"As a result we enter the New Year with hope and belief in a better future but also with a feeling of concern that has inevitably resulted from that act in that place. One man's death cannot be the reason for negating another man's death. One man's suffering cannot be the reason for insulting the memory of the suffering of any other man, especially not in such a place of historic suffering and historic fall, in a place where in the 20th century the largest number of Croats were killed. I am not talking about Serbs, Roma or Jews but about Croats who because of their political disagreement and political ideas were killed in that horrible place of execution. Close to 8,000. We must do our best to preserve what was created in the autumn of 2016, the platform and policies that were given the opportunity to bring full peace and restoration of trust to Croatia," Pupovac told a large number of guests who gathered for the event at the Croatian Journalists Association (HND) offices.
Recalling the September 2016 parliamentary election and its outcome, Pupovac said that the election brought "an atmosphere of eased tensions and a promise of absence of conflicts as well as dedication to social problems and issues of importance to the Croatian society, state and all citizens, including those of Serb descent."
"For that we have to thank the first man and representative of that policy, Andrej Plenkovic," said Pupovac.
Commenting on the status of Croatian Serbs, Pupovac said that in terms of education, there remained a lot of work to be done since of 570 textbooks necessary for Serb curricula in Croatia, only 115 had been published. When it comes to the development of Serb returnee communities, the Serb community places its trust in cooperation and in the programme defined together with the government, Pupovac said.
Calling for tolerance, acceptance and dedication to common interests, he said: "It is our duty to contribute to peace-building in the region where we exist as a country and a nation. It may seem that we have completed our work but we have not. In many aspects the situation has worsened."
Addressing the event, Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said that his government was sending messages of dialogue, cooperation, co-existence, tolerance and orientation to the future.
He said that Croatia, following a just, defensive war in which it was a victim of the Greater Serbian aggression, had achieved freedom and independence, a society based on the highest democratic values and respect for human and minority rights.
"That Croatia, which wants to regulate relations with all minorities, now has a government that is supported by all eight representatives of ethnic minorities in the parliament. I personally wanted it to be that way and I want it to remain so in the future because that is the best way for all ethnic minorities in Croatia to exercise their rights. The Croatian state respects its minorities and will do its best to enable the Serb and other minorities to live in the best possible circumstances, in line with the country's economic and social potential," said Plenkovic.
He recalled that the 20th century had been marked by big tragedies and conflicts, "which obliges us to discuss and launch in 2017, in a rational and pluralistic way, the process of coming to terms with the past. I hope that that process will be opened in a peaceful, calm, rational and lawful way, and hopefully be completed by the end of this government's term so that we can take a position and achieve the broadest possible social and political consensus on all issues from our recent past - that is my and my government's ambition," said Plenkovic.
The SNV's Christmas reception was also addressed by Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic's envoy, Vladimir Bozovic, who wished Croatian Serbs to "achieve all of their rights in line with European standards, the way Serbia guarantees rights to Croats and all other minorities."
He noted that Serbia would help Croatian Serbs through all challenges and problems and protect them with all means available.
Bozovic said that his message to the Croatian leadership and citizens was one of peace, togetherness and encouragement to build together economically strong and democratically stable societies.
"Serbia wants to have the best possible relations with Croatia and therefore has the role of a regional stability factor, and it will continue to do so in the future. We cannot change or forget the tragic and horrible past, but based on historical facts, humanity, and common fundamental European values, we can and must change the present and the future. A people with the Jasenovac flower in its heart and soul must not and will not bow its head to anyone, but rather will proudly build a better future with truth, justice and love," Bozovic said.
The event was also addressed by Zagreb Mayor Milan Bandic, who underlined the good cooperation between the City of Zagreb and the Serb community, as well as by Italian minority MP Furio Radin, who was Parliament Speaker Bozo Petrov's envoy at the ceremony.
"Any negation of another person is nothing but the negation of oneself and of the meaning of one's existence," the head of the Serb Orthodox Church in Slovenia and Croatia, Metropolitan Porfirije Peric, said at the event.
The traditional SNV Christmas reception also included an award-giving ceremony. Among those who were given awards were residents of the community of Srb, who were presented with the "Dr Gojko Nikolis" award for anti-fascism, and historian Hrvoje Klasic, who won the "Svetozar Pribicevic" award for the promotion of Croatian-Serbian relations.