By Michael Karadjis
"It is now a year since the first shells fell on Sarajevo, marking in an explosive manner the beginning of the war in Bosnia-Hercegovina. At that time, very few thought that this war would expose Europe's impotence in imposing its own principles. But over the past 365 days, Bosnia-Hercegovina passed from the fire and was drowned in blood. For us in Sarajevo, it was also the great international myth of justice and truth that collapsed."
So writes Zlatko Dizntarevits, journalist of the biggest and oldest newspaper still operating in Sarajevo after 14 months of siege of this heroic multi-ethnic city by the Chetnik-fascist forces of Radovan Karatzic, who are trying to impose an ethnically pure "Greater Serbia" on the city.
The newspaper, Oslobodenje ("Liberation") was first published on August 30, 1943, giving voice to the resistance movement against the Nazi occupation of the region. Fifty years later, it finds itself playing much the same role.
Last June 20, Chetnik bombs hit the newspaper's building. Editor Kemal Koursbahits explains what happened: "... the flames were not extinguished before 6 a.m. However, the newspaper was ready for printing at five past six. The journalists struggled alongside the fire brigade to save the copy. The residents of Sarajevo had seen on television our building in flames. On the morning of June 21, everyone considered the appearance of the newspaper a personal triumph against the aggressors."
Since then, the paper has been produced underground in an anti-nuclear shelter, without electricity, water or telephone, and with a dramatic shortage of paper. Before the war, it had a circulation of 60,000; now it is down to 4000. The number of pages has fallen from 20 to eight.
Despite this incredible situation, the paper lives on thanks to the dedication of the journalists and the support of the people. Koursbahits explains the
importance of this struggle: "This newspaper is one of the few institutions of Bosnia which has maintained the prewar image of the country: pluralist, with different cultures and nationalities in its bosom. Here we may be Serbs, Muslims or Croats, but above all we are journalists united by our work and by respect for the traditions of the newspaper."
This struggle was rewarded when its April 6 issue was reprinted by 33 newspapers around the world, marking a year since the beginning of the siege. In addition, many newspapers have sent paper: a number of left-wing Greek journalists, for example, are trying to gather 100 tonnes of paper to send to Oslobodenje.
The newspaper further comments on various myths about the war, as expressed by Dizntarevits: "It is wrong to say that Serbs, Croats and Muslims are clashing in Sarajevo. It is equally wrong to believe that it's a clash of a religious character. And further wrong to talk of a civil war. The truth is that the population of Sarajevo is united against all those who aim to destroy a civilisation and to place the nation above humanity. For these people, nothing counts but the voice of blood and the fraudulent logic of genes. Their place is not in Sarajevo, a city-
symbol of respect for personal freedom, independent of origin, opinion and national or religious discrimination."
Referring to the imperialist-backed Vance-Owen "peace" plan to dismember Bosnia, Dizntarevits says, "The plan for the carving up of Sarajevo and Bosnia-Hercegovina along ethnic lines will provoke new clashes, equally bloody, which no-one will be able to control. Further, this chopping up will mean that borders in the future will be drawn by weapons, and that might will predominate over justice."
The plan hands over 42% and 25% respectively of ethnically mixed Bosnian territory to right-wing Serbian and Croatian nationalist militias. Both aim to establish ethnically pure cantons, eventually to be annexed to neighbouring Serbia and Croatia, just as Serbia previously annexed a third of Croatia. Hence the plan recognises these conquests which have been made over the last 15 months, due to the West's arms embargo on the besieged Bosnian republic.