Documentation

AN APPEAL FOR A JUST PEACE IN BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA

VINKO CARDINAL PULJIC

Archbishop of Sarajevo

Washington, D.C.

March 30, 1995

I come to Washington, D.C. to offer another heartfelt plea that the United States, in conjunction with the international community, will take more decisive steps to support those of us in Bosnia-Herzegovina who are struggling to bring about a just peace, based on equal respect and equal rights for all ethnic and religious identities in my country.

1. The facts of Bosnia's tragedy are well known, but they bear repeating. In three years, I have seen the Catholic population of my archdiocese reduced from 520,000 to about 125,000 people, most of whom live in small enclaves. Less than a third of the parishes are still functioning. The situation is even worse in the Banja Luka Diocese, where more than 80% of the Catholics have been forced out by "ethnic cleansing." Overall, of the 830,000 Catholics who lived in Bosnia before the war, only half remain. If the war continues, Catholics risk being exterminated from large parts of Bosnia and Herzegovina, despite thirteen centuries of our organized presence there. The Catholic community does not have a monopoly on suffering in Bosnia and Herzegovina. I cite these statistics simply to remind Americans of the magnitude of the suffering that is being inflicted upon the people of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

2. Despite obvious obstacles, there can be no alternative to pursuing a just peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Time is running out but it is still not too late.

A just peace requires respect for the territorial boundaries of Bosnia and Herzegovina and its multi-ethnic and multi-religious character. The international community must support us in our efforts to rebuild a country in which ethnic Bosnian Muslims, Serbs and Croats can cultivate their respective identities at the same time that they respect the equal rights and equal legitimacy of the ethnic and religious identities of other citizens. Therefore, it is imperative that the Bosnian Federation receive the support it needs to succeed, but it would be a tragedy if the Federation and international peace plans were used to partition Bosnia along ethnic lines. A peace which does not correct injustices, which rewards aggression, which does not permit refugees and displaced persons to return to their homes, and which is based on ethnic division can be neither a just nor a permanent one.

3. I, like so many in Bosnia and Herzegovina, am astonished and bewildered, almost to the point of despair, at the international community's indifferent, half-hearted, inconsistent and ineffectual response to aggression and "ethnic cleansing." Not only has the international community not acted decisively, it has even contributed to the ethnic division of Bosnia and has legitimized aggression by failing to uphold basic moral and legal norms. If the principles of peace and international justice are buried in the soil of the Balkans, Western civilization will be threatened. In Bosnia, the international community's tepid response has only encouraged those who would respond to extremism with extremism, to intolerance with intolerance, to aggression with aggression, and to "ethnic cleansing" with "ethnic cleansing."

I am convinced that there are moral means to thwart immoral aggression. The international community must have the will to use the means available to it to protect threatened populations, to encourage demilitarization, and to establish other conditions necessary for progress towards peace. The solution can not be simply to give up and withdraw. If the United Nations and the international community do not now have effective means to respond to the humanitarian crises in Bosnia and elsewhere--and it is clear that they do not--then nations have the responsibility to take the steps necessary to develop more effective international structures.

4. This is not a religious conflict, but some would misuse religion in support of ethnic division and extreme nationalism. Therefore, as a religious leader, I believe I have a special responsibility to stand beside those who are victims of injustice and aggression, regardless of their religious, ethnic, or national identity. I also believe that, even though a just peace seems far off, religious and other leaders must not wait for an end to war to

begin the daunting task of reconciling deeply divided communities. We must promote a moral and spiritual renewal that can heal the hatred, despair and division which this war has brought. Only by rebuilding the spiritual life of our people can we ensure that the horrors we have lived through for the last three years will not be repeated. With God's grace, we will succeed.

5. Amidst the great suffering we have been forced to endure, we have found the grace to persevere in hope, for we know that this war is not our destiny. We have also found hope in the prayers and moral and financial support we have received from the Catholic Bishops Conference and its aid agencies, and countless individuals and organizations in the United States. For these generous acts of solidarity, we are deeply grateful.

I conclude where I began. The ordinary people of my archdiocese and my country are tired of war; they yearn to be allowed to live together in peace. But we cannot do it alone. We need more decisive action by the international community. I implore you: Do not continue to abandon us! Do not continue to acquiesce in the practical victory of injustice and war! Help us to realize the justice, peace and reconciliation for which we so ardently pray and struggle!