Bosnia and Herzegovina

Representatives of some of the main anti-war groups in former-Yugoslavia met in St Johan, Salzburg, Austria this April. One of the documents they produced was an Open Letter to Peace Movements, written in a private capacity, rather than in the name of their groups.

By Staša Zajovic

Since the beginning of the wars in ex-Yugoslavia, especially in Bosnia-Herzegovina, the image of the suffering of the civilian population projected by the major television networks is usually a variation on the image of the woman-victim, who, exhausted, humble and in tears, carries a child in her arms. If she is shown as a rape victim, that image is emphasized even more.

When NATO announced its ultimatum threatening air strikes if Bosnian-Serb heavy weaponry was not removed from the hills around Sarajevo by February 21, WRI published an international statement urging peace groups to refuse the narrow choice between bombing or not bombing and to campaign instead for a change in attitude from their governments, for a different kind of commitment in the long term.

On 4-6 March, 19 people from 10 European countries met to discuss the situation of draft resisters and deserters seeking asylum. This has become a major issue in Europe with the large numbers of refugees from the war in former-Yugoslavia, especially as several governments insist that Croatia and Serbia are not part of the war zone.

War Resisters' International, the international pacifist organisation, will NOT be calling for demonstrations against the threat to bomb the hills around Sarajevo. In the choice between an international commitment to Bosnia-Hercegovina and disengagement, WRI favours international commitment. For us, however, the main goal of an international commitment should be to restore social life in the region: a long-term commitment not just to end the war but to build a peace.

“He hit me on the mouth. I fainted. When I came to, I was raped again. While I was still conscious I was raped by eight of them, and I don’t know what happened afterward…One of them lay on me, pressing the barrel of his automatic weapon against my temple, looking Into my eyes for a long time. Another man was running the blade of a knife over my breasts…”
—Azra, age 15

Open letter from War Resisters' International and the International Fellowship of Reconciliation to all those friends in the anti-war movement of Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia and Slovenia, who see no alternative to military intervention in Bosnia-Herzegovina.

Since the war spread to Bosnia-Herzegovina, there have been widespread calls for military intervention, even in letters from the anti-war movement in Sarajevo.

Intellectuals from the warring republics of Yugoslavia have signed a joint Proposal to Stop the War. They see no possibility for the peace negotiations in the Hague to succeed until the question of reaching a ceasefire is separated from negotiations about a peace treaty and the ultimate borders in Yugoslavia. The urgent need is to stop the fighting and to create conditions of stability where a longer term agreement could be discussed. They propose six elements on which a ceasefire could be based. These include

The only telephone number I know by heart outside Yugoslavia is the War Resisters’ International office in London. This is for a very simple reason: there is always somebody there to receive and spread information, to listen and to understand, to help by giving information we need, and to talk as friends.

Our analysis, reports, warnings about the situation, and questions are always first sent to WRI. Again for a simple reason: the efficiency and the high level of ability to understand.