ZAGREB, SARAJEVO CARDINALS APPEAL FOR "JUST PEACE"

ZAGREB, Dec 7 (Hina) - The Archbishops of Zagreb and Sarajevo, Cardinals Franjo Kuharic and Vinko Puljic, today forwarded an appeal to Catholic communities worldwide as well as international powers "to put an end to atrocities in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Croatia." "We are running out of time, and it may already be too late," the cardinals wrote, adding that "moral means must be found to stop an immoral aggression." The negotiations had failed to alleviate the suffering of hundreds of thousands of innocent people, stop the aggression and restore the rule of law. "When people hear and read what is going on at negotiations between the world powers and international institutions they get even more confused and discouraged. It is true that the international forces have not fulfilled our expectations, but if threatened areas such as Sarajevo and Bihac are deprived of international protection, the population there will be abandoned to merciless extermination, as we have seen it happen in Vukovar and some other towns," the appeal says. "Only just peace is real peace," the cardinals wrote, stressing that injustices must be redressed, the international borders respected and all refugees returned to their homes. "We are thankful to all of you who are protesting against the crimes that are occurring here. Most particularly, we are grateful for the Christian solidarity of many religious communities and institutions worldwide. We hope that the leadership of the Serb Orthodox Church will hark to the voice of conscience and join us in the condemnation of these crimes," the cardinals concluded. (hina) mm as 071834 MET dec 94