Bosnia's Cultural Heritage: Highlights
The Destruction and Reconstruction of Bosnia's Cultural Heritage
by Andras Riedlmayer, 6/13/96Although the war in Bosnia has attracted intense media coverage, one aspect has gone virtually unnoted: the systematic destruction of Bosnia's cultural heritage. Major libraries, archives, museums, ca. 1,200 mosques, 200 churches (mostly Catholic, some Orthodox), and over 1,000 other historic buildings have been targeted by nationalist forces. The result is what a Council of Europe report calls "a major cultural catastrophe." What can we do in response to this assault on memory and identity?
Andras Riedlmayer and the Abuse of History
by Michael Sells, 6/12/96There is an abuse of history, which I call "Balkanism," that maintains that people in Bosnia have been involved in ancient hatreds destined to repeat themselves out of genetic or historical fate. This abuse of history was used by the Bush administration (President Bush, Secretary of State Eagleburger, Joint Chiefs Chairman Colin Powell) to excuse its failure in Bosnia. It was then adopted by Secretary of State Warren Christopher and President Clinton himself in 1993 when the Clinton administration acquiesced in the European policy of appeasing the genocide in Bosnia. It is also a favorite of indicted war criminal Radovan Karadzic.
The systematic annihilation of culture is a deliberate effort to create on the ground the Balkanist myth, by annihilating the graphic testimony of 500 years of shared life and culture among Catholics, Serb Orthodox, Muslims, and Jews in Bosnia. Yes there had been conflicts, just as there were terrible conflicts throughout Europe. . . .
When the Serb major of Zvornik said, after all the Muslims had been killed or expelled and all the mosques dynamited, that "there never were any mosques in Zvornik" he was trying to rewrite the history according to Balkanist mythology, and to deny 500 years of shared Muslim and Serb life in the town of Zvornik. When the Serb mayor of Foca, after killing or expelling all the town's Muslims and dynamiting all the mosques, including the 16th century Colored Mosque, a masterwork of South Slavic architecture, stated "there never were any mosques in Foca" he then went further and renamed the ancient town of Muslims and Serbs "Serbinje" (Serb place). Similar acts have occurred throughout Bosnia as militias act out the Balkanist mythology they wish to create and project back into the past. Those who perpetuate this abuse of history are providing a cover and protection for the annihilation of 500 years of art, culture, and historical testimony.
History, History, History ...
by Nihad Alibegovic, 6/14/96Yes, it is a historical fact that Serbs were serfs during Ottoman Empire, but that does not give them the right to view and think of Bosnia as their own. It especially does not give them the right to destroy the cultural heritage of Bosnia such as the mosques, the libraries, the monasteries, the synagogues...
Miracle in Zenica
by Peter Mikuliak, 6/24/96Uniformed members of the Turkish Army repair the Serbian Orthodox Church in Zenica, Bosnia.
The 'Nativity of the Theotokos' parish sustained some damage -- external as well as internal -- although I cannot confirm the circumstances. Nevertheless, the Turkish soldiers doing the work, their officer who introduced me to the priest as well as the priest himself seemed to be quite pleased. For anyone aware of the history of the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Turks, such a sight was nothing short of wondrous.
It must be said that the public relations of the Turkish Army in Bosnia have received a positive response from many local people. Apparently the Turkish commander made a public statement offering assistance, and Father Miroslav went personally to take him up on it. The Turks have also gone out of their way to be useful to humanitarian organizations. Last Friday they loaded a number of containers onto otherwise empty tank-carriers going from Metkovic to Zenica, thus saving that charitable organization over $10,000 in overland transport costs.
Now if some local folks could learn a thing or two...
Birmingham Bosnia Task Force
by EB Weiss, 6/23/96There is an international organization based in Birmingham, Alabama called the Birmingham Bosnia Task Force. The group is comprised of architects, urban planners, landscape artists, and others in related fields whose intention is to help redesign areas of the Former Yugoslavia destroyed during the war, using local designers and local cultural traditions as well. I believe that their goal is also to create designs that are conducive to peace -- i.e. public spaces that incorporate multi-ethnic design. If people want more information on this group or other groups in the U.S. helping to restore or exhibit Bosnian culture, you can contact the NY Committee to Save Bosnia at 212-496-4550 or E-Mail jag@tiac.net.
