SARAJEVO, March 24 (Hina) - Students at the Franciscan Faculty of Theology in Sarajevo on Friday asked Croatian President Stipe Mesic to do all he can so that refugees from all parts of Bosnia-Herzegovina could return to their homes.
"In that regard, we expect much from you personally and from the Croatian state. Do not let the help which our compatriots in Croatia are setting aside and sending to Bosnia-Herzegovina end up in someone else's pockets. Let those funds be used for the construction of houses, schools, and factories, where our returnees will live and work. If they do not return and stay, we will have no use of barracks, or soldiers, or armies of any component," third-year student Entoni Seperic told Mesic on behalf of his colleagues. The Croatian president was welcomed in the faculty building by the head of the Bosnian Franciscan order, Friar Petar Andjelovic, who then took Mesic on a tour of t
SARAJEVO, March 24 (Hina) - Students at the Franciscan Faculty of
Theology in Sarajevo on Friday asked Croatian President Stipe Mesic
to do all he can so that refugees from all parts of Bosnia-
Herzegovina could return to their homes.
"In that regard, we expect much from you personally and from the
Croatian state. Do not let the help which our compatriots in Croatia
are setting aside and sending to Bosnia-Herzegovina end up in
someone else's pockets. Let those funds be used for the
construction of houses, schools, and factories, where our
returnees will live and work. If they do not return and stay, we will
have no use of barracks, or soldiers, or armies of any component,"
third-year student Entoni Seperic told Mesic on behalf of his
colleagues.
The Croatian president was welcomed in the faculty building by the
head of the Bosnian Franciscan order, Friar Petar Andjelovic, who
then took Mesic on a tour of the faculty building, which was
completely destroyed during the war but was reconstructed with the
efforts of the Franciscan community.
The faculty, which is located at the Sarajevo suburb of Nedjarici,
today has 60 students.
"You should know that only because of you I travelled to Sarajevo on
a special plane. Had I taken a regular flight, I would not have had
the time to visit you and I didn't want to miss that," Mesic told
Andjelovic jokingly. Mesic and Andjelovic have been friends for a
long time.
During the one-hour meeting, Andjelovic said the Franciscans in
Bosnia today shared the fate of their country as they had done on
many occasions in the past.
"We were victims of the war and refugees but we are back. We would
like that to happen to the whole Bosnia-Herzegovina," Andjelovic
said.
Showing genuine happiness because of his meeting with Bosnia's
Franciscans, Mesic called on them to continue doing good as they had
done throughout the history, because that was how they would
strengthen the Croat people in Bosnia-Herzegovina as well, and all
those living with them would also benefit.
"By visiting Sarajevo I wanted to show that Croatia is interested in
Bosnian Croats being a constituent part in the real sense of the
word," Mesic said.
Mesic reminded of the fact that the Croat people had unfortunately
gone through a tragedy because many of them were refugees today.
Peace, therefore, cannot be real until they return to their homes,
he added.
Peace is what we need most, Mesic said, warning that the main
culprit for the suffering in this part of Europe - Slobodan
Milosevic - was announcing new campaigns against Montenegro but
also against Kosovo and Macedonia.
After the visit to the Franciscan Faculty of Theology and the
meeting with its professors and students, Mesic left for Zagreb,
ending his two-day official visit to Bosnia-Herzegovina.
(hina) mm rml