Sarajevo, May 15, 2001 (IKA) — The bishops of the Catholic Church in Bosnia-Herzegovina sent an appeal to the countries that signed the Dayton agreement, in which they raise their voices on behalf of “respect for the inviolability of human dignity and the fundamental human and civil rights and freedoms, personal and national freedoms, and opposition to lawlessness, violence and the abuses of public authority, regardless of the identity of the perpetrator.”
The bishops state with sorrow that their recent appeals for an end to lawlessness and violence and for corrections of the injustices committed during and after the war have generally been fruitless. The bishops particularly caution that the members of the Croatian nation, as the numerically smallest of the three constituent ethnic nations in Bosnia-Herzegovina, are still being subjected to harsh discrimination because “in Bosnia-Herzegovina, unfortunately the law of the strongest and most ruthless still prevails, and not the law of truth and justice.” Pointing out that the national question of the Croats in Bosnia-Herzegovina has not been resolved yet, the bishops state in their letter that out of all the displaced persons and refugees, “a surprisingly small number of Croats have succeeded in returning to their prewar homes until now, due to obvious obstruction by the local authorities, especially in the entity of the Republika Srpska, which encompasses half the country (although Serbs only constitute 31% of the population), where out of the 220,000 Croatian refugees or displaced persons, only 3,845 have returned as of the end of the year 2000.” The bishops also report that there is not sufficient legal, political or material assistance from the international community for the return and support of the Croatian returnees. In the bishops’ letter, they sharply criticize unjust decisions and behavior by the official representatives of the international community in Bosnia-Herzegovina who have “discouraged Croats who want to return to their prewar homes and frightened many who are currently living in Bosnia-Herzegovina, causing them to emigrate.” Supporting the legal prosecution of any perpetrator of crime, at the same time the bishops of Bosnia-Herzegovina point out the fact that “the international court in The Hague is prepared to issue verdicts against Croats while in general it fails to prosecute crimes committed against Croats — Catholics.” The bishops furthermore criticize the international community in Bosnia-Herzegovina for addressing political problems of the Croatian nation, to a significant extent caused by the international community itself, with antidemocratic methods and the use of force, i.e. by the creation of even more serious problems, instead of employing constructive dialogue and convincing arguments. The bishops also urge the removal of the significant obstacles from the Dayton agreement and the full equality of all of the three nations throughout the territory of Bosnia-Herzegovina. “Without the Croatian nation, as one of the three constituent nations in Bosnia-Herzegovina, and without the return of all to their homes, Bosnia-Herzegovina is not possible as a country of community in diversity and as a proclaimed model of multinationalism and religious plurality for Europe. Believing that this is also your democratic ideal, we expect you to take our appeal seriously,” stated the bishops of Bosnia-Herzegovina in their letter to the countries that signed the Dayton agreement. This appeal was signed by the president of the Bosnian-Herzegovian Conference of Bishops and metropolitan archbishop of Sarajevo, Cardinal Vinko Puljić; the bishop of Mostar-Duvno and Trebinje-Mrkan, Ratko Perić; the bishop of Banja Luka, Franjo Komarica, and the auxiliary bishop of Sarajevo, Pero Sudar.