MOSTAR, Oct 2 (Hina) - The book entitled "Hrvatski Mirospis 1778 (A Croatian Peace Paper of 1778" was presented in Bosnia-Herzegovina's southern town of Mostar on Friday evening.
MOSTAR, Oct 2 (Hina) - The book entitled "Hrvatski Mirospis 1778 (A
Croatian Peace Paper of 1778" was presented in Bosnia-
Herzegovina's southern town of Mostar on Friday evening.#L#
The book contains the first Croatian translation of a speech of an
unknown Croat priest when he addressed soldiers in 1778. In that
speech this Croat Catholic chaplain told them that "a Christian
soldier must not be a miscreant, arsonist, looter, loose lecher and
bloodthirsty person." This speech has to date been found in eight
translations in several European languages.
The 'Peace Paper' in Croatian, published by a cultural organisation
"Hrvatska Matica", was prepared by academician Borislav Arapovic.
During its promotion on Friday night, the chairman of Bosnia's
collective Presidency, Ante Jelavic, said this book helped to save
from oblivion the Croat army chaplain's speech that might be
described as a precursor of the Geneva Conventions adopted 171
years after that address.
"Pacifism radiates from the speech which protests against war and
calls for peace. It is the grounds of the Geneva Conventions,"
Jelavic stressed.
According to him, the speech is also important for the current
developments, as we should "respect those who are different from
us, and try to maintain our own national identity simultaneously,"
the Bosnian Croat leader added. He advocated the upbringing of
future generations in the spirit of the chaplain's speech.
Jelavic also claimed that there were some people who would like to
impose the collective responsibility on Bosnian Croats and prepare
a new Bleiburg tragedy for them.
"In Bosnia-Herzegovina we conducted a defensive war and not
conquest. Being the first to defend Bosnia-Herzegovina we have
shown that Bosnia is also our homeland," Jelavic said.
(hina) ms