrible crimes committed against the Serbian, Jewish and Roma people in the Independent State of Croatia.

“I think that the visit of the President of Serbia, the laying of wreaths and the lighting of candles at the largest Serbian execution site would inevitably remind them of the essence and character of those crimes, and that would be a hard and uncomfortable fact to swallow.” Starović told to Tanjug.

He says that the Government of Serbia will decide on possible countermeasures in the coming period, and said of the comments of Croatian officials calling yesterday's reaction of President Vučić “hysterical”, that the reaction of the President of Serbia, on the contrary, was extremely measured.

He points out that we should take into account the fact that in September of last year and in March of this year, the request of the Croatian authorities to postpone the announced visits to Jasenovac was accepted, and even this time when, he says, Vučić was forbidden to visit Jasenovac privately without any reason.

“No alarm was raised here, in Belgrade, nor did Vučić do so; the hysteria actually started with articles in the Croatian press on Sunday morning, and of course it was necessary to adequately respond to such brutal lies and the campaign launched from Zagreb.” said Starović.

He stated that in the note sent by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Serbia to Zagreb, a request was made that under the existing circumstances, after the “meaningless and illegal” ban for the President of Serbia to visit the Jasenovac camp privately, Vučić should be allowed an official visit by September 17.

“Whether that visit will happen or not, we cannot know at this moment since it is not in our hands. However, the announcements in the Croatian press from, as they say, unofficial sources, saying that the final realization of that visit will come with some new conditions, and such a visit cannot happen before the autumn months are scandalous." says Starović.

He emphasized that the basic human right to freedom of movement was violated with this move of the Croatian authorities and added that in the past year alone, more than 700 personal entries into the territory of Serbia by persons with diplomatic or official Croatian passports were recorded.

He added that this is something that is completely normal and usual, and that every ban of this kind is a scandal in itself, as well as that there is no adequate reaction from the European Union on this occasion.

He stated that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has already sent a sharp protest note to the International Alliance for Remembrance of the Holocaust as a very respectable and important international organization that deals with nurturing the culture of remembrance for the victims of Nazism and fascism in the Second World War, and added that adequate reactions arrived very quickly by the American Holocaust Museum.

He pointed out that Serbia wants to direct relations with Croatia towards the future and common challenges, which can potentially bring the two countries together, but also said that he does not want to gloss over this behaviour of official Zagreb.

“We cannot and will not gloss over the great disrespect that was shown above all to the victims of the Serbian, Jewish and Roma people who suffered during the Second World War in the ISC and of course we will do everything within our purview to inform the domestic and primarily the international about this inexcusable behaviour on the part of Croatia.", concluded Starović.