COMMEMORATION TAKES PLACE IN JASENOVAC

JASENOVAC, April 16 (Hina) - The fifty-fifth anniversary of the breakthrough of the last group of prisoners at the Jasenovac World War II Ustashi concentration camp was marked Sunday at the memorial site some 100 kilometres south of Zagreb. #L# On behalf of the Croatian President, his advisor for military issues General Imra Agotic, laid a wreath in the memorial crypt. Wreaths were also laid by senior Government and Parliament officials, Russian Ambassador's envoy, Aleksandar Botyanovsky, former camp prisoners, representatives of the Croatian Anti- Fascist Association, delegations of Slovenia and Bosnia- Herzegovina and the Coordination of Jewish Communities in Croatia, as well as representatives of the Romany community and non- government organisations. Culture Minister Antun Vujic said speaking at this occasion was "a great responsibility, even the greater because of the fact that we are leaving a period in which various doubts occurred about our path. We now know that the victorious path is the one which was paved by the skeletal remains of those who stayed here and those who enabled us, by anti-fascist tradition, to create this democratic Croatia," Vujic said. "There were many victims in this camp. There were many Croatians who fell victim because of their political beliefs. The Croatian Government and State will assume the responsibility for us to meet here every year," he said. "Assuming responsibility when it comes to the Croatian State is another proof of where the Croatian State is and where it is going," Vujic said, stressing a law would soon be passed on the Jasenovac memorial site. Speaking on behalf of the Parliament, deputy president Baltazar Jalsovec said it was an honour to bow to the victims of Jasenovac. He stressed these victims had to be a warning that nobody in this region should "ever again raise their hand on another only because they are of a different religion, political convictions or of another nation". According to a representative of the Coordination of Jewish Communities in Croatia, Ognjen Kraus, Jasenovac must remain a warning and symbol of the suffering of the victims of the Ustashi regime. "Today, here at Jasenovac, we voice our wish and hope for an end to the perjury of history and for us to finally face the truth, confess to the crime and leave the victims to rest in peace. This is the way to realise a democratic society, our ideals and our happiness. Until it happens, we will continue to be loud," Kraus said. Speaking on behalf of the Serb People's Council was Milorad Pupovac, representatives of anti-fascist fighters from Bosnia- Herzegovina and Slovenia, as well as representatives of the Romany communities in Croatia. (hina) lml