Academician Filipović: Gavrilo Princip was not a terrorist

At the time when Gavrilo Princip lived, Austro-Hungary was to Bosnia and Herzegovina what Serbia was in the last war, or the Germans in the previous one – an occupier and aggressor, explained to the Patria news agency Bosnian academician dr. Muhamed Filipović.

Therefore, this respected philosopher and historian does not believe that the young member of the organization “Mlada Bosna“, Gavrilo Princip, should now be considered a terrorist, because on June 28, 1914, in Sarajevo, he killed the Austro-Hungarian heir to the throne and Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie, which also served as the trigger for the outbreak of World War I.  

Princip, explains Professor Filipović, was only fighting for the freedom of his people, who were oppressed and belittled by the Austro-Hungarian authorities at the time.

- Austro-Hungary caused an exodus of 300,000 Muslims to Turkey, and settled 200,000 Catholics. They were changing the ethnic composition of the population – reminds Filipović.

He is also outraged by the idea of erecting a monument to Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo. He calls such a thing a crazy idea of people who have no idea where they live and what Austro-Hungarian rule did for BiH during his reign.

- The fact that they built buildings in Sarajevo and that this is now being presented as a noble act does not impress me at all. They built those buildings for themselves. They annexed BiH in 1908 – he says.

On the occasion of the centenary of the Sarajevo assassination, which is being marked at the end of this month in the capital of BiH, Austrian representatives complained about the posters announcing this event. They were bothered by the fact that the posters featured Princip's image alongside Ferdinand's. For them, he is a terrorist and a criminal. However, Filipović does not think so.

- The Austro-Hungarian government occupied BiH, through military occupation, where 30,000 Bosniaks died defending their country. So, for us, Austro-Hungary was the same as Serbia in the last war, or as the Germans in the previous war – an occupier and aggressor who discriminated against Muslims and Orthodox Christians, and favored Catholics – says Filipović. These are, he adds, historical facts that no one can deny.

It is precisely from such difficult circumstances, he believes, in which people lived in BiH, that a young revolutionary emerged who wanted to restore freedom to his people.

- Princip belonged to an organization or a circle, regardless of whether they were organized or not, of young people who rebelled against Austro-Hungary. They wanted to unite the peoples of the Balkans. They wanted freedom for their people. Therefore, qualifying his act as an act of terrorism is a complete untruth – says Filipović.

- You can treat him as an assassin, but not as a terrorist – Filipović explains to Patria.