Milicevic: I cannot be banned from visiting Jasenovac privately

BELGRADE - Commenting on Zagreb's recent decision to ban him from visiting the Jasenovac memorial complex in Croatia, Serbian Minister without porfolio Djordje Milicevic said on Tuesday he could not be banned from going to the complex privately to lay flowers in a tribute to the victims of the WWII Jasenovac death camp, run by Croatia's Ustashas.

"Croatia is an EU member state and that implies freedom of movement, which means that I, as a private individual named Djordje Milicevic, cannot be banned by anyone from visiting the Jasenovac Memorial Centre unless it is closed, and it seems that it is closed only when a Serb is supposed to come to pay a tribute to the victims," Milicevic told Tanjug, noting that his visit had no political connotations.

Milicevic is in charge of coordinating government activities and measures in Serbia's ties with its diaspora.

Croatia's Interior Ministry has said the police had not allowed Milicevic from going to the complex, alleging that the visit had not been included in a schedule submitted before his trip to Croatia.

After visiting a local Serb community in Paklenica, Milicevic headed to the nearby Jasenovac complex, only to be denied entry by police.

"First I was told it was 'an order from the top'. I openly asked what 'the top' meant, and was told my visit was 'finished'.

Milicevic said the Croatian police had said they would escort him to the border crossing as a "protected person."

Noting that he had felt completely safe and that there had been no reason for anyone to escort him to the crossing, Milicevic said he had not been escorted, but deported from Croatia.