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JOINT APPEALS BY RELIGIOUS LEADERS IN BANJA LUKA
Joint
appeal by representatives of the main religions in Banja Luka to
all faithful of the Catholic Church,
the Serbian Orthodox Church, the Islamic Community and all citizens
and people of good
will: "PEACE, SELAM TO YOU AND YOUR RESTLESS HEARTS!"
(Banja Luka, 4 April 1992)
"LET US SAVE PEACE! LET US NOT ALLOW THE WAR TO SPREAD!"
Sharing
with you the wealth of our belief in one God the Saviour and only
master of every human life, as well as the just desire for a minimum
standard of coexistence for all people in these regions, our joint
homeland, we forward our sincerest brotherly and neighbourly invitation:
"LET US SAVE PEACE! LET US NOT ALLOW THE WAR TO SPREAD!"
In the name of God and our brothers - we beg you all and especially
those who are responsible for the fate of innocent people:
- Do not trample upon and destroy that which is most valuable to
us - human dignity, neither yours nor anyone else's;
- Do not prevent a peaceful joint coexistence in the future, as
well as mutual respect for all the legitimate rights of every individual
amongst us;
- Do not destroy the valuable bridges of mutual, neighbourly, friendly
and blood relations!
We are convinced that there is not one normal person amongst us
who wants war and destruction of everything that is good and which
was created by our forefathers and most especially a peaceful coexistence
and happy future for all the inhabitants of these regions.
We support, both in our words and prayers, with every new day, all
those constructive talks and agreements by those people in power
both in our town and outside its borders and we pray that they do
everything in their power to prevent the destructive and deadly
talk of weapons and force!
Talk in this manner can only be the speech of hell - jehenema. This
is against the essence of mankind and can therefore not bring happiness
to anyone!
Our holy books of Christianity and Islam stress that peace is an
act of justice and truth. Those who do injustices or who sow the
seeds of lies cannot hope for true and lasting peace.
We invite you all therefore, but primarily the faithful of our three
confessions, to truly undertake measures of peace towards their
neighbours and friends, to maintain confidence in one another; to
jointly prevent evil which someone else may try to thrust upon us.
And finally let's all together try even more ardently to cry to
the Almighty God for peace within us and amongst us.
Brothers and friends,
in these most fateful times for us all we once again cry "Let
us all together resist evil and build on our joint goodness!"
God himself is the greatest love and fortune for mankind and this
is what he asks of us now as always; he rightly expects this from
our current and future generations of citizens! We cannot disillusion
them! May we all receive the help of our Good and Merciful Lord
in this noble and significant act.
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FRANJO, Bishop of Banja Luka
+ JEFREM, Episcope of Banja Luka
IBRAHIM, Mufti of Banja Luka
Joint
appeal by religious leaders in Banja Luka to the Mayor of Banja
Luka and
all responsible politicians in this municipality and region
(Banja Luka, 6 June 1992)
STOP THE WINDS OF WAR OUTSIDE OUR BORDERS!
Valued
addressee!
Faced with the horrors of the frantic destruction of war, killing
and expulsion of innocent people, women and children in our country,
we cannot and will not remain the helpless and unspoken witnesses
of this horrific cataclysm which breeds horrifying repercussions
for the future of us all.
As the spiritual leaders of the three largest confessions of this
our joint homeland: the Catholic Church, the Serbian Orthodox Church
and the Islamic Community we have until now on several occasions
and possible ways tried to actively contribute to peace or rather
towards calming the tensions between our three nations, through
our many actions within our own communities, as well as through
joint prayer groups, public appeals and discussions with the responsible
politicians for our region. We are happy and thankful to God, whenever
and wherever that our words may have been taken seriously by those
who have been tempted to raise their hand against their brother
and neighbour. We are sorry whenever weapons replaced discussion
of open issues or when unreasonable suspicion thwarted fruitful
agreements about a better future for our joint lives together in
these regions.
As people and believers, belonging to our three constitutive nations,
we decisively denounce any form of violence and one-sided solutions
to the current political and social problems we are faced with.
