SARAJEVO, June 10 (Hina/correspondent Ranko Mavrak) - The period until elections in Bosnia-Herzegovina, which could be prevented only by armed conflicts, will be full of unsparing political combats. Not one person nor institution,
influential in politics and society, will be spared of attacks and criticism, not even the Catholic Church - the one institution which maintained and strengthened its moral authority during the war.
SARAJEVO, June 10 (Hina/correspondent Ranko Mavrak) - The period
until elections in Bosnia-Herzegovina, which could be prevented
only by armed conflicts, will be full of unsparing political
combats.
Not one person nor institution, influential in politics and
society, will be spared of attacks and criticism, not even the
Catholic Church - the one institution which maintained and
strengthened its moral authority during the war. #L#
"Relations between the Catholic Church and the Bosnian state
have been at the lowest level since the beginning of the war,"
father Petar Andjelovic, provincial of the Franciscan Bosna
Srebrena province, said.
He stressed that proof for this could be found in almost every
aspect of life -from the postponement of resolving the issue of the
return of property to the Church to open attacks of the media,
especially Bosniac media.
The "Dnevni Avaz" daily, close to the leading Social Democrat
Action (SDA), runs an article on the front page of its issue from
June 6, in which it directly accused the Sarajevo Cardinal Vinko
Puljic of advocating the breakup of Bosnia.
"We consider this attack on the Cardinal as a direct attack on
the Church," Andjelovic said.
"The goal of all three leading parties in Bosnia-Herzegovina
is to maintain their authority on the territory they now control,
which, unfortunately, means completing the establishment of
ethnically clear areas," Andjelovic said.
"This will cause new conflicts, even start a new war,"
Andjelovic said, stressing that the best proof that such scenarios
were being realized was the systematic hindering of the return of
refugees.
"Statements of party officials that they cared for a whole
Bosnia are in fact a lie. It is the same with all three parties. It
is constantly being conveyed that people from the leading
structures are preparing the breakup of Bosnia," Andjelovic said.
He stressed that the Catholic Church would consistently oppose
such attempts, as it had done from the beginning of the war.
Bosnian Franciscans recalled that they had been present in
Bosnia-Herzegovina for 700 years and that the Church was counting
on the fact that not one war had succeeded in the breakup of
Bosnia-Herzegovina so far.
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