“Do not allow Bosnia to be divided or fragmented, not for aninch of land, not for one shepherd, regardless of any prospects, opportunities, penance, or promises. That would be a betrayal of history, of our soul, and at the same time, the seeds of a fundamental weakening of the state.
This was written by Josip Markušić (1880-1968), “one of the most significant Franciscans in the entire history of the Franciscan Province of Bosne Srebrene,” in a letter addressed to the leaders of national parties in 1939, following the ominousagreement between Vladko Maček and Dragiša Cvetković, regarding the division of Bosnia.
“Guard Bosnia like the Apple of Your Eye”
In Jajce, this honorable Bosnian uncle cried out:
“Guard Bosnia like the apple of your eye…”
Today, while witnessing to new requests for continued division of Bosnia and Herzegovina, as stated in “memorandum”(accidently or not) regarding a Croatian entity in Bosnia and Herzegovina, it is important to recall the voices of honorable Bosnian Franciscans. These are the Franciscans who stood against the division of Bosnia and Herzegovina ahead of the Second World War, in the 1990s, and who even today stand against every form of nationalism, conflict, war, and the divisionof our shared homeland.
Friar Petar Anđelović, the renowned Provincial of the Franciscans Province of “Bosna Srebrena”, during the most difficult times of the aggression against Bosnia and Herzegovina, warned of policies and politicans who sought to “carve up territories” and “trade in human lives.”
“Cunning politicians, especially those who are also historians, know how to find examples and models from the past to serve as a guide and an alibi in today’s crisis. This is the rule when “historical situations” are resolved by “historical agreements” behind closed doors. It is a place where spilled blood, lost lives, and all the rights people had in certain territories can be forgotten,” said Friar Petar adding:
“In such moments, the theory must hold, someone’s historicaldream must be fulfilled, an idea, a promise. In the moment when territories are being circled, no one thinks of the people who lived there. But a man is still more important than political ideas, which are mere commodities. The issue is that today it is the opposite: there is a trade in human lives, not ideas.
Until the very end, he remained devoted to Bosnia, just like his fellow Franciscans:
“During the fiercest attacks against Bosnia and Herzegovina, through both politics and arms, not for a single moment did I believe that this country can be killed. It remained, and it will remain, among other things, because we – Bosnian Friars – want it to exist. There is as much of Bosnia, as there is justice and righteousness, good and goodness, and truth and truthfulnesswithin it. “
“We friars consider Bosnia our mother, and we do not call ourselves French, German, or Croatian, or anything else, but Bosnian friars. Between us and Bosnia and Herzegovina, there is a mother-son relationship. When they strike Bosnia and Herzegovina, when they cut it open, they strike and cut us as well. This, I believe, not everyone can understand. Only those to whom it is given will understand.”
Friar Luka Markešić: “The Narrative of a Third Entity Can Lead Bosnia to War”
“We can be grateful to this beautiful, long-suffering, and plundered land that has endured such great agony- grateful thatwe were born here, that we are its citizens, and that we have theopportunity, everyone in their own manner, to fight for a happier, better future for Bosnia and Herzegovina.”
“A few years ago, we celebrated the 700th anniversary of our arrival in Bosnia. Therefore, we have been present in Bosnia for over seven centuries. Throughout that entire time, we have tied our history and our existence to the state of Bosnia, to Bosnia and Herzegovina. Bosnia is also ours, it is Croatian. We, the Bosnian friars cannot deny ourselves – our country is Bosnia and Herzegovina. We believe we can live here, that we can maintain, defend, and develop our culture and the culture of our people. “
“I think the time should soon come for the citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina to wake up, to take their destiny into their own hands, and to find politicans and leaders who will lead Bosnia out of all these crises and steer it in the right direction toward a happier, more beautiful future.”
In the end, Friar Petar would always repeat:
“Who betrays Bosnia, betrays his own soul.”
The honorable Friar Luka Markešić, a former Provincial, warned that the narrative about a third entity could lead Bosnia to war:
“That is the policy aimed at destruction of Bosnia and Herzegovina as a whole. In general, the division of Bosnia and Herzegovina into entities is against the nature of this country, against the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Seeking a third entity is a continuation of that policy. That policy should be abandoned, and the project of forming a third entity must be given up entirely. Instead of moving toward the dissolution of both existing entities, they are now seeking a third. Why shouldn’t someone then ask for a fourth?” Markešić asked in 2014.
He considered this project deeply flawed:” It is a good thing that it cannot be realized. It is also a good thing for the Croatian people, and for the building of Bosnia and Herzegovina as peaceful country,” he said in 2011.
Franciscans – Guardians of Bosnia
Franciscans remain the “guardians of Bosnia” even today. The wise Friar Ivo Marković bore witness to this in an interview with Face TV, calling the entire project a politically dangerous illusion.
In an earlier public appearance, he explained why theFranciscans, then as now, rejected the idea of the so-called Herzeg-Bosnia, or today’s “third entity,” and the drawing of maps in general:
“Secondly, the radical rejection of the idea of so-called “Herzeg-Bosnia”, made up by Franjo Tuđman, which led to the war between Bosniaks and Croats. The Bosnian Franciscans clearly saw where that was leading, that it destroys a multiethnic and multi-religious Bosnia and Herzegovina and leads to ethniccleansing. Bosnian Franciscans continuously advocate for a shared life based on mutual trust and cooperation,” said Professor Marković, warning then, as he does today, of the various challenges facing Bosnia.
While others make calculations, the Bosnian Franciscans are here: loyal to God and loyal to Bosnia. And… there will be Bosnia, and there will be peace in it, Friar Petar Anđelović would conclude.
