The Old Bridge is and can only be a part of the cultural and historical heritage of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and not of any mono-ethnic communities, administrative-territorial units or other states, Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives of the BiH Parliament Denis Zvizdić said today.
In a post on social networks, Zvizdić reminds that the Old Bridge in Mostar is the first Bosnian-Herzegovinian monument on the UNESCO list of cultural heritage. The decision was made at the session of the World Heritage Committee in 2005, as “the historical urban area of the city of Mostar designated as a national monument of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which represents the highest level of protection”.
In the explanation of UNESCO, the following description is also stated under category (vi): “With the “renaissance” of the Old Bridge and its surroundings, the symbolic power and meaning of the city of Mostar – as an exceptional and universal symbol of the coexistence of communities of different cultural, ethnic and religious origin – is consolidated and strengthened, with an emphasis on the unlimited efforts of human solidarity for peace and the power of cooperation in the face of severe disasters.”
In the official explanation of the reasons for inclusion on the UNESCO World Heritage List, UNESCO states several things: first of all, the historical city of Mostar developed in the 15th and 16th centuries as an Ottoman border town and during the Austro-Hungarian period in the 19th and 20th centuries. Mostar has long been known for its old Turkish houses and the Old Bridge, after which it got its name. The Old Bridge area, with its pre-Ottoman, Eastern Ottoman, Mediterranean and Western European architectural features, is an outstanding example of a multicultural urban settlement.
The architecture here was a symbol of tolerance: the common life of Muslims, Christians and Jews. This is how a specific regional architecture was created, which left behind a number of unique architectural achievements.”
“So, when making its decision, UNESCO took into account what has been the essence of the character of Bosnia and Herzegovina for centuries, namely its multi-ethnic, multicultural and multi-confessional code. In this regard, the Old Bridge is and can only be a part of the cultural and historical heritage of Bosnia and Herzegovina as such a state, and by no means of some mono-ethnic communities, administrative-territorial units or other states,” says Zvizdić.
Also, the Old Bridge is a national monument of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which is included in the list of national monuments of BiH of zero category. During the aggression against Bosnia and Herzegovina, i.e. the proven and convicted joint criminal enterprise, the Stari most was demolished on November 9, 1993 by a projectile fired from the HVO position, on the orders of commander Slobodan Praljko.
That act has been documented, recorded and proven, and in that sense there is no dilemma as to who, when and why demolished the Old Bridge. It was best described by the American art historian Andras Riedlmayer, who calls the act of destroying the Old Bridge “an act of killing memory, in which there is evidence of common cultural heritage and peaceful coexistence.”
Of course, as is known to the domestic and international professional public, the Stari most, thanks to the enormous efforts of the city government in Mostar headed by the then mayor Safet Oručević, the friendly help of international organizations and all others who wanted to preserve the open and multi-ethnic spirit of Bosnia and Herzegovina, restored as a symbol and monument of the cultural and historical heritage of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
“Therefore, the Old Bridge cannot possibly be “Croatian cultural heritage”, as Ms. Željana Zovko. The Old Bridge, let’s repeat it once again so that those who try to falsify the facts will remember it, is the cultural heritage of Bosnia and Herzegovina, just as specified by the UNESCO committee and the Commission for National Monuments of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which means the common cultural heritage of all people who have lived in Mostar and Bosnia and Herzegovina. And, of course, we will do our best to make this truth known to all MEPs, as we will initiate the idea of organizing an exhibition about the Old Bridge, not only in the EU Parliament, but also in the Parliaments of the EU member states, as well as in the UN,” concluded Zvizdić.
