Religious war in Bosnia set to continue

BY LYNNE THORABIE
THE LEADER OF BosniaHerzegovina's Catholic population said last week that his people are the "victims of conflicting interests of foreign powers struggling for influence" in his war-torn country.
Cardinal Vinko Puljic of Sarajevo, speaking after meeting UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan for talks last week in New York, said: "It's not up to church leaders to point to certain governments. That might provoke more evil."
Cardinal Puljic found Mr Annan a more sympathetic ally than his predecessor Boutros Boutros Ghali, whom he met in the city in 1994. Mr Annan, he said, showed "genuine interest" in the plight of ordinary people in the country. The Cardinal hoped to highlight that discrimination in jobs, housing and schooling is two-way, with Muslims persecuting ethnic Croatians, just as much as the more widelyperceived persecution of Muslims.
"There are extremists on both sides," he claimed.
OThe Church in Bosnia has condemned Catholics who attacked the Muslim community last week in Mostar, resulting in one death and 20 injured. Extremists stoned the Muslims as they visited a cemetery. According to UN forces, 100 Muslims were expelled from the west side of the city a day after the attacks.
Pero Sudar, auxiliary Bishop of Sarajevo, spoke out against the actions of ethnic Croatians in Mostar. He told L'Osservatore Romano: "This act committed in the name of one's own people and one's own religion must be condemned."