MOSTAR, Nov 22 (Hina) - Eminent public figures and intellectuals from Bosnia's Croat, Muslim, and Serb peoples and the Jewish community have concluded it is imperative to set up a commission for truth and reconciliation as soon as
possible, in order to establish the whole truth about the recent war. The chairman of a committee advocating the setting up of such a commission, Jakov Finci, a prominent member of the Bosnian Jewish community, told a round table in the southern town of Mostar on Thursday the absence of reconciliation would lead to "the complete disintegration of Bosnia and Herzegovina into two or three parts, which would cause a new war." Finci maintains the unresolved situation dating back to World War Two was the cause of last decade's conflicts in Bosnia. The truth and reconciliation commission will be set up within the next three months and collect between 5,000
MOSTAR, Nov 22 (Hina) - Eminent public figures and intellectuals
from Bosnia's Croat, Muslim, and Serb peoples and the Jewish
community have concluded it is imperative to set up a commission for
truth and reconciliation as soon as possible, in order to establish
the whole truth about the recent war.
The chairman of a committee advocating the setting up of such a
commission, Jakov Finci, a prominent member of the Bosnian Jewish
community, told a round table in the southern town of Mostar on
Thursday the absence of reconciliation would lead to "the complete
disintegration of Bosnia and Herzegovina into two or three parts,
which would cause a new war."
Finci maintains the unresolved situation dating back to World War
Two was the cause of last decade's conflicts in Bosnia. The truth
and reconciliation commission will be set up within the next three
months and collect between 5,000 and 7,000 testimonies over the
next 30 months, he said.
"We will shed light on what the Hague (war crimes) tribunal does
not, namely the role of the media, religious communities, political
parties and international organisations in the recent war" in
Bosnia, said Finci.
Petar Andjelovic, an eminent Catholic intellectual, advocated
admitting guilt in one's own people, which he says helps one acquire
the ability to seek forgiveness.
The participants in the round table agreed the collected
testimonies would help the truth and reconciliation commission
write one history of the war in Bosnia, to replace the current
three, national ones.
(hina) ha sb