Reactions to the Banja Luka Incident

State-Sponsord Fascism

AIM Sarajevo, May 8, 2001

"After Trebinje, Even Worse Happens in Banja Luka," "Fascists Encouraged by RS Authorities," "Chetnik Gangs Set Buses Ablaze," "Dozens of Bosniaks Injured," "Thousands of Serbs Prevent Start of Ferhadija's Reconstruction," "Fascism in Banja Luka's Streets," "Mob Attacks RS Officials As Well," "Who Is behind Serb Nationalist Rampage in Banja Luka," "Ferhadija Destroyed Once More," were among the headlines that appeared on the front pages of newspapers in Sarajevo on May 8.

Reactions to the failure of the ceremony, whose holding was announced quite some time ago and which was to mark the beginning of the reconstruction of Ferhadija Mosque in Banja Luka have been numerous and boil down to the conclusion that it was caused by an uncivilized rampage that accomplished nothing good for either side. "I am shocked that Republika Srpska is still a place where there is no rule of law, no civilized behavior, and no freedom of religion. Small groups of extremists are allowed to spread ultranationalism, intolerance and violence. I believe that the authorities are responsible for this horrifying state of affairs," the international community's high representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Wolfgang Petritsch, told journalists, and the tone of an official press release from the Office of the High Representative (OHR) was similar. On May 7, the release said, Petritsch twice spoke with RS Premier Mladen Ivanic, asking that all measures be taken to bring the situation in Banja Luka under control. Although aware that RS President Mirko Sarovic, Vice President Dragan Cavic, and RS Assembly Speaker Dragan Kalinic tried to calm the demonstrators, Petritsch believes that "their appeal was belated, and it does not absolve the RS authorities of responsibility for inadequately responding to similar violence in Trebinje on Saturday, May 5."

U.S. Ambassador to Bosnia Thomas Miller also blamed the RS authorities for the violence in Banja Luka. "I am extremely disappointed and horrified. We saw what happened in Trebinje on Saturday; therefore there is no excuse for their failure to anticipate something like this. I think there are many good people in Republika Srpska, but there are also those who support violence," Miller told the Banja Luka Nezavisne Novine, adding that he will continue to insist on the start of the reconstruction of Ferhadija, and that RS is being harder on itself than anyone else could. He believes it is a disgrace that the RS authorities failed in guaranteeing safety and leading their people, which is their foremost duty.

British Ambassador to Bosnia Graham Hand, commenting on the May 7 events in Banja Luka said he does not blame any individual but the Serb Democratic Party, "which clearly orchestrated the event." According to Jacques Klein, U.N. special envoy for Bosnia, it is a shame that a small group of extremists was allowed to represent the entire Serb people in Bosnia-Herzegovina. "Once again the Serbs terrorized innocent old women and men. What sort of heroism is that?" he asked.

Bosnian government representatives, citizens' associations, non-government organizations and numerous public figures also commented on the brutal action to prevent the beginning of the reconstruction of Banja Luka's famed Ferhat-Pasha Mosque, destroyed in the recent war. Bosnian Presidency member Beriz Belkic was late for the Banja Luka "ceremony," and instead visited Doboj yesterday. According to him, a Presidency session will be held in Sarajevo on his initiative today, at which the dismissal of RS Interior Minister Perica Bundalo will be demanded. According to a BHP report carried by the Oslobodjenje newspaper, at a special session of the RS government held last night, Bundalo and Banja Luka police chief Vladimir Tutus offered their resignations.

"The nationalists and chauvinists should be told that their fascist ideology is doomed to failure," said Jozo Krizanovic, Croatian member of the Bosnian Presidency. He added that he was sure RS citizens understood that their interests, as well as the interests of all other citizens of Bosnia-Herzegovina, are endangered by such incidents. "All those who stand in the way of peace, mutual respect, tolerance, rebuilding of trust and developing a modern and civilized Bosnia and Herzegovina should be stopped," said a press release issued by Krizanovic's cabinet.

Bosnia-Herzegovina Foreign Minister Zlatko Lagumdzija, the last to be evacuated from the Islamic Community building in Banja Luka, said that the latest events in that town show that fascism has not been defeated in Bosnia. "The ghosts of the past, which continue to live in such fascist actions, are stronger than the institutions of the state," said Lagumdzija, adding that by entering the Islamic Community building Mladen Ivanic showed great courage. "Ivanic made up for his failure to take precautions while organizing the ceremony by entering the center and organizing the evacuation, which was carried out by a small special police unit." Premier Ivanic said that "the events in Trebinje and Banja Luka will seriously shake Republika Srpska's international position. We did not need that. The RS government is determined that the law has to apply to everybody equally. I am quite certain that the international community's response to this will be very strong."

Karlo Filipovic, president of the Muslim-Croat Federation, expected that, after the May 5 events in Trebinje, the RS government and international factors would do everything in their power to ensure security at the Banja Luka ceremony. "It is beyond comprehension that such an escalation of violence was possible in the streets of Banja Luka six years after the war, that there are so many people who are against the reconstruction of religious buildings destroyed in the war and against the return of refugees," Filipovic said. Alija Behmen, premier of the Federation, also termed the Banja Luka incident "a fascist rampage aimed at slowing down the return of people, the reconstruction of destroyed facilities, and preservation of the status quo." He added that this, however, should not make people hesitate in struggling for a better future in Bosnia and Herzegovina. RS Assembly Deputy Speaker Sulejman Tihic said that the international community was equally to blame for the Banja Luka incident.

Religious dignitaries also responded to the incident. Islamic community Reis Ul Ulema Mustafa Ceric did not have an opportunity to speak at the Banja Luka ceremony, but on the same afternoon held a press conference in Sarajevo. Later that evening he appeared on TV 99 and said that "Serb fascism is alive and very stubborn, and that we (Bosniaks) are reliving the events of 1992." He ironically added that "in several years we will again watch BBC series explaining how international representatives wanted to do something but simply could not. They should either let us defend ourselves, or defend us themselves. We should remain patient, although we are somewhat tired of doing so, because for many years we have shown nothing but patience," Ceric added. According to him, Radisic and Sarovic should immediately resign.

Banja Luka Roman Catholic Archbishop Franjo Komarica strongly condemned the violence in Banja Luka. "Banja Luka did not need that. Residents of Banja Luka do not behave in such a manner. I am afraid that those who allowed this to happen are to blame for everything. But we have to go on," Komarica said. "The violence shows that retrograde trends still exist in Bosnia and Herzegovina, preventing the country from having a normal life," said Jadranko Prlic, chairman of Croat Coordination. The Serb Civic Council of Bosnia and Herzegovina said in a press release that the event was a fascist and Chetnik incident.

The incident in Banja Luka was also condemned by two parties that until recently were in power in the Muslim-Croat Federation -- the Party of Democratic Action and the Croatian Democratic Union. The former said in a press release that extremists have no future in Bosnia-Herzegovina. The party expressed the hope that after the events in Trebinje and Banja Luka international community representatives will stop repeating the same story that all three sides were equally to blame for the war. A Croatian Democratic Union announcement said that "all those who are abusing the reconstruction of religious facilities for their own goals should be punished." The party called on Ivanic and his partners from the Alliance for Change to take concrete steps and prove they are capable of ensuring peace and order in accordance with what they promised and the trust placed in them by the international community.

What happened in Banja Luka has prompted reactions from numerous parties, citizens' associations and individuals. They have shown that on certain occasions even completely opposed political factions can agree, because no organization or person even tried to find a single word of justification. The only one who remained silent was Zivko Radisic, the Serb member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Adriana Kuci

(AIM Sarajevo)