Wednesday, August 31, 2016

СЛС потсећа надлежне органе да постоји и велики број убистава са политичком позадином за које је одговорна Титова тајна полиција, а која су до данашњег дана неразјашњена и то. / Српски либерални савет




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СЛС потсећа надлежне органе да постоји и велики број убистава са политичком позадином за које је одговорна Титова тајна полиција, а која су до данашњег дана неразјашњена и то.

 
1. Потпуковник Синиша Оцокољић Пазарац, командант Млавског корпуса, киднапован у Аустрији 16. октобра 1954, пребачан у Југославију и убијен у Београду, у затвору, без суда.
 
2. Капетан Андрија Андра Лончарић, официр за везу између Драже и југословенске владе у Каиру. Одлежао је 14 година робије у земљи, па је емигрирао. Убијен је у Паризу, 6. марта 1969. године.
 
3. Поручник Бора Благојевић, командир Штабне чете Дринског корпуса. После рата држао ресторан ''Сарајево'' у Бриселу. Убијен пред улазом у свој стан, 8. марта 1975. године. Бора је био одликован Карађорђевом звездом са мачевима и Сребрном и Златном медаљом Милоша Обилића за храброст.
 
4. Петар Љ. Валић, новинар, током рата уредник дневног листа ''Видовдан'', издање Шумадијске групе корпуса, као и истог листа у издању 2. равногорског корпуса. Такође уредник ''Гласа Опленца'', листа Горске гарде, као и ''Шумадије'', листа Шумадијске групе корпуса. Користио је псеудониме ''Слободан Небојшић'' и ''Пјер''. У емиграцији је уређивао лист ''Васкрс Србије''. Убијен је 13. маја 1976. у Бриселу.
 
5. Миодраг Бошковић, четник  После рата власник хотела ''Бошко'' у Бриселу и предсседник удружења ''Привредник''. Убијен је у свом хотелу, 6. августа 1976. године. Заједно са њим убијен је и студент Урош Милићевић.
 
6. Богдан Мамула, припадник Организације српских четника ''Равна Гора, убијен у ноћи између 17. и 18. августа 1977. у Гери, САД, приликом повратка кући.
 
7. Раде Панић, припадник Организације српских четника ''Равна Гора'', убијен 28. августа 1977, бомбом подметнутом у његову гаражу, у Торонту, Канада. Од исте експлозије гину и Петар Буњевац и Петар Кљајић.
 
8. Ратко Обрадовић, љотићевац, 17. априла 1967, Минхен.
 
9. Јаков Љотић, 8. јула 1974, Минхен.
 
10. Сава Чубриловић, дописник листа ''Српска борба'', који је излазио у Чикагу, из Шведске, 15. децембра 1969, у Нејсу, Шведска.
 
11. Драгиша Кашиковић, правник, технички уредник листа ''Слобода'', органа СНО за Америку, и Иванка Милошевић, његова деветогодишња поћерка, 19. јуна 1977, Чикаго.
 
12. Др Михајло Наумовић, уредник листа ''Слобода'', 16. јануара 1978, у Чикагу (сурвали су му ауто у реку, са моста).
 
13. Борислав Васиљевић, спикер српског радија у Гери, САД, убијен 16. децембра 1978, у својим колима, при повратку кући.
 
14. Душан Седлар, председник СНО у Немачкој и одговорни уредник ''Белог орла'', гласила СНО у Немачкој, убијен 17. априла 1980, у 9,30 пре подне, на сто метара од свог стана.
 
15. Митар Бошковић, убијен јуна 1981.
 
16. Јован Царичић, стар 63 године, бивши председник Слободне српске православне општине у Бечу. Убијен у дворишту своје куће, ноћи између 23. и 24. децембра 1981, о чему су аустријске новине писале већ истог дана. Такође, овде пише да је новинар ''Шпигла'' Ханс Петер Рулман у то време објавио документовани чланак о убиствима политичких емиграната од стране Титове полиције.
 
17. Деветог марта 1986. године, на једном паркиталишту у Јужном Чикагу, америчка полиција проналази аутомобил нетсалог Србина капетана бивше ЈВуО Боривоја Манића 1914-1986. године. На први оглед све је изгледало уобичајено.Аутомобил је прописно паркиран и закључан. Међутим чувари реда када су отворили Манићев гепек имали су шта да виде, призор достојан сцена из филмова страве и ужаса.Делови Манићевог тијела били су разбацани искасапљени по целом гепеку.Ко је могао да на такав начин искасапи старца од 72 године, само злогласна УДБА!!!
 
 
Позивамо надлежне органе Србије , као и господина Вучића да се споменута убиства решавају и јер невидимо разлог да она до данашнјег дана остану тајна како за правду тако и за јавност.


