Chairman Zvizdić Visit Partisan’s Cemetery in Mostar

Chairman of the Council of Ministers of BIH Dr Denis Zvizdić visited in Mostar a devastated of Parisans' cemetery complex, together with prime Minister of the Federation of BIH Fadil Novalić and President of the Committee for Support in Reconstruction of the Partisan Memorial Complex Sergej Sergio Šotrić. 

During their tour, chairmen Zvizdić said that this monument of anti-fascist struggle is of the symbols of fight against fascism in the city on the Neretva River, but that its current state stands in total contradiction to what it was built for.

“I have to say that the first impression of mine is that of sorrow and major disappointment for the construction unit and one of the most important and most beautiful ambient monuments not only in BIH but in the territory of ex-Yugoslavia is in such state”, Chairman of the Council of Ministers of BIH Dr Denis Zvizdić said after his visit to the Partisan Memorial Complex in Mostar.

Chairman Zvizdić stressed that it is one exceptional construction unit, ambient and memorial complex, with its historic, symbolic and aesthetic value, designed and contemplated by Bogdan Bogdanović, a major architect and urbanist of our country.

“Bogdanović, other than being a great figure in construction, was also a great man who, when the hegemonistic madness started in ex-Yugoslavia, and due to his disagreements with Milošević, left Belgrade for Vienna”, Zvizdić said.

So, it is a remarkable piece of art, Chairman Zvizdić said, adding that this, together with twenty others pieces will be treated as UNESCO national monuments. He emphasised that he will take effort for the state-level authorities to be included into the process of the monument reconstruction.

“This construction unit was declared the national monument of BIH and it is under the administrative protection of the Federation of BIH, so I expect all levels of authority, the city of Mostar and FBIH, will get engaged – and I’ll see to it to include the state level, as well - into the protection, preservation and rehabilitation of the remarkable monument, bearing the symbolic and historic value”, Zvizdić said. He reminded of the historic, symbolic and cultural relevance of the monument.

“This is the site where buried were young people who gave their lives in fight against fascism, and this must never be forgotten. We also must not forget our glorious past, lest future generation start forgetting what happened before some twenty years in our territories. This fascism was repeated in the territory of BIH, and again Mostar citizens, citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina fought against fascism. We have to have a full understanding of such historic events, we must boldly underline that citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina have always fought against fascism and that it is the habitus of this area, therefore this is something that needs to be preserved through monuments from this and the previous war, so that it would be an appropriate source of education and learning from the past for the benefit of future generations of citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina”, Zvizdić said.

“Therefore, I would like to thank to organisers who invited honourable Prime Minister Novalić and myself to visit this memorial complex today. We leave this site with feelings of sadness because of the state of the monument itself, but we will certainly pay due attention to this issue so that the early rehabilitation works could start soon, and the future generation could find the source of learning that the fascism is evil, that it must be fought against, as it had been 70 years ago and as it was 25 years ago”, he added.

“Good can never be won. Bosnia and Herzegovina, especially Mostar, have always been the place of civilised thinking, spirit of liberty and, as Bogdan Bogdanović put it, this was one of the most demanding commissions of his, because to work in Mostar means to have a great consideration towards the city which is a materialisation of sediment of customs, tradition, civilisation values, and for the reason of which, all elements of this monument have no any features of ideology, but rather a reflexion of autochthone quality of the area and spirit of liberty with the local people”, the Chairman of the Council of Ministers of BIH said.

Chairman Zvizdić invited Mostar city authorities to take part in the reconstruction process.

“The Federation will be, in a way, the holder of the process, but we will all take care to recover the monument’s original looks, and I personally urge the city authorities in Mostar to join us also in future projects to be implemented”, Zvizdić concluded.

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