[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 87 (Wednesday, May 24, 1995)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1107]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                  CATHOLICS UNDER ATTACK IN BANJA LUKA

                                 ______


                       HON. CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                          Tuesday, May 23, 1995
  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, today I want to bring to the 
attention of my colleagues the deteriorating conditions in the region 
of Banja Luka in northern Bosnia. It seems the latest atrocities 
committed by Bosnian Serb militants, who control the area, are directed 
at Catholic Church leaders and Catholic believers, who are primarily 
Croats. These attacks come on the heels of Croatia's efforts to regain 
control over some of its territory occupied by the Croatian Serb 
militants since 1991. Around 40,000 Croats still live in northern 
Bosnia despite significant ethnic cleansing by the Serbs. An estimated 
50,000 Croats and hundreds of thousands of Moslems have been expelled 
from this region alone during the past 3 years.
  In one recent incident in Banja Luka, a priest and nun were 
reportedly doused with gasoline and set on fire in the parish rectory 
as militants blew up the parish church building next door. This tragic 
act of barbarity is part of a larger campaign directed against the 
Catholic community in the diocese of Banja Luka. On May 4, militants 
forcibly expelled nuns from two convents in the region. Since that 
time, a total of five churches and one monastery have been destroyed. 
In all, since the beginning of the war, 40 churches in the diocese have 
been completely destroyed and another 25 have sustained heavy damage.
  The bishop of Banja Luka, Franjo Komarcia, has repeatedly called upon 
the Bosnian Serb leadership to stop the attacks. These pleas have 
fallen on deaf ears. Bishop Komarica, in an open appeal, described the 
current situation in his diocese: ``Fear and panic, for their lives, 
has overcome the Catholics remaining in the area because they are 
totally unprotected from the local and newly arrived Serbian 
extremists. They are virtually [sic] hostages and are faced with the 
real threat of immediate catastrophe or widespread banishment.'' Bishop 
Komarica began a hunger strike recently to draw attention to the 
gravity of the situation faced by the Catholic community in Banja Luka. 
Late last week, an urgent appeal was sent to the head of the Serbian 
Orthodox Church urging his intervention to ensure the protection of 
Catholics in the Serb stronghold. The senseless attacks in Banja Luka 
have been roundly condemned by Pope John Paul II.
  Mr. Speaker, these tragic developments are but the latest examples of 
the campaign of death and destruction directed against innocent 
civilians by the Bosnian Serb militants in Banja Luka and elsewhere in 
Bosnia and Herzegovina.


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