[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 36 (Friday, March 25, 1994)]
[House]
[Page H]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: March 25, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
             THE CATHOLIC CHURCH IN BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA

  Mr. DeCONCINI. Mr. President, next week Christians around the world 
will celebrate Easter--a season of reconciliation and of hope. Nearly 2 
years of war and genocide in Bosnia and Herzegovina have taken a 
tremendous toll on all segments of the population there. In remarks 
earlier this week at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, 
Archbishop Vinko Puljic of Sarajevo described the suffering of the 
people of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The archbishop stated that ``Bosnia 
is and always will be a multiethnic and multireligious country'' and 
urged the United States to ``help find a just political settlement'' 
which respects the territorial boundaries of his country.
  In addition to the mass displacement of Moslems and the destruction 
of most mosques throughout the country, nearly three-quarters of 
Catholics in the Archdiocese of Sarajevo have been uprooted--53 of the 
144 parish churches have been completely destroyed while another 58 
have been severely damaged. Hundreds of priests and nuns have been 
forced to flee during the course of the war.
  I commend Archbishop Puljic's poignant observations and comments to 
my colleagues and join him in his prayer that a just peace be pursued 
for all of the people of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the 
archbishop's statement be included in the Record.
  There being no objection, the text was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

    Statement of Most Reverend Vinko Puljic, Archbishop of Sarajevo

       Thank you, Ambassador Abramowitz, for your kindness in 
     having me here this morning at the Carnegie Endowment for 
     International Peace. Your interest in what is taking place in 
     Bosnia and Herzegovina is gratifying to those of us who have 
     had to endure two years of the cruelest of wars. I thank you, 
     Mr. Ambassador, all of you here, and all those Americans who 
     have done so much to help alleviate our suffering.
       You are well aware of the magnitude of the suffering that 
     has been inflicted on us. In the past two years, I have seen 
     the Catholic population of my archdiocese reduced from 
     520,000 to about 125,000 people, most of whom live in small, 
     besieged enclaves. In those same two years, I have seen 
     three-quarters of the 144 parishes in the archdiocese cease 
     to exist, with most of the buildings destroyed or damaged. 
     Many of these church buildings, I am sorry to say, were 
     intentionally targeted by extremists seeking to fan religious 
     hatred. I and the Catholic Church in Bosnia and Herzegovina 
     have been trying desperately to prevent this from happening. 
     If a permanent peace is not established soon, Catholics risk 
     being exterminated from large parts of Bosnia and 
     Herzegovina, despite thirteen centuries of our organized 
     presence there. As you know all too well, the suffering of 
     Catholics in my archdiocese is typical of what has been 
     happening throughout my country to thousands of innocent 
     civilians.
       We have suffered terribly in part because the international 
     community has failed to act decisively in the face of 
     aggression and ``ethnic cleansing.'' Moreover, it is my 
     impression, and the impression of many people in Bosnia, that 
     the international community has even contributed to the 
     ethnic division of the country and has legitimized aggression 
     by failing to uphold basic moral and legal norms.
       Despite real difficulties, there can be no alternative to 
     pursuing a just peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is late 
     but there is still time. I ask of you the following:
       1. The ordinary people of my diocese and my country are 
     tired of war; they yearn to live together in peace. Please, 
     use your influence to stop the bloodshed and bring this 
     illogical war to an end. The resolve shown by the United 
     States and the international community in recent weeks has 
     brought a tenuous peace to Sarajevo and some other parts of 
     Bosnia. I pray that the United States and the international 
     community will persevere in and intensify these efforts until 
     a lasting peace is achieved.
       2. Use your influence to help find a just political 
     settlement for Bosnia and Herzegovina. Respect the 
     territorial boundaries of Bosnia, which has been recognized 
     by the Vatican and the international community. Help us to 
     achieve a peace within these boundaries that reflects the 
     fact that Bosnia is and always will be a multi-ethnic and 
     multi-religious country. Help us to be a country in which 
     ethnic Bosnian-Muslins, Serbs and Croats can cultivate their 
     respective identities at the same time that they respect the 
     equal rights and equal legitimacy of the ethnic and religious 
     identities of other citizens.
       I welcome the recent agreement between Muslims and Croats 
     because it reflects what ordinary people want and what the 
     United States is a symbol of: a pluralistic and tolerant 
     society in which the equal rights of all citizens are 
     respected, regardless of their ethnicity or religion.
       It would be a tragedy if force, violence, aggression and 
     crime were legitimized by a partition of Bosnia along ethnic 
     lines. A peace which does not correct injustices, which 
     rewards aggression, and which is based on ethnic division can 
     be neither a just nor a permanent peace.
       3. I ask you ardently, help us both to survive and to begin 
     to rebuild our lives. Efforts must be made to ensure the 
     uninterrupted passage of humanitarian aid to the many people 
     who are still in dire need of food, medicine, water and 
     electricity. In addition to humanitarian aid, we need 
     reconstruction aid to help rebuild our homes, schools, 
     hospitals, churches, mosques, businesses and other 
     institutions. Also essential if we are to return to a multi-
     ethnic society is help to create the conditions for a safe 
     return of exiled and displaced persons to their homes.
       4. Finally, the Catholic Church and other religious 
     communities will need your support as we work together to 
     address perhaps the most difficult challenge: reconciliation. 
     We must promote a moral and spiritual renewal that can heal 
     the hatred, despair and division which this war has brought. 
     Only by rebuilding the spiritual life of our people can we 
     ensure that the horrors we have lived through for the last 
     two years will not be repeated. With God's grace, we will 
     succeed.
       I hope that my presence in this country and here today will 
     help to inform the world of our plight and will help to 
     encourage the international community to heed the appeals of 
     Pope John Paul II that it act with resolve to help us bring 
     about a just peace, a peace that will enable all people of 
     Bosnia and Herzegovina to once again live together in peace 
     and dignity.
       I thank you all for your interest and for the good you are 
     doing for us. Thank you, God bless you!

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