[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 90 (Tuesday, June 18, 1996)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1101]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

[[Page E1101]]


        BISHOP KOMARICA--A VOICE FOR PEACE AND JUSTICE IN BOSNIA

                                 ______


                       HON. CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 18, 1996

  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, recently the Helsinki 
Commission, which I chair, held a briefing on political and human 
rights developments in Banja Luka, the second largest city in Bosnia. 
Among the participants was the Most Reverend Franjo Komarica, Roman 
Catholic Bishop of Banja Luka. Bishop Konmarica has steadfastly pursued 
peace and justice throughout the 4-year-long war of armed aggression 
and genocide in Bosnia which has left his church in ruins despite the 
fact that no large-scale fighting occurred in the diocese.
  Catholics from the region, predominately ethnic Croats, have been, 
and continue to be subjected to various forms of harassment and 
violence. An estimated 90 percent of Catholics have fled the diocese, 
many the victims of ethnic cleansing. Scores of churches have been 
destroyed while virtually all of those left standing sustained at least 
some damage. Several members of the clergy and religious were murdered 
during the course of the war. Meanwhile, Father Tomislav Matanovic, the 
former director of Caritas Banja Luka, is missing and believed to be 
held by Bosnian Serb forces of the 43d Brigade. Bishop Komarica, who 
was under house arrest for much of 1995, has demonstrated his firm 
commitment to peace and justice for all people of Banja Luka, 
regardless of their ethnic or religious background. Strengthened by his 
faith, Bishop Komarica is a leading advocate of reconciliation in a 
country rent by violence and war.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask that the text of Bishop Komarica's opening 
statement be placed in the Record.

The Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe--Banja Luka-Ethnic 
        Cleansing Paradigm, or Counterpoint to a Radical Future


   opening statement by most reverend franjo komarica roman catholic 
                  bishop of banja luka--june 11, 1996

       Bishop Komarica: (through interpreter). Honorable friends, 
     I greet you today as friends of peace and God-loving people. 
     I thank you for your interest specifically regarding Banja 
     Luka, my home town. I thank you for this opportunity given to 
     me to express my concerns and my hopes for my country. I 
     thank you on behalf of all the citizens of my city, 
     regardless of their national or state orientation.
       You know that I'm a Catholic bishop and not a political 
     representative of any specific group. I'm not assuming the 
     representation neither of Croatian people specifically, nor 
     Bosnian Muslims or Serb people in this territory. 
     Regretfully, there is no politician available or existing 
     right now to represent the views of my country, of my city, 
     especially to represent the views of the people, of tens of 
     thousands of voiceless people who have no voice.
       As a leader and a Christian, I have an obligation to help 
     all the people in their effort to be human and to be God-
     loving people. I would like to help every human being to 
     affirm their human rights and their freedom and to establish 
     their right to existence. It is now six years that hundreds 
     of thousands of people whose basic human rights have been 
     taken away and denied.
       That is the right to life, the right to professions, the 
     right to possess homes and live, the right to have a country, 
     the right to work and to secure a living, the right to have a 
     social and security support, the right of movement, the right 
     to freedom of religion, the right to raise your own children 
     in your own convictions, the right of freedom of conscience, 
     the right of equality of being free to belong to a political 
     or a different faith group.
       We cannot talk at all about these rights for thousands of 
     our citizens. The denial of basic human rights has taken 
     place without the presence of any media or any voice to 
     publicly declare this. We had the impression that we are 
     forgotten in our corner of the world. We were strengthened 
     only by our faith in our God, whom we trust that he has 
     the potential to redeem us.
       And this thing that I once again mention is really the 
     basis, that we try to respect all our neighbors and not do 
     any harm to any one of them. As in other parts of Bosnia 
     there were confrontations, armed confrontations and clashes, 
     in this part of Bosnia there was no war and no open conflict 
     between different groups of different nationalities or 
     faiths.
       We opted for a different option here. We rather accepted 
     denial of our basic human rights than to hurt our neighbors 
     and to establish conflict. We are talking here about people 
     who have been peaceful and made every single effort to remain 
     people who respect others and try to live together. The only 
     blame that they receive is that they did not belong to a side 
     or a group of people who by all means and by all forces and 
     by brutal approach has tried to establish ethnically cleansed 
     territory.
       The biggest number, the highest percentage, of the people 
     in this region, be they Serbs or Bosnian Muslims or 
     Croatians, have a desire to remain in peaceful coexistence in 
     this region. The Catholic Croatians in this region have shown 
     by their behavior that they are capable and ready to live 
     together, capable to live together in peace with the other 
     two peoples, which are namely Serbs and Bosnian Muslims.
       This desire to live in peace is denied by the members of 
     the existing political structure, and despite all our efforts 
     to live the commandment of respect and love for others, to 
     love those who did so much evil to us, we are brutally hurt 
     again and again and punished for no reason, and not just from 
     the side of extreme nationalists, but those by international 
     democrats.
       We ask all those who still crush our human rights: ``Why 
     are you doing this to us? Are we people for you? Are we human 
     beings for you? We ask for the basic human rights that you 
     enjoy. If we are guilty, we would ask you to provide it to 
     us, and if we are not guilty, then you are doing great 
     injustice to us when you are denying to us basic human 
     rights.''
       I am taking this opportunity to tell you and to express to 
     all American peaceloving people, God has given you in this 
     country a generosity of the heart. Your land is almost like a 
     garden, that there are many wonderful plants and beautiful 
     flowers. You are a garden of different people, different 
     cultures, different groups and religions.
       The common characteristic of all of you is the freedom and 
     love for peace and respect. In this country, it's especially 
     appreciated especially important human rights and human honor 
     and human dignity. These are the precious gifts to our 
     civilization, the gifts emphasizing diverse cultures and 
     multi-faced religion.
       You are an ideal and an example for us, and you are a 
     leader for so many other people in the world. When we would 
     affirm similar in Banja Luka, we are punished for that. You 
     know that. Will you with clear conscience allow, continue to 
     allow, that the basic human rights are still denied in my 
     city and in my country? And they are being punished just 
     because they would like to be like you--free, human and 
     democratic people.
       I expect an answer from you, which you have to give unto 
     your conscience first and then to your people and then to the 
     world and then hopefully to us as well.
       Regardless of how you look at us and for what you think of 
     us, we in Banja Luka are definitely fighting. With enormous 
     efforts, we try to protect and restore civilization. I hope 
     that we will not remain alone in this effort. We hope that 
     we'll find friends who will support us in this effort. We 
     hope to find these supporters in Europe and especially here 
     in the United States. I am quite sure that I will not be 
     disappointed in this expectation.
       Thank you for listening.

                          ____________________