Open letter to Mr. Haris Pasovic
Dear Mr. Pasovic,
It was with great enthusiasm and pride which we learnt via media announcements that on April 6th, 2012, the “Sarajevo Red Line” will be featured to mark the 20th anniversary of the beginning of the siege of Sarajevo.
In particular, our members from Sarajevo were elated and proud when they learnt that this was such a well prepared program and we are most impressed with your idea to set up chairs on the streets of Sarajevo to mark the memory of those 11,000 people killed; men, women, children and defenders of Sarajevo. This is a wonderful idea that our members support whole heartedly.
To our great regret we have learned, however, that the furniture for the “Red Line” has been purchased from a factory in Serbia. We believe that this is a very controversial business transaction to mark the memory of those innocents murdered in Sarajevo by the aggressors who came from Serbia. Ultimately, we feel the chairs should have been procured in Bosnia, befitting for such a state and local event of great historic significance.
As we are aware that this event has attracted the attention of the public, and extensive local public interest, we believe that using Serbian purchased chairs would be very damaging for the image and reputation of the event and Sarajevo as its host on an international level.
We therefore officially propose to convey the intention to immediately replace the current chairs initiative, return the purchased red chairs and call for the citizens of Sarajevo to bring their own chairs to the one day event.
Not only will you avoid the criticism of the public and the media, a possible boycott and other potential inconveniences during the event, but you can use the opportunity to show the good will of this large and heartfelt occasion and to mark it with the introduction of individuals who were affected by the siege personally; using chairs that have their own character and soul and a story to tell.
We feel this would much better represent the loved ones lost, by donating a chair from surviving families of relatives and fellow citizens rather than impersonal and expensive new chairs from Serbia.
In addition, the finances for this purchase of chairs, if refunded, can partially fund future museums and memorials of aggression on Bosnian soil.
Given that we have the mandate of the Institute, which among other things, protects Bosnians from evading the memory of abuses and crimes committed against its citizens, we have proposed the above amendment to the Commemorative program for April 6th, 2012.
Our mandate is also to protect the rights of Bosnian citizens, indigents, and survivors; therefore we are called upon to appeal to your benevolence and conscientiousness to run this event in a dignified manner, one which the city of Sarajevo, its citizens, its survivors and its killed most certainly deserve.
We look forward to hearing back from you shortly regarding our proposed changes to said program.
With all due respect and kind regards,
Members of the International Expert Team of the Institute for Research of Genocide Canada
