SECRETARY-GENERAL, AT SARAJEVO CHILDREN'S HOME, SAYS CHILD WAR VICTIMS REMINDER OF RESPONSIBILITY TO 'THE FUTURE, TO PEACE AND TO JUSTICE'
Press Release
SG/SM/7172
SECRETARY-GENERAL, AT SARAJEVO CHILDREN'S HOME, SAYS CHILD WAR VICTIMS REMINDER OF RESPONSIBILITY TO 'THE FUTURE, TO PEACE AND TO JUSTICE'
19991012The following statement was issued today by the Spokesman for Secretary-General Kofi Annan:
This short visit to the Children's Home has been a very moving experience for me. Seeing these innocent victims of violence and inhuman policy of "ethnic cleansing", no one can doubt the evil of war. Seeing these children whose parents died during the conflict or are now permanently disabled by it, no one can doubt the necessity of peace.
After far too many deaths and far too much destruction, peace has returned to Bosnia. The guns are silent, and differences are being settled through dialogue and negotiation. To all those who still doubt the peace, or seek a return to arms, I say: Look at these children and ask whether they should suffer again, whether more children like these should be robbed of their families and homes.
The fate of these children should remind us all -- Bosnians and servants of international organizations alike -- of our responsibility to the future, to peace and to justice. For them, we must persevere and we must succeed. Only if we do will they be able to play their part in building a safer and happier Bosnia.
Looking out on these faces, however, I see the promise of a better Bosnia, filed with new hope and new energy -- a Bosnia made up a new generation that will build a society where all can thrive and make the most of their abilities. These T-shirts are a very small symbol of our commitment to that aim.
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