These are days of remembrance and tribute to Alija Izetbegović for his contribution to building bridges between people. Be like Alija, who never equated justice with revenge, said former US President Bill Clinton in a letter read at the National Theatre in Sarajevo during the celebration of the 100th anniversary of the birth of the first president of the Presidency of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
“We demand that a decision on the status of Bosnia and Herzegovina be made by plebiscite. In that plebiscite, we have nothing against it, the national commitment of the people who voted can be seen, so that we can see how Bosnia and Herzegovina stands and what it stands for society. We just do not want to leave Bosnia and Herzegovina hanging in the balance, as it has been until now, in an uncertain position,” said Alija Izetbegivić, the first president of the Presidency of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The vision of one man – for the people to decide for themselves about their country. At a time when borders were unclear and the future uncertain, that vision became a guidepost. Izetbegović remained at the head of state until the end of the war, signing the Dayton Agreement that brought peace but left the status quo. A state was created, internationally recognized, but still burdened by the heavy consequences of the conflict.
Then Izetbegović uttered a sentence that remained memorable:
“This may not be a just peace, but it is more just than continuing the war. In the situation as it is and in the world as it is, a better peace could not have been achieved.”
From that sentence grew a state. Fragile, but its own. And then, years later, a letter from the world – the memory of one president to another.
“I met the president during the darkest days of the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and I was deeply impressed by his calm determination and unwavering belief that people of different faiths can live together in peace. I sincerely admired his intelligence, composure and moral strength, and I will forever be grateful to him for his courageous leadership in difficult times,” said former US President Bill Clinton.
In a few sentences, Clinton summed up what Izetbegović carried throughout the war – the conviction that strength is not shown in revenge, but in faith in peace and coexistence.
That’s why even in the most difficult negotiations, he remained the same – determined, but dignified.
“During the peace negotiations in Dayton, I saw in him a leader who bore the pain of his people with dignity. At no point did he equate peace with surrender, nor justice with revenge. In the years that followed, while Bosnia was being rebuilt, President Izetbegović remained steadfast in his belief that reconciliation was the only true victory. On the day he would have celebrated his hundredth birthday, the best way to honor President Izetbegović’s legacy is to follow his example – choosing cooperation over conflict,” Clinton said.
Bosnia and Herzegovina still bears the traces of the past, but also the lesson left by its first president – that progress comes through unity, dialogue and advocacy for peace.
