MOSTAR, April 30 (Hina) - A reconstructed "Customs Bridge" was officially opened in Mostar on Tuesday. The bridge is some 100 metres from the EU Administration headquarters. It is the first bridge set up across the river Neretva in
the part of town where Croats are on the West bank and Moslems on the east bank of the river.
MOSTAR, April 30 (Hina) - A reconstructed "Customs Bridge" was
officially opened in Mostar on Tuesday. The bridge is some 100
metres from the EU Administration headquarters. It is the first
bridge set up across the river Neretva in the part of town where
Croats are on the West bank and Moslems on the east bank of the
river. #L#
The bridge established a historic connection between the two
banks of the Neretva, EU Administrator for Mostar, Ricardo Perez
Casado, said at the ceremony.
"I would like it if the opening of the bridge meant the end of
conflicts, the beginning of reconstruction of the town and
reconciliation," Casado said, adding that he held the bridge
represented a fertile and decisive establishment of the Federation
of Bosnia-Herzegovina.
The Mayor of western Mostar, Mijo Brajkovic, stressed that the
reconstruction of the bridge in Mostar would bring an increase in
railway and road traffic, thus increasing the economy of the town.
Describing the opening of the bridge as a magnificent day for
Mostar, the Mayor of the eastern part of Mostar, Safet Orucevic,
said that "all those who destroyed the bridges in Mostar have been
defeated".
"Those who insisted that the re-establishment of co-existence
in Mostar was impossible, today lost the battle and became
defeated," Orucevic said.
Recalling the fact that Croats and Moslems built this first
bridge in Mostar with joint efforts, Orucevic said the
reconstructed bridge was "the symbol of peace in Mostar and in the
Federation of Bosnia-Herzegovina".
"The Customs Bridge leads towards a unified Mostar," Orucevic
said.
The director of the "Vijadukt" construction company from
Zagreb, Djuro Dekanovic, said that the bridge was a faithful copy
of the one which had been destroyed during the war. Stressing that
the reconstruction lasted eight months, Dekanovic said, "We
reconstructed the bridge for many future generations".
Casado, Brajkovic, Orucevic and other dignitaries crossed the
bridge after a few words of greeting.
Present at the opening of the bridge were a number of
officials in the Federation of Bosnia-Herzegovina.
(hina) lm
301627 MET apr 96