SECRETARY-GENERAL'S MESSAGE ON PEACE AND RECONCILIATION IN BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA
Press Release
SG/SM/6168
SECRETARY-GENERAL'S MESSAGE ON PEACE AND RECONCILIATION IN BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA
19970226 Following is Secretary-General Kofi Annan's message on peace and reconciliation in Bosnia and Herzegovina delivered by his Special Assistant Shashi Tharoor at a reception organized by the Permanent Mission of Bosnia and Herzegovina, yesterday, in conjunction with the Grammy Awards, the annual United States recording industry awards:The agony of Bosnia and Herzegovina has seized our hearts and minds for half a decade now.
While we have seen, of late, important steps towards stabilization -- the peace accords, the end of large-scale military hostilities, the holding of elections -- albeit partial, and the resumption of at least the rudiments of daily life, the plight of the people of Bosnia continues.
Refugees and displaced persons face enormous obstacles, and sometimes outright violence, in trying to exercise their right to return home. The prospects for economic recovery remain uncertain. Vital infrastructures have yet to be rebuilt. Unemployment remains at distressingly high levels.
The most difficult challenge is recovery from the human trauma and suffering -- from the deliberate and planned massacres and atrocities against civilians. What this calls for is the judgement of those accused of war crimes, so that this can encourage reconciliation, the fundamental requisite for peace.
The international community must continue to act in solidarity with the efforts of Bosnia's men, women and children to promote reconciliation. The arts can play a crucial role in facing this challenge. For the arts have great power -- to communicate, to inspire, to express hope and exorcise pain and in so doing to promote understanding, one of the main foundations of peace and springboards for prosperity.
Tonight's gathering coincides with the Grammy Awards, which are given in recognition of outstanding achievements in the art of music. Here at the United Nations, we have a tradition of United Nations Day concerts for peace. They are uniformly uplifting experiences.
The orchestras, in particular, are a potent reminder of the value of tolerance and of working together to create something that is larger than any one individual. In that spirit, then, let us pledge our ongoing support for the musicians and other artists of Bosnia, and for all Bosnians struggling towards a new and more hopeful era in their country's history.
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