SARAJEVO SARAJEVO, Oct 22 (Hina) - Several hundred thousand people gathered in Sarajevo on Wednesday for the burial of former Bosnian President Alija Izetbegovic.
SARAJEVO, Oct 22 (Hina) - Several hundred thousand people gathered
in Sarajevo on Wednesday for the burial of former Bosnian President
Alija Izetbegovic. #L#
Despite heavy rain, which was falling since early morning, a large
number of Izetbegovic's supporters gathered in front of the
parliament and government building in the central city square,
where the coffin with Izetbegovic's body lay in state before it was
taken on a military vehicle to Kovaci cemetery in the old part of the
city.
It was Izetbegovic's wish as the first president of independent
Bosnia-Herzegovina to be buried at Kovaci cemetery, where hundreds
of Bosnian Army soldiers, killed during the 1992-1995 siege of
Sarajevo, were buried.
Addressing the crowd, the international community's High
Representative Paddy Ashdown said Izetbegovic had courageously led
his people and won a war in which annihilation of Muslims was a goal
of many. Alija Izetbegovic is the father of his nation, who did
everything to make possible the survival of Bosnia-Herzegovina as a
modern state, inspiring all to follow the principles of
understanding and tolerance, Ashdown said.
The Muslim member of the three-man state presidency, Sulejman
Tihic, said Izetbegovic was beyond doubt a historic figure, a great
statesman, a true democrat and, above all, a great man.
By a combination of historical circumstances, Izetbegovic found
himself in the company of intolerant and ruthless people, and due to
such an environment he had no chance of avoiding war despite his
efforts to do so, Tihic said.
He added that the "architects of projects of territorial expansion"
had never ceased negotiating the division of Bosnia-Herzegovina,
which made the fight for the country's integrity and the survival of
the Bosniak people an imperative in Izetbegovic's political work.
Even in difficult circumstances Izetbegovic consistently opposed
crime, which he demonstrated with his readiness to deal with
criminals in the besieged city in 1993.
Even in the most difficult times, Muslims under Izetbegovic's
leadership were a bright example of Islam in Europe, Tihic said,
adding that most of Izetbegovic's opponents were either standing
trial for war crimes in The Hague or hiding in Bosnia or elsewhere.
The head of the Muslim religious community in Bosnia, Mustafa
Ceric, who conducted the religious ceremony at the funeral, said
Izetbegovic was a true son of Bosnia who searched for the meaning of
life in tolerance and communion.
According to information from the Bosnian foreign ministry, the
burial of the former Bosnian Muslim leader was attended by special
delegations from a dozen countries, represented mostly at the level
of deputy ministers or parliamentary representatives.
The Croatian delegation consisted of President Stjepan Mesic's
advisor Esad Prohic and Deputy Prime Minister Ante Simonic.
Wednesday was declared a day of mourning in the Croat-Muslim
Federation of Bosnia-Herzegovina, while in the Serb entity it was a
regular working day. Government officials from Republika Srpska
said earlier nobody from their entity would attend the funeral.
(hina) rml