За Српски либерални савет

ген. сек. А. Недић


П.С. ДОПИС ЈЕ ПОСЛАТ СВИМ НАДЛЕЖНИМ ОРГАНИМА СРБИЈЕ, ПОЛИТИЧКИМ ОРГАНИЗАЦИЈАМА, ТАКО И СРЕТСТВИМА ИНФОРМИСАЊА.





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Sunday, August 28, 2016

Serbia sends protest note to Croatia over annulment of Stepinac conviction / "Tanjug" July 26, 2016

Tanjug
July 26, 2016

The flag of Serbia (left) and the flag of Croatia (right)

BELGRADE - The Serbian Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Tuesday [July 26, 2016] handed a protest note to Croatian Ambassador in Belgrade Gordan Markotic in a vehement protest against the annulment of a 1946 conviction of Aloysius Stepinac, which it sees as a rehabilitation of fascism and the Ustasha Independent State of Croatia.

In the note, the ministry said the UN and the EU explicitly forbade restoration of fascism and fascist ideologies.

The Republic of Serbia is appalled by the rehabilitation of the Nazi Ustasha Independent State of Croatia. Stepinac's words at the Easter of 1941 that "the Independent State of Croatia was created by the grace of God, the prudent and self-sacrificing work of the Leader (Ante Pavelic) and the Ustasha movement, as well as by the will of our allies (Hitler and Mussolini)," and that the "Independent State of Croatia is the most illustrious event in the life of the Croatian nation," best speak about Stepinac and those rehabilitating him, the note said.

Through public statements and press releases, as well as the decision to annul the Stepinac verdict - which Ephraim Zuroff, director of the Jerusalem-based Simon Wiesenthal Centre, described as disgraceful - the Croatian authorities and the government are directly supporting those in Croatia who are against regional reconciliation and stability and who represent world views that are contrary to the basic principles of the civilisation and the foundations the UN and the EU rest upon, the note said.

The rehabilitation of Archbishop Stepinac, the vicar of the Independent State of Croatia's genocidal regime whose "priests" and "nuns" were the commanders of the Jasenovac and Jastrebarsko concentration camps, is creating a climate and sentiments that are resulting in attacks against Serbs, the note said.

During his trial after WWII, Stepinac cynically defended the forced conversion of over 200,000 Serbs from Croatia to Catholicism by saying it had not been a conversion, but a "religious transition", the note said.

The ministry expressed concern over the anti-Serb sentiment in the Republic of Croatia, which it said had been developing freely over the past years and had a clear tendency to escalate.

In 2016 alone, as many as 26 incidents and cases of hate speech against Serbs have been registered in Croatia, the ministry said in the note.


http://www.tanjug.rs/full-view_en.aspx?izb=260032


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Serbia, Croatia trade protest notes over rehabilitation of Catholic cardinal [Stepinac] / "Reuters" July 26, 2016

Cardinal Stepinac / Wikimedia Commons

Reuters
Aleksandar Vasovic
Belgrage
July 26, 2016

Serbia and Croatia, ex-Yugoslav neighbors and wartime foes from the 1990s, traded protests on Tuesday over a Croatian move to rehabilitate a World War Two Catholic cleric whom Serbia still views as a war criminal.

The two Balkan powers now have even diplomatic ties, but the row over Alojzije Stepinac threatened to re-awaken regional tensions which lie below the surface.

Stepinac, an archbishop and cardinal, was jailed in 1946 by the then Yugoslav Communist regime for collaborating with Italian and Nazi German occupiers and the Nazi-allied Ustasha regime of the Independent State of Croatia (NDH).

In 1997 he was beatified by the Catholic Church and declared a martyr by Pope John Paul II in 1998.

Last week [July 22, 2016], a court in Croatia, a European Union member, annulled the verdict against Stepinac, who died in 1960, arguing that the 1946 trial had violated the principles of criminal law.

Around 1.2 million people, including 580,000 civilians were killed in Yugoslavia during World War Two, most of them by Nazi-allied forces.

The World War Two grievances played a key role in the fomenting of conflicts in 1990s and regional tensions still persist.

Top officials in Serbia, a EU candidate, including President Tomislav Nikolic and Prime Minister-designate Aleksandar Vucic criticized the ruling, saying Stepinac played a pivotal role in the killing of hundreds of thousands of Serbs, Jews, Gypsies and anti-fascists between 1941 and 1945.

On Tuesday, Croatia's center-right outgoing government sent a protest note to Belgrade saying such a rhetoric fueled intolerance between the two nations.

"Such rhetoric ... was distancing Serbia from endorsing European value and its accession to the European family," the Croatian foreign ministry said in the note carried by the Hina news agency.

