Sarajevo, May 9, 2001 (IKA/KTA) — In the wake of the disturbances in Banja Luka on May 7, the Catholic archbishop of Sarajevo, Cardinal Vinko Puljić, sent a letter to the Muslim Reis-ul-Ulema, Mustafa ef. Cerić, in which he expressed his neighborly solidarity. “I am deeply sorrowed by the serious disturbances that have once again damaged interpersonal and interfaith relations and prevented the implementation of human rights and religious freedoms. I am particularly saddened because these disagreeable events have created an image that my native Banja Luka does not deserve. Unfortunately, my native city on the Vrbas River was not only shadowed by the black smoke of burning buses but by the hatred that shadows human hearts and minds,” stated Cardinal Puljić. He expressed the hope that with “all the attempts to build a legal system, in which the rights and freedom of every person and nation will be integral, as well as the religious communities and churches,” will cause hatred to disappear from human hearts. He also stated that he sincerely prays for God’s help in order to find a path as soon as possible “for cooperation in the building of this country, which is our common homeland.”
On behalf of the Franciscan Bosna Srebrena Province, Provincial Fra Mijo Džolan expressed his sorrow at the recent postponement of the reconstruction of the mosques in Trebinje and Banja Luka. “By this, a basic human right, the right of religious confession, has been denied to our Muslim fellow citizens. No one ever has the right anywhere to deny this right to any individual or religious group,” emphasized Provincial Džolan. He expressed regret that such events reduce the likelihood that those expelled from their pre-war homes would return and emphasized that violence and symbols of hatred will increase the fears of potential returnees. “We urge the responsible government institutions and their leaders, as well as the members of the international community in Bosnia-Herzegovina, not to allow themselves the luxury of false decisions and indecisiveness in undertaking the necessary legal steps to prevent wider conflicts,” said Franciscan Provincial Mijo Džolan in his statement.