Simon Wiesenthal Center's Director for Eastern Europe, Dr. Efraim Zuroff Meets With Serbian President Tomislav Nikolić and Key Ministers to Advance Staro Sajmiste Project

September 12, 2016

Belgrade-The Simon Wiesenthal Center's Director for Eastern European Affairs, Dr. Efraim Zuroff met here late last week with Serbian President Tomislav Nikolić, Foreign Minister and First Deputy Prime Minister Ivica Dačić, and the Minister of Labor, Employment, Veteran Affairs and Social Policy Aleksandar Vulin to advance plans to turn the grounds of the Staro Sajmiste former concentration camp into a center for genocide commemoration, research, and education. He also met at the Belgrade Municipality with members of the committee established last year to advance the project which is headed by the Bishop of Slavonia Jovan Culibrk and includes Minister of Culture Vladan Vukosavljević.

In a statement issued today, Zuroff noted the strong consensus among Serbian leaders regarding the importance of the Staro Sajmiste project and its urgency in view of the resurgence of neo-fascism in Croatia.

According to Zuroff:
"Unresolved historical issues regarding the genocide conducted by the Ustasha against Serbs, as well as the Holocaust crimes they committed in former Yugoslavia, underscore the urgency of the Staro Sajmiste project, which is an important component of the Wiesenthal Center's ongoing efforts to combat Holocaust distortion throughout post-Communist Eastern Europe."

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The Simon Wiesenthal Center is one of the largest international Jewish human rights organizations with over 400,000 member families in the United States. It is an NGO at international agencies including the United Nations, UNESCO, the OSCE, the OAS, the Council of Europe and the Latin American Parliament (Parlatino).