Rehabilitation of World War Two anti communists and Quisling leaders in former Yugoslav republics started after the collapse of the then federal state as newly independent countries sought to shed their Communist legacy.

In a similar move in 2015, Serbia rehabilitated World War Two royalist commander and convicted Nazi collaborator Dragoljub 'Draza' Mihailovic, a move described by Croatia akin to forgiving Hitler.

Later on Tuesday, Serbia's Foreign Ministry replied to Zagreb to protest Stepinac's rehabilitation saying Belgrade was "horrified with the rehabilitation of the Ustasha NDH."

"Stepinac was the vicar of the Ustasha movement. He blessed crimes and the Ustasha state," Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic said.



(Reporting by Aleksandar Vasovic; Editing by Richard Balmforth)

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-serbia-croatia-cardinal-idUSKCN106298


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Thursday, August 25, 2016

"If EU ignores this - Hitler's rehabilitation might be next." [The Annulment of the Stepinac Verdict] / "B92" [Tanjug] July 22, 2016

B92
[Tanjug]
July 22, 2016



Ivica Dacic [Serbia's Foreign Minister] says a Croatian court's decision to annul the verdict against war criminal Alojzije Stepinac represents "a rehabilitation of the Ustasha NDH [Independent State of Croatia]."

The Independent State of Croatia (NDH) existed from 1941 until 1945 as a Nazi-allied entity ruled by the Ustasha regime, headed by Ante Pavelic, that operated death camps for Serbs, Jews, and Roma.

According to a statement issued by his ministry, the Serbian foreign minister said that the decision was not merely an issue between Serbia and Croatia, but a global and a European problem, considering that the UN and the EU forbid "restoration of fascism and fascist-like ideologies."

"The words of Stepinac spoken on Easter 1941 that 'the NDH was created by the grace of God, by the wise and dedicated work of the poglavnik (Pavelic) and the Ustasha movement, and by the will of our (Croatian) allies (Hitler and Mussolini)', as well as that 'the NDH is the most monumental event in the life of the Croatian people' - speak best both about Stepinac, and about those who are now rehabilitating him," Dacic said.

Referring to the fact Croatia is an EU member, he continued: "Is this possible in the EU, which was created on the victory over fascism? If the EU keeps silent about this, the next in line to be rehabilitated are Ante Pavelic and his bosses Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini, whom Stepinac had blessed," Dacic concluded.

Earlier in the day, the District Court in Zagreb
announced that Yugoslav post-war authorities' 1946 verdict against the Croatian Catholic cleric had been overturned in its entirety.


http://www.b92.net/eng/news/politics.php?yyyy=2016&mm=07&dd=22&nav_id=98702


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Wednesday, August 24, 2016

Nikolic: [Croatian] Pressure on Pope Francis to give up on establishing truth [about Stepinac] / "InSerbia with Agencies" [Tanjug] July 22, 2016


Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic

InSerbia with Agencies
[Tanjug]
July 22, 2016

BELGRADE – Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic on Friday said a Croatian court decision annulling a 1946 conviction of Archbishop Aloysius Stepinac was, in a way, aimed at pressuring the Pope into giving up on establishing the truth and into canonising the former Croatian Roman Catholic cardinal.

The county court in Zagreb has annulled in its entirety a verdict sentencing Stepinac to 16 years of imprisonment, forced labour and loss of civil and political rights for a period of five years.

Stepinac was loyal to the WWII-era Ustasha regime of Ante Pavelic.

His role and responsibility in the deaths of many Serbs, Jews and Roma killed in the war have been questioned and are to be probed by a commission comprised of representatives of the Serbian Orthodox Church (SPC) and the Roman Catholic Church with mediation from the Vatican.

Croatia is covering up the pits into which the Ustashas had been digging Serbs, but if it carries on like this, it will dig an abyss into which it itself will fall, and end up without the support of the civilised, anti-fascist and anti-national part of humanity, Nikolic told Blic.

“Stepinac was never convicted in Croatia – the Independent State of Croatia or today’s legal successor of that Ustasha state. He was convicted in Yugoslavia and Serbia is the legal successor of all former Yugoslav states, and all newly-created states agree with this,” Nikolic said.

Nikolic said he had presented his view on Stepinac’s role in WWII to Pope Francis in a direct conversation with him during a visit to the Vatican.

The president added that he was personally preparing evidence he would present to representatives of the SPC and then also the commission.

“The head of the Roman Catholic Church told me he would not rush a decision because (if canonised) Stepinac would be the first Christian saint whom the SPC and other Orthodox churches would not recognise,” Nikolic said.



http://inserbia.info/today/2016/07/nikolic-pressure-on-pope-francis-to-give-up-on-establishing-truth/

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Tuesday, August 23, 2016

Nazi hunter outraged by annulment of Ustasha collaborator’s verdict [Croatia's WWII Archbishop Stepinac] / "The Jerusalem Post" July 25, 2016

The Jerusalem Post
By Tamara Zieve
July 25, 2016

The Simon Wiesenthal Center has expressed outrage over the recent annulment of the 1946 conviction of Croatian Archbishop Alojzije Stepinac, for treason and collaboration with the Nazi-aligned Ustasha regime.

