SARAJEVO, Aug 26 (Hina) - The tenth anniversary of the attack in which the Council Hall, the building that housed the National and University Library in Bosnia-Herzegovina, was destroyed, was marked in Sarajevo, Monday.
SARAJEVO, Aug 26 (Hina) - The tenth anniversary of the attack in
which the Council Hall, the building that housed the National and
University Library in Bosnia-Herzegovina, was destroyed, was
marked in Sarajevo, Monday. #L#
Several dozen Bosnia-Herzegovina officials, international
community representatives and the diplomatic corps gathered in the
entry hall of the one-hundred year old building to mark August 1992
when shelling in occupied Sarajevo destroyed virtually 95 percent
of the famous Council building.
Almost two million books and manuscripts went up in flames and only
about 200 thousand managed to be salvaged.
The Council building itself suffered severe damage.
US Ambassador to Bosnia-Herzegovina Clifford Bond said in his
speech that Serb shelling was the cause of the vandalistic
destruction. The attack on the Council building was one of the most
vivid examples of the siege of Sarajevo and the calamity
experienced by the entire country.
A representative of the Austrian Embassy in Sarajevo, Herbert
Gutshi, compared the destruction of the Sarajevo University
Library with the vandalistic destruction of the library in
Alexandria.
Austria was the first donor to facilitate the commencement of
reconstruction of the Council building in 1996 when the roof of the
building was rebuilt which prevented the building from decaying any
further.
This was followed by a donation from the European Union which
partially fortified the construction of the building. Next year
several carrier columns in the main hall will be replaced.
The continuation of reconstruction of one of Sarajevo's symbols is
uncertain however, because it requires a large amount of funding
for any serious works to be continued.
The head of the National and University Library, Enes Kujundzic,
called on local authorities to pay more attention to the
reconstruction of the Council building so that it could be returned
to its previous glory.
At the entry of the building which is still quite seriously damaged,
there is a plaque that invites people not to forget what happened in
1992.
(hina) sp sb