Some 30, 000 Yugoslav Jews were murdered during the war-time terroristic rule of the Ustachi fascist regime, the Federation of Jewish Communities of Yugoslavia declared today in a statement supporting the Belgrade Government’s move to extradite former Ustachi leader Andrija Artukovic currently resident in the United States.
The Yugoslav Jewish statement urged Jews throughout the world to remind each other and world opinion of the crimes of Artukovic and other members of the Ustachi movement. It singled out the Jewish community of the United States in this respect and added:
“We are unable to believe that the American judiciary will hand down a decision declaring mass murder of innocent children and old people a political offense. Such a decision would mean the denial of the basic human sense of justice, morals and humanity.”
As a result of a decision in the Federal courts, Artukovic has been ordered to receive a new hearing on war crimes charges and to answer Yugoslavia’s demand for his extradition to stand trial for war crimes.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