Victims of the Nazi-backed Ustasha regime killed at the end of the World War Two lay on the ground surrounded by posing Ustasha soldiers near the Sava River in Croatia in 1945. (Photo Credit: REUTERS)

The genocidal campaign waged by the Ustasha regime against Serbs and their active participation in Holocaust crimes against Jews are among the most heinous crimes of World War II.

“As the leading Catholic priest in the Independent State of Croatia (NDH), Stepinac’s responsibility was to speak out on behalf of the innocent victims of the Ustasha, not to lend spiritual support to their murderers,” said the Wiesenthal Center’s top Nazi-hunter, Dr. Efraim Zuroff. “The genocidal campaign waged by the Ustasha against Serbs, their active participation in Holocaust crimes against Jews, and the murder of Roma and anti-fascist Croatians carried out in their network of concentration camps are among the most heinous crimes of World War II. No person who supported that regime should have their conviction annulled.”

The Zagreb County Court Judge Ivan Turudic overturned the verdict last week, saying it had violated the right to a fair trial, the prohibition of forced labor, and the rule of law.


Zuroff said the stance Stepinac took was of “huge significance,” and that for this reason, the annulment of the verdict is cause for celebration for nationalist and ultra-rightwing Croatians.

“Right now in Croatia there is a cultural, ideological war,” with a segment seeking to whitewash or modify the crimes of the Ustasha.

“There are many people who view them as heroes because of their fierce patriotism and nationalism,” said Zuroff.

Stepinac died in 1960, but remained as controversial a figure in death as in life. In 1998, Pope John Paul II beatified Stepinac, and his eventual canonization appears to be inevitable, though it was suspended by Pope Francis. Some Croatians believe he deserves the title of “Righteous Among the Nations,” but Yad Vashem twice denied him the honor.

Yad Vashem reaffirmed on Monday that the reason for the Committee for the Designation of the Righteous Among the Nations not granting him Righteous Gentile status “was due to the archbishop’s close ties to the Ustasha regime.”

The Wiesenthal Center is not alone in its ire over the annulment of Stepinac’s verdict, which also drew strong Serbian condemnation.

According to news outlet Balkan Insight, Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic said on Friday that Croatia risked losing “the support of the civilized, anti-fascist and anti-Nazi part of humanity. I interpret this as a kind of pressure on the pope to give up on establishing the truth and canonize the former cardinal.”

Zuroff said the controversy over Stepinac is part of an ongoing war between Croatia and Serbia.

“In Croatia there were 40,000 Jews,” Zuroff said. “Of those, 20,000 were murdered by the Ustasha” and many others were deported to Auschwitz.

“But that was only a sideshow to the mass murder of the Serbs. This is tragedy of monumental proportions.”

The famed Nazi-hunter also asserted that this latest development in Croatia is part of a much wider phenomenon, which he has also observed in Ukraine, Lithuania and Hungary – “the tendency to honor people who fought communism, without checking what they did in WWII.”

Zuroff said that honoring people who were involved in anti-Semitism and the murder of Jews is “a form of attack on the Jewish narrative of the Holocaust. It is a form of anti-Semitism, part of a larger picture which is trying to say that the Holocaust is not unique, and that communism is just as bad, if not worse. And if communism is genocide, then Jews committed genocide because there were Jewish communists. So if everyone is guilty, then no one is guilty.”



http://www.jpost.com/Diaspora/Nazi-hunter-outraged-by-annulment-of-Ustasha-collaborators-verdict-462328


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If you would like to get in touch with me, Aleksandra, please feel free to contact me at ravnagora@hotmail.com

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Monday, August 22, 2016

CROATIA OVERTURNS CONVICTION OF ALOJZIJE STEPINAC / "InSerbia" with Agencies / July 22, 2016


Fascist dictator of the WWII Independent State of Croatia (NDH) Ante Pavelic (left)
 and Archbishop of Zagreb, Croatia Stepinac in the early 1940's.

BELGRADE – A Croatian court has overturned a 1946 verdict against a Catholic cardinal who had been convicted of collaborating with the pro-Nazi Ustasha regime during World War II.

The Zagreb County Court on July 22 [2016] annulled the treason conviction against Cardinal Alojzije Stepinac, saying he did not receive a fair trial.

Stepinac, who was archbishop of Zagreb at the time, was sentenced to 16 years in prison and forced labor. He died of thrombosis, under house arrest, aged 61.