We denounce all killings of innocent people, the destruction of
private and public goods, as well as any attempts to expel the residents
from their ancient hearths, any oppression against the lives of
religious activists or the desecration of religious property.
We appeal to you, Mr President, as the mayor of all our residents
in the Banja Luka municipalities, and to all those responsible politicians
in our region, who have managed to prevent the war from coming to
our region, to undertake measures so that the winds of war be stopped
before they reach our borders and, in those regions where the war
is already raging, to immediately stop all further deadly and inhuman
destructive action and to establish a just peace once more.
We once again invite all our faithful, as well as people of good
who hold peace in their hearts, to guard their joint hearths and
to mutually share those few remaining goods, such as food and medicines,
they may have. We especially ask all our faithful to jointly turn
to God for help, comfort and peace, because we are conscious that
only God, our joint Creator and Saviour, can soften the hard and
blind hearts of warriors and instead of hate and revenge, turn us
all towards mutual forgiveness, love, friendship and peace.
Dr
FRANJO KOMARICA, Bishop of Banja Luka
Mr JEFREM MILUTINOVIĈ, Episcope of Banja Luka
Hadji IBRAHIM ef. HALILOVIĈ, Mufti of Banja Luka
To
all negotiators involved in talks on the future of Bosnia-Herzegovina,
Geneva
(Banja Luka, 4 September 1992)
URGENT JOINT APPEAL FOR MUTUAL APPRECIATION AND RECIPROCAL
CONCESSIONS
IN
THE NAME OF MANKIND!
From our regular meeting in Banja Luka on 4 September 1992, as the
leaders of the three largest religious communities in the region
of the Bosanska Krajina - the Catholic Church, the Serbian Orthodox
Church and the Islamic Community, we forward this urgent joint appeal
to the current negotiators involved in talks on the future of Bosnia-Herzegovina
for mutual respect and concessions!
We do this in the name of God's law of love and peace, in the name
of mankind, in the name of the numerous suffering children, mourning
mothers, terminally ill and disabled elderly, displaced persons
and others whose lives have been threatened in the region of Bosanska
Krajina and Bosnia-Herzegovina entirely. We request ALL THOSE RESPONSIBLE
as their first joint gesture towards their efforts for just peace
to immediately cease the bloody war conflicts and deblockade the
electrical, postal and telecommunications systems and where possible
to re-establish train travel and open the roads!
The frightful repercussions of war: ruins, famine, poverty, illness,
epidemics, non-productivity, as well as the coming winter, everyday
threaten the lives of numerous innocent citizens in the entire region
of Bosnia-Herzegovina.
Before God and the whole of mankind we beg you:
- stop this senseless and horrific war, the unnecessary serious
suffering and deaths of hundreds of thousands of innocent people
- your brothers and sisters! LET US BE GOD'S PEOPLE!
FRANJO
KOMARICA, Bishop of Banja Luka
JEFREM MILUTINOVIĈ, Episcope of Banja Luka
IBRAHIM HAL1LOVIĈ, Mufti of Banja Luka
Appeal
by religious heads in Banja Luka forwarded to all the faithful of
the Catholic Church,
the Serbian Orthodox Church, the Islamic Community and all people
of goodwill
(Banja Luka, 23 December 1992)
WE
CONDEMN ALL CRIMES AND ASK FOR PROTECTION FOR THE UNPROTECTED!
At
our recent meeting held in Switzerland between the highest representatives
of the Catholic Church, the Serbian Orthodox Church and the Islamic
Community in our country, we invited everyone to prayer and solidarity
on 23 December, for all those oppressed people and nations in our
war torn Bosnia-Herzegovina and other regions of the former Yugoslavia.
United once again, on this occasion we raise our voices and prayers
and once again turn to you, our faithful, as well as all people
of goodwill in this town, region and beyond:
1.
In the hope of being sincere builders and minders of a just peace
and a possible coexistence with other people in these regions, we
have already on several occasions publicly announced our appeals
towards the sustaining of valuable peace. We tried together with
you to pray to our only God lo keep us from hate, revenge and war
destruction. It was never too hard for us to undertake whatever
it took to contribute towards peaceful activities, when we realised
the war was to enflame our regions, as well as bringing with it
all the destruction, horror and threats to that which is most valuable:
human life.
