Zagreb, March 6, 2000 (IKA) — The president of the Croatian Conference of Bishops, Archbishop Josip Bozanić of Zagreb, issued a statement today on the occasion of the sentencing of General Tihomir Blaškić by the UN War Crimes Tribunal in The Hague. We present Archbishop Bozanić’s statement in its entirety:

“The sentencing of General Tihomir Blaškić in The Hague has astonished the public and provoked numerous reactions. With anguished souls, suffering and various thoughts, as the faithful of the Catholic Church among the Croatian people, we pray to God, the Merciful Father, for Mr. Blaškić and his family, for the judges in The Hague and for those with whose approval and at whose initiative Tihomir Blaškić went to The Hague voluntarily, and especially for the victims [of the war crimes committed] in connection with this sentence. How is it possible at these moments to speak about the hope that comes from God as the strength for life? Instead of ideological discourse full of lethal elements, let our thoughts be illuminated by the Gospels, because in this case the victim is the one who illuminates the truth. For us believers, this could be a time of spiritual struggle with temptations similar to those faced by Jesus’ disciples during his Passion.
“The first temptation is sleep, i.e. forgetfulness and alienation from oneself. This temptation leads to the suppression of human dignity and an anaesthetized conscience. The second temptation is suicide. In this case, suicide would signify our disappointment in justice, truth, goodness and freedom and a yielding to the dictates of circumstances, perceiving them as immutable fate.
“The third temptation is betrayal or flight. Betrayal signifies opposing the reasons for life and the future. Betrayal means wanting to save freedom but renouncing it; wanting to preserve human dignity but renouncing it; wanting to follow the truth but renouncing it. Now it is useless to be a teacher for the past because we can no longer change the past. It is least honorable to manipulate public opinion for narrow political or ideological interests. At this moment, wisdom and courageous responsibility are needed. Humiliation must not be allowed but it is also not possible to allow Croatia to return to isolation and a bleak future. It is our hope that in this case before the court there will be an illumination of the truth and of the reasons and evidence for the beliefs that prevail among our public regarding Mr. Blašković. We pray to the Lord for the consciences of the judges who represent the international organization, for them to be able to understand all the circumstances of this unfortunate war and justly judge all, regardless of religion, nation or political affiliation, starting from the victims who best explain not only their own situation but also the situation of those who have perpetrated evil. Only the victim is in a position to reveal and illuminate the truth about the perpetrator of a crime.”