Many Croatian Catholics see Stepinac as a hero who resisted communism and want him declared a saint.
In 1998, the late Pope John Paul II controversially beatified Stepinac, putting on the path to sainthood.

Critics accuse Stepinac of not doing enough to stop the pro-Nazi Ustasha regime killing tens of thousands of Jews, Serbs, and Roma.


http://inserbia.info/today/2016/07/croatia-overturns-conviction-of-alojzije-stepinac/


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If you would like to get in touch with me, Aleksandra, please feel free to contact me at ravnagora@hotmail.com

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Friday, August 19, 2016

Сећање на жртве јасеновачких логора смрти / Sećanje na žrtve jasenovačkih logora smrti / "Politika" August 19, 2016

Politika
Аутор: Младен Кременовић
August 19, 2016

Манифестацију у Доњој Градини, српском Јад-Вашему, код Козарске Дубице заједнички организују Влада Републике Српске и Влада Србије.

Јасеновац: одузети лични предмети
(Из фотомонографије „Злочини над Србима у НДХ” Јована Мирковића)

Oд нашег сталног дописника

Бањалука – У Доњој Градини, највећем стратишту из састава јасеновачких логора смрти, данас ће бити обележено 75. година од почетка геноцида над Србима, Јеврејима и Ромима за време Независне државе Хрватске у Другом светском рату. Централну манифестацију у спомен-подручју „Доња Градина” код Козарске Дубице заједнички организују Влада Републике Српске и Влада Србије.

Српски званичници из Београда и Бањалуке раније су поручивали да ово место у Доњој Градини треба да постане место заједничког окупљања, сећања, учења, молитве и праштања, јер је то српски Јад-Вашем. Окупљање почиње у 19 часова код „Тополе ужаса”, док је за 20 часова предвиђен почетак програма и час историје. Најављено је да ће се посетиоцима обратити председник Владе Републике Србије Александар Вучић и председник РС Милорад Додик. Паљењем свећа жртвама злогласног јасеновачког концентрационог логора негде око 21 час биће завршена манифестација. У Бањалуци ће у у девет часова бити служена литургија у Храму Христа Спаситеља.

Доња Градина налази се с друге стране реке Саве, преко пута Јасеновца, са којим је у време НДХ била повезана скелом којом су заточеници превожени. Како време одмиче, све је мање преживелих који се сећају монструозних начина ликвидације жртава у име НДХ и усташке идеологије, о којима данас сведоче и казани који су остаци фабрике сапуна који се правио од људских тела. У Доњој Градини је 105 масовних гробница, а накнадно су пронађене још 22 масовне гробнице.

Већина извора потврђује да је у јасеновачким логорима смрти убијено 700.000 људи, међу којима 500.000 Срба, 40.000 Рома, 33.000 Јевреја, 127.000 антифашиста и 20.000 нејаке деце. Логори за децу и смрт 20.000 малишана јесте оно што стратишта НДХ разликује и издваја од сличних нацистичких стратишта у свету. Израелски Јад-Вашем центар располаже податком о 700.000 жртава геноцида у логору Јасеновац. Центар „Симон Визентал” у Лос Анђелесу процењује да је у Јасеновцу убијено око 600.000 Срба, Јевреја, Рома и хрватских антифашиста. Само у поткозарској општини Козарска Дубица убијено је више од половине становништва, што говори колике су размере страдања.

По свим изворима, 1942. је била година највећих масовних убијања и у Јасеновцу, Старој Градишки и радним командама по селима. Процене о броју убијених само у овом периоду, то јест током 1942, веома су различите, али се све слажу у томе да се радило о више десетина хиљада жртава.

Концентрациони логор Јасеновац је највећи логор на простору некадашње Југославије и југоисточне Европе, а по броју жртава он се може поредити с великим нацистичким концентрационим логорима. Оно у чему су сагласни сви они који су се озбиљно бавили истраживањем страдања у јасеновачким стратиштима јесте да је по систематском бестијалном убијању Јасеновац без премца међу другим концентрационим логорима и логорима смрти.

У Хрватској, ипак, и данас постоје намере да се умање размере страдања у Јасеновцу, па чак и да се он представи као радни логор. Мада је хрватска председница Колинда Грабар Китаровић под великим притиском из света, насталим услед обнове усташтва и бојкота државне комеморације у Јасеновцу од стране Јевреја и Срба, изјавила да је усташки режим био злочиначки, у тој земљи нису спласнула настојања да се размере страдања умање. Кад власти у Хрватској говоре о злочинима усташког режима, неретко посежу за осудом свих тоталитаризама и злочина почињених у њихово име, чиме настоје да изједначе жртве усташког и комунистичког режима, а Јасеновац са Блајбургом. То охрабрује десницу и доводи до тога да усташка идеологија у овој држави и 75. година од почетка ових монструозних убистава има све више поклоника.


http://www.politika.rs/scc/clanak/361740/Secanje-na-zrtve-jasenovackih-logora-smrti


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Politika
Autor: Mladen Kremenović
August 19, 2016

Sećanje na žrtve jasenovačkih logora smrti

Manifestaciju u Donjoj Gradini, srpskom Jad-Vašemu, kod Kozarske Dubice zajednički organizuju Vlada Republike Srpske i Vlada Srbije.

