The Croatian President, Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic, on Tuesday advocated a single, joint commemoration for the victims of the Ustasha concentration camp in Jasenovac, saying that a unified commemoration would mean a mature approach to that issue.

In an interview with the Croatian Radio, Grabar-Kitarovic said that, unfortunately, the issues from the past, primarily those from World War II and ideological issues, still prevailed in the public domain, adding that she was upset with all those politicians who politicised the commemoration of the victims of the Ustasha concentration camps.

“I believe we need to put an end to this. This is exactly why I have been paying my respects in silence. This was in no way aimed against the government and the official commemoration,” the president said.

She added that the issue of Jasenovac and its victims must not be a stumbling block or a weapon in the hands of those who want to promote any kind of campaign against Croatia.

“I call on everyone, the Serbs living in Croatia and Jewish organisations, to agree to take part in a joint commemoration for the victims (of Jasenovac) next year. To show that we are mature enough to be able to think about this topic from the past with a temporal distance. These are not the foundations of modern-day Croatia. They were four unfortunate years in the history of the Croat people,” Grabar-Kitarovic said.

This year, like the year before, there were three separate commemorations for the Jasenovac victims.

The official state commemoration, held under the sponsorship of the Parliament, took place on Sunday. It was attended by all top state officials, except President Grabar-Kitarovic, who visited the Jasenovac Memorial Centre on Friday. On Sunday she sent her envoy, Ivan Zvonimir Cicak.

Another commemoration was organised by the Alliance of Associations of Antifascist Fighters and Antifascists (SABA) and the Serb National Council (SNV), and held on Saturday with about 1,500 people attending. The representatives of SABA and SNV once again expressed their dissatisfaction that the Ustasha salute is still being tolerated in public space.

The third commemoration was organised by the Jewish Community of Zagreb (ZOZ) and the Coordinating Committee of Jewish Communities in Croatia.

Grabar-Kitarovic praised the initiative of the head of the Croatian Helsinki Committee, Ivan Zvonimir Cicak, aimed at forming an international commission with members from Serbia and Croatia, as well as international experts, which would seek to establish the truth about Jasenovac. The truth will help us move forward, the president said.