Volume 4, No 3, Fall 1994

That was then, this is now

For you must hasten to carry aid to your brethren dwelling in the East, who need your help, which they have often asked. For the Turks, a Persian people, have attacked them...I exhort with earnest prayer--not I, but God--that, as heralds of Christ, you urge men by frequent exhortation, men of all ranks, knights as well as foot soldiers, rich as well as poor, to hasten to exterminate this vile race from the lands of your brethren...Christ commands it. And if those who set out tither should lose their lives on the way by land, or in crossing the sea, or in fighting the pagans, their sins shall be remitted...Oh what a disgrace, if a race so despised, base, and the instrument of demons, should so overcome a people endowed with faith in the all-powerful God, and resplendent with the name of Christ...Let those who have been accustomed to make private war against the faithful carry on to a successful issue a war against the infidels...Let those who for a long time have been robbers now become soldiers of Christ. Let those who once fought against brothers and relatives now fight against these barbarians...let them zealously undertake the journey under the guidance of the Lord. Pope Urban II at the Council of Claremont, 27th of November 1095.

Once again, nothing has been done. The world seems to have gradually gotten accustomed to unpunished violations of the basic norms of international law. This is an ill stage, that concerns every man and every woman in the world, no matter how close or far from Bosnia they may be. For a very long period of time, I have rejected - and still reject- "a theory of conspiracy", that is, that all this that has befallen Bosnia is because the majority nation is a Muslim people and that there are some dark powers who have consciously pushed Serbs towards the extermination of Bosnian Muslims. Those who claim so, have their own arguments . I believe you have heard them before : namely, an obvious aggression, followed by genocide, concentration camps and other forms of the darkest fascism are on stage in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The world can only be blind not to see it. Is it blind, or does it consciously accept all these evils? Blind it is not, therefore, the other possibility remains. This is their argument that has gained ever more supporters. It will not be good if a billion Muslims in the world accept this argument. The latest events in and around the Plan of the Contact Group have given the supporters of "theory of conspiracy" an additional argument. Namely, Bosnia and Herzegovina has been offered a proposal that was backed by five major powers, and therefore, by the majority in the international community. It was clearly stated that the side who rejected the plan would be punished, while the side who accepted the plan would be protected. The opposite happened: Serbs rejected the Plan and they have been rewarded by the suspension of sanctions. We have accepted the Plan and we have been punished by a complete blockade of Sarajevo. Both processes ran parallell and simultaneously. These days, the highest United Nation's civilian and military authorities are warning us: If you demand and succeed in the lifting of the arms embargo, UNPROFOR will pull out from the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, etc., etc. Alija Izetbegovic, President of Bosnia and Herzegovina, for the 49 session of General Assembly of the United Nations. 27th of September 1994.