Croatian authorities did not allow Vucic to the site of the mass execution of Serbs
Relations between Serbia and Croatia are once again tense. The reason was the ban on entry into the country of Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, who planned on July 17 to privately visit the Jasenovac and Pakrac memorial complex, dedicated to the victims of World War II.
Jasenovac is one of the most famous “death camps”, the center of the Serb genocide, which was created by the Croatian Ustasha in 1941. According to official data, about 700 Serbs, as well as Jews and Gypsies, died there.
The Croatian press, citing government sources, reports that the goal of the Serbian President was allegedly a “provocation” on the eve of the anniversary of Operation Storm (the defeat of the Serbian Krajina, celebrated at the official level in Croatia).
It is alleged that Vučić planned to “cross the border from Bosnia and Herzegovina without officially informing the Croatian authorities, without coordination with the embassy, and arrive in Jasenovac around 11 am.”
The Serbian government has already responded to the note from the Croatian Foreign Ministry.
“Aleksandar Vučić, the grandson of one of Jasenovac’s victims, is not allowed to honor the memory of hundreds of thousands of murdered Serbs, Jews and Roma. The President of the Republic of Serbia is not allowed to visit the largest Serb execution site. The Ustasha today, members of the European Union, do not like to be reminded of how many children they slaughtered,” said Serbian Interior Minister Alexander Vulin.
According to him, from today all officials of the Croatian state, all holders of official or diplomatic passports will have to separately declare and justify their visit or passage through Serbia, and will be placed under a special control regime, RTS reports.
Serbian Foreign Minister Nikola Selakovic noted that Croatia’s note prohibiting President Vucic’s private visit to Jasenovac is “an illegal, anti-European and anti-civilization decision,” as well as a “gross violation of the principle of freedom of movement.”
Belgrade insists that Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic’s intention was “only to lay flowers and light a candle in a holy place.”
Due to Vucic's entry ban, Serbian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Mining and Energy Zorana Mihailovic canceled her official visit to Zagreb. She was due to meet with Croatia's Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development, Davor Filipovic, on Tuesday, and regional cooperation and gas projects were expected to be the main topic of conversation.
Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic said the Croatian government's demarche was the biggest incident between the two countries in recent years.
“I don’t know what our relationship will look like in the future. They did not say that he was prohibited from entering Croatia, but they did say that he should not travel to Jasenovac privately. He can go... wherever he wants, except Jasenovac. He should not visit Jasenovac because it causes chaos,” Brnabic said.
Croatian authorities prevented Vucic from entering the site of the mass execution of Serbs.