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by Dr. Franjo Komarica Original title: U OBRANI OBESPRAVLJENIH Documents selected by: Ivica
Bozinovic M.A. Appeal by the Catholic bishops of the Republic of Croatia and the Republic of Bosnia-Herzegovina INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTIONS MUST PROTECT THE INDEPENDENCE AND FREEDOM OF EVERY INTERNATIONALLY RECOGNISED STATE The bishops of the Republic of Croatia and the bishops of the Republic of Bosnia-Herzegovina who are present at the meeting in Zagreb on 26 January 1994 once again forward an urgent appeal to the domestic and world public on behalf of all the victims of violence, who are under siege (in towns which have virtually become concentration camps) and are living without food or medicine, without freedom of movement and are under constant threat of death. It is an attempt to awaken the consciences of all people of good will and especially the consciences of those responsible for political decisions, in order that they use their moral resources in defence of the human rights of hundreds of thousands of families. Firstly we wish to thank the Holy Father John Paul II from the bottom of our hearts for his call to the entire Catholic Church in the world and all people of good will to fast and pray for peace in the Balkans or rather Bosnia-Herzegovina as well as Croatia. All his calls, all his efforts aiming to stop this imposed war of aggression and invasion in our regions deserve our deepest respect and our lasting gratitude. We give love in return for love on behalf of all the victims for whom the Pope prays with unselfish love. We warmly thank all the bishops of the Catholic Church and all the priests, nuns and the clergy as well as all the faithful and members of other religious groups who have joined in this fast and prayer for our peace. We sincerely thank all our benefactors who have so greatly and lastingly witnessed with their own solidarity and empathised with our suffering and that of the victims of injustice, by gathering and sending humanitarian aid via various charitable and humanitarian institutions or even through private initiatives. Unfortunately, the violence is so ruthless that even this humanitarian aid cannot be delivered regularly to those who need it most and as such they feel abandoned and left to the mercy of the stronger and hence feel forgotten. Humanitarian roads to all those people who need help to save their bare lives must be opened, protected and secured with resources in order to prevent any violent attacker from barricading the road, looting or destroying the convoys. It is a well known fact that in some towns in central Bosnia and in Sarajevo itself people are dying of hunger, sometimes whole families. We cannot turn a deaf ear to the cries of desperation and hope which are being received from our priests in towns in central Bosnia in which the majority of the population is Catholic. The fact is that in this part of Europe, at the end of the XX. century, the Sarajevo and Banja Luka dioceses are faced with total extinction together with their six hundred thousand Catholic Croats. We sympathise with the suffering of each person and each family regardless of his or her nationality or religious affiliation. It is high time to decisively take a stance and put a stop to the violence which is ravaging hundreds of thousands of blameless civilians: children, women, elderly, disabled and sick, as well as the wounded who have no access even to the minimum of medical help. The war which was imposed on Croatia virtually three years ago and is now raging in Bosnia-Herzegovina (another internationally recognised country) is a great atrocity against all human rights, for which are responsible not only those who embarked on such a venture because of their own egotistical aims, but also all those who remain indifferent to the atrocities, especially those who in some way or another support these actions by neglecting legal paths available to stop the horror. No one will be able to excuse themselves, neither before God nor before history, for not stopping the violence when they could and were obliged to do so. “Europe is dying in the Balkans!” The United Nations is being rendered ineffective in these regions. European civilisation has been slurred and cannot be repaired in this part of Europe. Armed power-mongers are creating the law and are killing, destroying, expelling people from their homes and ethnically cleansing these regions for themselves. They are being allowed to do this without having to answer to anyone, counting on open or discreet support by some forces which are actually protecting them. Arms traders are choking in wealth; the black market is profiting; human blood and tears are items for trade. Where the power of force rules, those who are weak are by far the worst off and cannot be expected to defend themselves. In these circumstances it is understandable that in their desperation these people too may turn to violence themselves, especially if they are constantly exposed to violence which denies them their rights and respect. Even in these cases, the atrocities cannot be allowed and we condemn any crime no matter who commits it. The chain of evil must be broken by legal means in an effort to ensure dignity and rights to a free and secure life for every human being in his own home, his own homeland, his own community, either national or religious. For this reason we consider it our duty to once again forward a truly dramatic appeal to the world public to harness all the power amongst people of good will and especially to awaken the consciences of international institutions and of all those responsible for a just peace so that the bloodshed can finally be stopped. Pope John Paul II is warning us through his high moral authority, and invites us to protect these people against injustice and violence. We join him in this voice with the hope that it will not be a cry lost in the desert. This desert represents the stagnation of our conscience, the power of selfish interests of the strong at the expense of the weak which may become a direct support to those who grab from others simply because they are stronger. We righteously expect international communities which are responsible for the order of freedom and rights within Europe and the world, to protect and ensure all human rights for each human being and to ensure and protect the independence and freedom of every internationally recognised country within its borders, to ensure the return of all refugees and displaced persons to their hearths which is the unalienable right of all men. International institutions are obliged to monitor the situation so that the respect of rights and liberties for minority groups are respected as they are in other countries. Whatever is sought for minority groups within a country, must be guaranteed and ensured for minority groups in every country. We do not wish our consciences to be held responsible, because of our silence, for a single drop of human blood, or a single tear of those who are persecuted, stripped of their rights, helpless, without protection and have been left to the mercy of this unjust violence. We call upon our brothers in the faith to continue with their ardent prayers for justice and peace! Without hate or wishes for revenge they use all their confidence and faith in our Merciful God to shine his light upon every heart and every conscience, so that they can be open for God and each other for forgiveness, reconciliation and justice. We place our hope in the advocacy of the Holy Mother of God! We have once again spoken as bishops of the Church amongst the Croatian Nation on behalf of all our universal moral principles; we have spoken from the depth of our consciences in support of all good not only for our own people but for the good of every man regardless of nationality or religious affiliation. We speak by our faith to God the creator and saviour of all men. We must, however, express our deepest regret that some powerful world media outlets, either because of the lack of objective information or due to the influence of subjective politics, are not relaying an objective analysis of all the causes and all the elements of this tragic conflict in Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina and in this are committing injustice to the truth. This especially distresses the victims of all this violence. Truth and justice are indivisible. These are the pre-conditions for just peace for all people, nations and countries. This peace needs to be created, protected, maintained. A peace which would not remedy the injustice and which would recognise the effects of violence would be neither just nor lasting. A politics which would not adhere to the principles of a just peace for all peoples and nations would not be humane and would not serve the aim of peace. “Peace can only be a result of justice” (Is. 32:17) Zagreb, 26 January 1994 Cardinal Franjo Kuharic, Archbishop of Zagreb, Metropolitan Next: KILLING WITH WEAPONS AND HUNGER
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