Јасеновац: одузети лични предмети
(Из фотомонографије „Злочини над Србима у НДХ” Јована Мирковића)
 
Od našeg stalnog dopisnika
 
Banjaluka – U Donjoj Gradini, najvećem stratištu iz sastava jasenovačkih logora smrti, danas će biti obeleženo 75. godina od početka genocida nad Srbima, Jevrejima i Romima za vreme Nezavisne države Hrvatske u Drugom svetskom ratu. Centralnu manifestaciju u spomen-području „Donja Gradina” kod Kozarske Dubice zajednički organizuju Vlada Republike Srpske i Vlada Srbije.
 
Srpski zvaničnici iz Beograda i Banjaluke ranije su poručivali da ovo mesto u Donjoj Gradini treba da postane mesto zajedničkog okupljanja, sećanja, učenja, molitve i praštanja, jer je to srpski Jad-Vašem. Okupljanje počinje u 19 časova kod „Topole užasa”, dok je za 20 časova predviđen početak programa i čas istorije. Najavljeno je da će se posetiocima obratiti predsednik Vlade Republike Srbije Aleksandar Vučić i predsednik RS Milorad Dodik. Paljenjem sveća žrtvama zloglasnog jasenovačkog koncentracionog logora negde oko 21 čas biće završena manifestacija. U Banjaluci će u u devet časova biti služena liturgija u Hramu Hrista Spasitelja.
 
Donja Gradina nalazi se s druge strane reke Save, preko puta Jasenovca, sa kojim je u vreme NDH bila povezana skelom kojom su zatočenici prevoženi. Kako vreme odmiče, sve je manje preživelih koji se sećaju monstruoznih načina likvidacije žrtava u ime NDH i ustaške ideologije, o kojima danas svedoče i kazani koji su ostaci fabrike sapuna koji se pravio od ljudskih tela. U Donjoj Gradini je 105 masovnih grobnica, a naknadno su pronađene još 22 masovne grobnice.
 
Većina izvora potvrđuje da je u jasenovačkim logorima smrti ubijeno 700.000 ljudi, među kojima 500.000 Srba, 40.000 Roma, 33.000 Jevreja, 127.000 antifašista i 20.000 nejake dece. Logori za decu i smrt 20.000 mališana jeste ono što stratišta NDH razlikuje i izdvaja od sličnih nacističkih stratišta u svetu. Izraelski Jad-Vašem centar raspolaže podatkom o 700.000 žrtava genocida u logoru Jasenovac. Centar „Simon Vizental” u Los Anđelesu procenjuje da je u Jasenovcu ubijeno oko 600.000 Srba, Jevreja, Roma i hrvatskih antifašista. Samo u potkozarskoj opštini Kozarska Dubica ubijeno je više od polovine stanovništva, što govori kolike su razmere stradanja.
 
Po svim izvorima, 1942. je bila godina najvećih masovnih ubijanja i u Jasenovcu, Staroj Gradiški i radnim komandama po selima. Procene o broju ubijenih samo u ovom periodu, to jest tokom 1942, veoma su različite, ali se sve slažu u tome da se radilo o više desetina hiljada žrtava.
 
Koncentracioni logor Jasenovac je najveći logor na prostoru nekadašnje Jugoslavije i jugoistočne Evrope, a po broju žrtava on se može porediti s velikim nacističkim koncentracionim logorima. Ono u čemu su saglasni svi oni koji su se ozbiljno bavili istraživanjem stradanja u jasenovačkim stratištima jeste da je po sistematskom bestijalnom ubijanju Jasenovac bez premca među drugim koncentracionim logorima i logorima smrti.
 
U Hrvatskoj, ipak, i danas postoje namere da se umanje razmere stradanja u Jasenovcu, pa čak i da se on predstavi kao radni logor. Mada je hrvatska predsednica Kolinda Grabar Kitarović pod velikim pritiskom iz sveta, nastalim usled obnove ustaštva i bojkota državne komemoracije u Jasenovcu od strane Jevreja i Srba, izjavila da je ustaški režim bio zločinački, u toj zemlji nisu splasnula nastojanja da se razmere stradanja umanje. Kad vlasti u Hrvatskoj govore o zločinima ustaškog režima, neretko posežu za osudom svih totalitarizama i zločina počinjenih u njihovo ime, čime nastoje da izjednače žrtve ustaškog i komunističkog režima, a Jasenovac sa Blajburgom. To ohrabruje desnicu i dovodi do toga da ustaška ideologija u ovoj državi i 75. godina od početka ovih monstruoznih ubistava ima sve više poklonika.
 
