Vice President of the European People’s Party (EPP) and member of the Committee for Culture and Education of the European Parliament Zeljana Zovko yesterday presented the intangible and tangible heritage of the Republic of Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) in the European Parliament.
However, this event caused many controversies, especially due to the naming of the Old Bridge in Mostar as “Croatian cultural heritage”, which can be seen in the visual, which, in addition to the walls of Dubrovnik, also includes a photo of the Old Bridge in Mostar, but nowhere is the cultural heritage of BiH mentioned, but only the cultural heritage of Croatia.
Namely, before the plenary adoption of the parliamentary report on European historical awareness, which includes the amendments of delegate Zovko, which call for an objective, factual, and truthful remembrance of the crimes, atrocities, and victims of all totalitarian and authoritarian regimes in Europe during the 20th century, on Wednesday at 6:30 pm the official opening of the art exhibition of Lidija Topic Bouwen was held.
The exhibition showed the survival of Croats in BiH and the most important historical episodes of Croats throughout the centuries, with an emphasis on the work about the Herzegovinian Franciscan and educator Fra Didak Buntic, who during the First World War in Slavonia and Srijem provided reception and accommodation for about 17.000 Herzegovinian children, and the work that shows the 66 murdered Herzegovinian Franciscans in Siroki Brijeg during the Second World War.
The exhibition was opened by Zovko together with her husband and son of the late Lidija Topic Bouwen in memory of her artistic activity, rich diplomatic career, and everything she did for the benefit of BiH. In cooperation with renowned Herzegovina winemakers, Zovko also presented award-winning wines from BiH during the opening ceremony.
Safet Orucevic, former mayor of Mostar, reacted to the classification of the Old Bridge as “Croatian heritage”. Orucevic pointed out that the Bridge is a world cultural heritage from BiH, and that Bosniaks led its reconstruction after Croatian Defence Council (HVO) members demolished it during the aggression against BiH.
“How can I comment on a gathering where the Old Bridge is labeled as ‘Croatian heritage’, except as a shameful and stupid provocation? The bridge is a world cultural heritage from BiH and no Croatian heritage. For that project, I put a lot of effort as a mayor to win over as partners the World Bank and UNESCO, several donor countries as well as Croatia led by Prime Minister Racan, who gave us full support,” said Orucevic.
As he says, this was at a time when the only “cultural” heritage that the Croats had in Mostar were concentration camps for their fellow citizens, the killing of innocent people, rape, destruction of the city, including the demolition of the Old Bridge, even exclusively filmed by the cameras of the HVO.
“For all this, our fellow citizens were sentenced to over a hundred years in prison as a Joint Criminal Enterprise. When it came to the Old Bridge, it was Bosniaks who led the Joint Enterprise for Joint Reconstruction and Reconciliation. We will continue to do this, but not with those who constantly provoke and stop all processes of normalization between nations,” he concluded, Klix.ba writes.
E.Dz.
