A bust of former Austrian Foreign Minister Alois Mock was damaged in a park dedicated to Kemal Monteno in Sarajevo, and the Austrian Embassy in Bosnia and Herzegovina issued a statement about the incident, saying they were shocked.
“The destruction of the bust of Alois Mock in the Kemal Monteno Park in the center of Sarajevo is a completely unacceptable act of vandalism. Alois Mock was more than a politician – he was a driving force for change throughout Europe,” the Austrian Embassy in Bosnia and Herzegovina said.
As Vice Chancellor and Foreign Minister, he played a decisive role in Austria’s efforts to integrate into the European Union. Mock’s involvement, however, reached far beyond Austria’s borders. In the period after the fall of the Iron Curtain, Mock advocated for a united Europe. He was largely responsible for the international recognition of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the process of the breakup of the former Yugoslavia, and remained closely linked to this country even after that, the Austrian Embassy in BiH described this politician.
They state that Alois Mock was a statesman who, like few others, is responsible for peace and freedom in Europe.
“In Bosnia and Herzegovina in particular. It is incomprehensible that this very monument dedicated to him should be destroyed by this senseless act of vandalism,” said Georg Diwald, Austrian Ambassador to Sarajevo.
The Austrian Embassy in BiH has called on the competent authorities to quickly launch investigations and restore the bust to its original condition as soon as possible.
This is not the first such case, as a bust of former Polish President Tadeusz Mazowiecki was recently stolen from the same park, which also caused a small diplomatic scandal after a diplomatic note was sent to the BiH Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which was not responded to.
