RECONSTRUCTION OF MOSTAR OLD BRIDGE BEGINS

MOSTAR, 29 Sept (Hina) - "The reconstruction of the Old bridge in Mostar is a contribution to the reconciliation between Croats and Bosniacs, the people of Bosnia, Herzegovina and the world", said UNESCO representative Collin Kaiser at the beginning of reconstruction works on the Old bridge in Mostar, destroyed four years ago in the Croat-Moslem conflict. #L# Speaking at an official ceremony on Monday, Kaiser said that the Old bridge had been an international monument towards which everyone should feel responsibility. After parts of the bridge were recovered from the river, one would need a year to take a detailed inventory of the parts and see whether all parts could be put into their original position, Kaiser said. Apart from UNESCO and other international foundations, domestic experts would also have to participate in the reconstruction of the bridge, Kaiser said. The head of the Institute for the Protection of Historical Monuments from eastern Mostar, Ziad Demirovic, said that the Old bridge 'is an international monument on which no one has a monopoly'. Speaking about its destruction four years ago, Demirovic said the bridge had been destroyed not by Croats but by 'evil people', adding however, that ' the Croats have to punish the people who commanded and carried out the order and who cheered when the bridge fell into the river'. (hina) rm 291637 MET sep 97