PRESS CONFERENCE BY GRAND MUFTI OF BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA
Press Briefing
PRESS CONFERENCE BY GRAND MUFTI OF BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA
20000830Addressing correspondents at a Headquarters press conference this morning, the Grand Mufti of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Mustafa Ceric, said that although peace did exist in Bosnia and Herzegovina, he was not yet satisfied with the situation of Muslims in the area.
At the outset of the press conference, the Permanent Representative of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Muhamed Sacirbey, read a prepared statement by the Grand Mufti regarding his disappointment at the absence of the Dalai Lama from the Millenium World Peace Summit of Religious and Spiritual Leaders being held at the United Nations this week. The Dalai Lama's presence would have only added to the contributions of this gathering, the statement read.
Also according to the statement, while religion should not dictate politics, neither should politics dictate faith. Bosnia and Herzegovina had had a very sorry experience during the communist period as well as in the recent past where politics had manipulated religion. Contrary to the comments of some, faith could bolster tolerance, provide its own contribution to pluralism and did promote peace and progressive development.
Mr. Sacirbey added that he was also disappointed that the Dalai Lama was not one of the participants invited to the Summit. In light of the troubles of the last decade, his country understood the value of faith and religion in contributing to peace and understanding.
The Grand Mufti said he was glad to be one of the participants in this historic Summit. Bosnia and Herzegovina was in the process of establishing peace, but it was slow. Those who knew what it was like to be under siege for years in the city of Sarajevo would appreciate the peace that existed there now. There was no shelling and there was no killing.
However, different problems existed at present, he said. Employment, the difficulty of moving in some areas, as well as implementing the Dayton Agreements in substance remained difficult post-war issues. He spoke of the possible fatigue of the international community in persevering with the peace process and reaching a sustainable peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina. He hoped that the players would not give up on peace but rather would renew their energy to work together.
Asked to comment on the status of Muslims in Bosnia, the Grand Mufti said that he didn't want to speak about the status of Muslims as such, but would rather speak about the citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina who happened to be Muslim. All citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina shared the same suffering, in particular the problem of the return of refugees. Whether Muslim or non-Muslim, everyone suffered if they were far from their home.
However, Muslims were suffering more than any other community in terms of numbers, he said. The war had resulted in about 200,000 deaths and there were over 1 million refugees throughout the world. They were not all Muslims, but the majority -- possibly 80 per cent -- were. The future status of the Muslims in Bosnia and Herzegovina would depend very much on themselves and how well they organized.
Grand Mufti Press Conference - 2 - 30 August 2000The same correspondent asked if the Grand Mufti would elaborate on the hardship faced by the Muslims in Bosnia and if there was anything that the United Nations could do to minimize that suffering. He replied that he was pleased that Secretary-General Kofi Annan had made a statement that the United Nations was ashamed of what had happened in Srebrenica.
He added that he was also happy to hear that a federal court in New York had issued a judgement that war criminals would have to repay the suffering of women in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The judgement was for around $74 million. Those two things gave him hope that justice would come one day.
However, many war criminals were still at large. Slobodan Milosevic, who was the evil of the Balkans, was still continuing to make problems in Kosovo and in Montenegro.
The Grand Mufti noted that the Balkans was a densely populated region of different religions, languages, ethnicities and nationalities. While he was proud of this heritage, he was concerned for the survival of the Muslim community in the Balkans and Europe. The Muslims in the region were European by birth and their survival was a European responsibility, he stressed.
When asked by a correspondent if he thought the goals of the Religious Summit were realistic, the Grand Mufti replied that the future significance of the Summit would be large but the concrete results could not yet be predicted. The United Nations should be a place where opposing views were heard and respected. No one possessed the absolute truth but everyone possessed something of the truth and this collective truth must be used to see the world in a different way, he said.
He added that there had been some minor disappointments with the Summit, but that he was very happy that it had happened. He hoped that future generations would benefit from the work done today.
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