2.
Together we have on several occasions already condemned any form
of violence against the rights and dignity of mankind and we have
expressed our sincere empathy for you all who have lost your dear
ones or were compelled to suffer the horrors and terrible repercussions
which are brought by war and especially by this dirty, merciless,
imposed war. Based on our faith, which we confess, and our religious
laws, which we interpret and defend, we have tried to utilise every
opportunity to speak out against hate and revenge, and to speak
out against any form of oppression of the rights and dignity of
every man.
3.
We once again condemn each of these atrocities and repeat:
- We jointly and wholeheartedly and with abhorrence condemn all
crimes, all the humiliation, all the torture, mutilations, abuse
and any attempts to strip men of their rights and we condemn the
lawlessness, destruction, arson, demolition and looting.
- Conscious of our moral obligation and responsibility before God,
we believe that there is no better way nor secure way out of this
hell of death, hate and any other dangers contained with the destruction
and suffering, that we once again repeat to all who wish to hear
us:
Brothers, friends, stop and face the evil and violence! Enter into
your own hearts and conscience and see; if there is no peace there,
place it there again! Hate, revenge or weapons will not bring you
true and lasting peace. This can only happen when we forgive, love
and offer our hand of reconciliation! Peace will itself bring us
to reconciliation with God and our brothers in mankind. In this
way you will become true peacemakers, builders of tolerance, confidence,
peace, liberty, humanity and all that is fitting for man and our
faiths in our united and only God, our Creator, Saviour, Judge.
4.
We sincerely thank all those who have until now tried with all their
might to resist evil and not to repay evil with more evil. They
did not do unto others that which they did not wish for themselves.
We thank all you who are responsible for public law and order for
your valuable efforts to prevent even greater lawlessness, anarchy
and greater calamities for many Innocent people.
5.
We do not expect the other side to help us any more or any better
than we can help ourselves and others! There has been enough evil
and destruction for us all! We need just peace and true reconciliation
and by no means, God forbid, new eruptions of conflict and misfortune
in these regions of ours.
6.
We invite and bind you all in the name of God, all who hold the
key to war and peace in your hands, to finally decide to establish
a just peace and to stop the war activities so that you can establish
the pre-conditions necessary to be able to solve the existing problems!
- In the name of mankind we ask those responsible to enable the
delivery of humanitarian aid, for all people in need regardless,
that all detainees be released from the concentration camps and
that all displaced persons, refugees be allowed to return to their
homes as soon as possible!
7.
We pray and yearn to the Almighty God that our sincere wishes and
pleas for peace and a joint coexistence worthy for all men, which
we forward along with the millions of peacemakers in our suffering
country and beyond, will bear the fruit of calming enemy activities
and awaken fresh forces in an effort to create new friendships towards
a happier and more fortunate future for us all!
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FRANJO KOMARICA, Bishop of Banja Luka
+ JEFREM MILUTINOVIĈ, Episcope of Banja Luka
HADJI IBRAHIM HALILOVIĈ ef. Mufti of Banja Luka
Appeal
forwarded to:
The Banja Luka Eparchy
The Islamic Community Committee - the Mufti's Office
Bishop's Ordinary Banja Luka
All Orthodox rectors, committees of the Islamic Community, Catholic
parishes
The Holy Synod of the Serbian Orthodox Church - Belgrade
Meshihat of the Islamic Community - Sarajevo
Secretariat of the BC - Sarajevo, Zagreb
Nunciature to the Holy See - Belgrade
Mr Predrag Radiĉ, president of the Banja Luka Town Council
General-major Momir Taliĉ, Commander 1st Krajina Corps
Tanjug - Belgrade (Yugoslav News Agency)
HINA - Zagreb (Croatian Hews Agency)
"Glas srpski" - Banja Luka (newspaper)
TV Banja Luka
Radio Banja Luka
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