THE FETISH OF NATIONALISM IS UNWORTHY OF MAN

Interview: Franjo Komarica, the Bishop of Banja Luka

AIM, ZAGREB, March 23, 1995 In the past four years of the war, Banjaluka Bishop Franko Komarica has been witness to a silent ethnic cleansing due to which his region has become the bishopric with the greatest number of displaced persons in Europe. About 26 thousand Croats who have still remained under Serb rule, are living as an oppressed minority with no guaranteed rights, exposed to maltreatment, torture or special surveillance, mostly without jobs and salaries. Non-Serb population lives on humanitarian aid which arrives in Banjaluk through the good offices of the Caritas, and the freedom of movement is limited. Although far from the frontline, life for the Croats who have remained in Banjaluka is not easy at all. In his attempt to protect the people and make life easier for them, Bishop Komarica has often talked to the representatives of Serb authorities in Banjaluka, which was assessed in some Croat media as his being too close to the Serbs.

Komarica: I wish I could bring people who talk like that to Banjaluka, and then I should like to hear them say so. Who gave them the right to say that about me. I have a clear conscience because I know that my brethren bishops, nuntios and even the Holy Father support me. I am not a politician, nor do I wish to be one. I am a priest and I must work for others. It is my task to protect people who are down, and not to incur even greater misery for them.

AIM: What is the social status of the Croats in Banjaluka and its surroundings?

Komarica: The situation the Croats in this region are in is extremely difficult, perhaps one should even say tragic. The figure of 40 thousand Catholics testifies it best, since that is how many of them have fled from our bishopric since the beginning of the war. Most of them have gone from the Banjaluka region where the concentration of Croat population used to be the greatest, about 16 thousand of them. One already tends to forget that nine thousand Catholics have been expelled from both Jajce and Kotor Varos, while Sanski Most, Mrkonjic grad and other places in this part of Bosnia&Herzegovina have also been thoroughly cleansed.

AIM: According to the lately available data, expulsion of the Croats and the Muslims from Banjaluka has increased?

Komarica: This is just a phase in a plan of ethnic cleansing adopted a long time ago. Panic among the non-Serbs is spreading, people are leaving their homes, estates and they are trying to go anywhere. There were no open conflicts in this region, which is just another proof that this a crime against peaceful people. For the majority the situation is difficult and uncertain, and this refers especially to the non-Serb population. Almost all of them were dismissed from work a long time ago, which means that they are left without any income and social welfare. The economy is practically completely ruined and poverty has stricken even the Serbs who live there. Through the bishop's Caritas we are trying to make the situation easiler for our believers, but also for the Muslims and the Serbs who ask for daily food, drugs and doctor's help from us.

AIM: It is well known that you are permanently in some talks with the Serb authorities in Banjaluka. How ready are they to respond to your demands? Do you have any success in protecting at least the minimum of rights of ordinary people?

Komarica: All this time, I have been asking for the elementary human and civil rights for us. I cannot allow anyone to be oppressed and persecuted only for being a member of a religious community or nation which at this moment is not dominant. It is true that there is no actual pogrom, but it is also obvious that a previously conceived plan is being effectuated - to cleanse this region of the non-Serbs. I have talked with their politicians often and it is certain that much evil has been prevented thanks to these talks. But, disappointments are also common, they promise a lot, and then do something completely different. For instance, despite the promise given at the very beginning of the war concerning protection of churches, they are persistently pulled down. Almost 50 per cent of churches have been demolished, and another 40 per cent have been more or less damaged. Also, despite the promise of local authorities that the Catholic people would be protected, these poor people are forced to leave their homes under coercion, either psychic or armed, because certain individuals or groups have decided they should. It all implies that we are dealing with a very precise plan, or an inhuman ethnic cleansing. And this is just another name for genocide. As a born citizen of Banjaluka, a priest and a man, I must raise my voice in defence of all those who are defenceless. Because those whose duty it was to defend us have forgotten us.

AIM: Do you mean political representatives in B&H or in Croatia?

Komarica: They are both equally guilty. Serb authorities who have a complete insight into all that is happening should finally show their human side. It is not our fault that providence has brought us there. Others decide about us without asking us. We have remained without our representatives, and Croat political leadership has the right and duty to raise its voice in defence of the rights of its people wherever it may be. I keep wondering whether they consider us a part of the Croat nation. Have they ever wondered whether there are any Croats down there.

AIM: Do you feel neglected?

Komarica: It is a fact that noone has shown any interest for us. In everyday contacts with the believers, in parishes which I can still reach, in people, I do observe a feeling of being neglected. Croat politicians have been informed about our situation from the very beginning, I have contacted them on numerous occasions, begging them to do something for us. They mostly give me nice promises which they do not carry out. In this part of the world, despite numberless demolitions, expulsions and isolation, 34 thousand Croats remained, solely thanks to the Church.

AIM: What are your relations with the representatives of the Islamic and the Orthodox community like?

Komarica: Our relations with the representatives of the Serb Orthodox Church are very good. Thanks to the considerably correct relations between our Churches, the Banjaluka Episcope Jefrem has several times intervened with his people on behalf of our threatened nuns. I talk on the phone with the Orthodox Bishop often, and also with the Mufti. We managed to write together several appeals for peace and we have no difficulties concerning it. But even the good relations with the Serbian Orthodox Church did not manage to save lives of a certain number of Catholic priests from our bishopric who were killed in a perfidious manner. When we add to this the fact that some priests have spent several months in jail and that they badly feel the effects of it, the position the Catholic Church is in becomes quite clear.

AIM: Similar is the case with Muslims in Banjaluka where the last of the mosques has been demolished?

Komarica: Their situation, if that is possible, is even worse than ours. While "only" half of our churchs have been pulled down, all six Banjaluka mosques, some of which were exceptionally beautiful and old, have been levelled to the ground and covered up. Their social status is similar to ours, meaning that everything they have comes through Merhamet and partly through Caritas. Croat-Muslim conflict was not felt here which is fortunate for both nations, because they are in a difficult situation as it is.

AIM: You have called people to come back on several occasions, more or less directly?

Komarica: Do you expect me to do otherwise? Who can deny people the right to live in their homeland, on their privately-owned estates and in their homes? They have the right to all these things and Croat politicians must provide this for them. And the Serb poliicians too. Zagreb must not forget us. Croats are a native and autochtonous nation in Banjaluka region. Those who have remained there have proved that it is possible to live together. Those who have left are begging me to take them back, even to their burnt down homes.

AIM: Do you still believe that life together is possible in that region?

Komarica: As a believer, I cannot think otherwise. How do we intend to become a part of Europe, if we do not allow our neighbour, relative to live next to us. I will not give up working on mutual respect of differences. but, if we have rejected God and his laws, we should not be surprised that we have adopted nationalism as a fetish which is unworthy of man.

BRANKA VUJNOVIC