 
 
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If you would like to get in touch with me, Aleksandra, please feel free to contact me at ravnagora@hotmail.com
 
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INTERVIEW: PAUL DJURISIC, Grandson of Vojvoda Pavle Djurisic / July 2016

Interview by Predrag Rudovic
Pogledi
August 2016

Interview: PAUL DJURISIC, grandson of Vojvoda Pavle Djurisic.

"As I said I despise politics. But this year’s American elections are important to me for one reason. I think that Clinton is a pathological liar, completely corrupt, and has a hatred for Serbian people, and any Serb that votes for her is not really a Serb."  [P.D.]

Interview by Predrag RUDOVIC
[AR: Original interview was published in the Serbian language. This is the English translation posted on the "Pogledi" website.]

Paul Djurisic, grandson of Voyvoda Pavle Djurisic
 
 
Paul Djurisic is a grandson of cetnik’s vojvoda Pavle Djurisic. He was born in U.S.A. and today he is famous immigration law­yer. Today he lives in Phoenix, AZ, he is a father of two sons and is an active member of Serbian community. In this conversation I discovered details from his life such as his meeting with Serbian ex president Boris Tadic, dynamiting his grandfather’s monument by police of Milo Djukanovic in Berane, Montenegro in 2003. and some memories of famous vojvoda that were kept inside of his family. [Predrag Rudovic]
 
– Where and when were you born?
 
– I was born in Chicago on December 26th 1965. My father came to U.S. in 1961. My mother is American and her family has been tracked back to before the American Revolutionary War, to 1720. so she is considered a daughter of the American Revolution. They met near Philadelphia and moved to Chicago in 1964.
 
– If war ended up differently you would be a grandson of Serbian national hero. If we would live in mid ages you would be a grandson of a noble. Nobody knows for sure how your grandfather was really killed but most likely he was burned alive. This makes you a grandson of a martyr and Chetnik vojvoda. You grow up among Ame­ricans and have many American friends, what do you tell them when they ask about your origin, who was your grandfather? How do you explain that to them?
 
– I have explained to my American friends about who my grandfather was. I sometimes compare him as a general Patton of Serbia. Most do not understand but some ask for more information and want to know more. Un­fo­rtunately a lot of Americans are not concerned about such history but those that are want to hear all about it.
 
– Your last name is very unique (like mine). I am sure your grandfather is first association for many people who hear your last name and they identify you with it. So how did it look like growing up with such important last name?
 
– Actually, growing up was not unusual except for nobody pronouncing my name correctly. I grew up American. My dad was running away from communists and wanted to shield me and my brother from them so we really did not grow up “Serbian” in that sense. Did not grow up speaking the language. It was not until I was a teenager that I became more aware of who my grandfather was and began researching and asking questions. I do recall threatening phone calls from communists coming at our home through 1982 or so (yes even after Tito died). I also recall the fight between churches and how my father chose one side and my grandfather’s statue in Libertyville was left unkept because of that for years.
 
Although growing up was not that unusual, after my first visit to Serbia in 1998 I began to fully understand how important he was to many Serbian people. I had someone close his cafe in order to talk to me, I was giving interviews, saw my picture and name in newspapers. Although I am proud to be his grandson, it was a bit embarrassing because I am only the grandson, I did not do the heroic accomplishments and give my life for his king and his country like he did.
 
There were times growing up whe­re I would meet men who fought with him and cried in front of me thinking of him which of course is very humbling. I also had an opportunity to meet US airmen that were saved by my grandfather after being shot down during WWII and that was an eye opener.
 
– Your father was a little boy when his father was killed. When your grandfather was withdrawing towards Slovenia with his army and refugees, your grandmother decided not to cross into Croatian territory. It is kind of an epical scene that may be used for some movie filmed in the future. What happened to them later (your grandmother and your father)?
 
– My uncle Predrag Cemovich was one of the last persons to see him alive before he was captured and killed. He told me how my grandfather refused to have his wife and son accompany them at that time because they knew fighting would still be going on. My grandfather even had a sense of what was going to happen to him and sent Cemovich away (he was 16 at the time and Pavle did not want him to be killed too) so he sent him home to tell Gora and my dad goodbye.
 
– Your father escaped from Yugoslavia when he grow up enough, first to Italy then to USA. What were his reasons? What did he tell you about his growing up there? How difficult was life for him being a son of a Chetnik vojvoda under communist regime?
 
– My father was followed by the secret service for most of his life, but especially in his teens. He was constantly harassed and ridiculed. However, that did not keep him from becoming one of the best ping pong players in Belgrade during that time. Although he was never given a passport from yugoslavia and could not travel to western countries, he could accompany the team to Bulgaria, Hungary and Romania for tournaments. In 1960 the team chartered a bus to take them to watch the olympics in Rome. His teammates helped hide him in the luggage compartment of that bus and he was able to finally escape. He waited in Italy for 6 months until Cemovich (who was in the US already) was able to get him enrolled at the University of Buffalo. My dad was 20 when he left.
 
– It is in Serbian tradition to keep memories of ancestors. Can you please tell me some story about vojvoda that is passed onto you. Some story that is maybe unknown to the public?
 
– There are two. The first most do not believe but it is true. When my grandfather met my grandmother and was trying to ask her out, a friend of his was on a Vespa – type of motor bike with him at the time. That friend was Milovan Djilas.
 
The other story which many might know is that during the war he was captured and taken to a German camp in Austria. He escaped. But most do not know how he escaped. He hid in the bottom of a port-o-john for three days until they took it out of the camp to remove the contents. Yes, three days in sewage!
 
– Have you ever been to Serbia or Montenegro? How many times? What were your impressions? Do you have any family there and how close are you with them?
 
– First time was in 1998 and then again in 2002, 2003, 2007, 2009, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015. In 2007 I was asked to be a judge at the Miss Serbia contest at the Sava Center in Belgrade and my picture was in the paper the next morning. That day I was at the U.S. ambassador’s home for the 4th of July celebration and received a tap on the shoulder telling me that the president wanted to speak with me. Boris Tadic and I had a ten minute conversation on the ambassador’s lawn but it was more him questioning me on why I was there and what I was up to. Because my serbian was not good I think he relaxed and realized I was not a political threat to him.
 
– In 2003 they tried to build a monument to your grandfather in Montenegro but police blew up base and stopped it. Were you there? What really happened then? Your impressions?
 
– I have family there, but I will not return to Montenegro because of what happened to us in 2003. My father, brother and I were there because they had built a monument for my grandfather in Berane. However, the day we arrived Djukanovic sent in troops and dynamited the statue. We were in papers and followed by press for the whole week. There was still a parastos service at the monastery in Berane that week and more then 2500 people arrived. When I was introduced, people chanted "Pavle, Pavle" and I ended up having to sign about 2000 autographs that day. I had never been asked to sign any autograph in my life. Again, both proud and humbled.
 
– How do you see Serbian – American relations today? What does Serbia need to do in order to get real support from USA? Is that even possible in your opinion?
 
– Unfortunately, Serbia is still just a pawn for America. You see, America uses small countries like Serbia as bargaining chips in their geopolitical chess game. I personally think it would be a disaster for Serbia to join European Union and become just another tool for America and Germany. Serbian people need to keep Serbia and its identity intact.
 
– You are immigration lawyer. You used to live in Illinois, now you live in Arizona. Both states have strong Serbian communities. How active are you in them?
 
– I am an active member of the Serbian community. I was president of the Serbian Bar Association of America in 2006 – 2007. I am a member and former church board member of St. Sava church here in Phoenix and my sons are altar boys. I still remain quite active.
 
– I know you helped a lot of Serbs with immigration problems. Do you work with other people from ex Yugoslavia, Croatians, Bosnian Muslims, Albanians…?
 
– Yes I have. In fact I have helped people from over 30 different countries during my 25 plus year career. To this day I still have clients from Albania and Bosnia, but not so much from Bosnian Muslim or Croatian communities because of the name and all that goes along with it. Mostly those that I have helped from Bosnia and Croatia or even Albania were anti-political and couldn't care less about it.
 
– Did you ever have any offers for political engagement, from Serbian or American politicians?
 
– Well certainly Boris Tadic was worried that I had!! Ha ha ha. But I actually despise politics. The need to lie goes against everything that I was brought up to know and respect. I would not be a very good politician because I tend to speak my mind too much.
 
– Seems that you are following daily politics very closely. Presidential elections are not far and I believe all Serbs are in fear of possibility for victory of Hillary Clinton. What are your prognoses for result?
 
– As I said I despise politics. But this year’s American elections are important to me for one reason. I think that Clinton is a pathological liar, completely corrupt, and has a hatred for Serbian people, and any Serb that votes for her is not really a Serb.
 
(Serbian newspaper, No 693, Chicago, August 2016)
 
 
 
 
 
 
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If you would like to get in touch with me, Aleksandra, please feel free to contact me at ravnagora@hotmail.com
 
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