Solidarity Rally: Sarajevo for Aleppo and Syria

The protest "Sarajevo – To the Metropolises of the World for Aleppo and Syria" will be held on Wednesday, December 14, on the plateau in front of the BBI Center starting at 3 PM. The goal of this gathering, organized by cultural associations, civil society organizations, the academic community, and religious communities in BiH, is to support the residents of Syria, especially the city of Aleppo, and to call on the residents of European and world metropolises to join the active global campaign #StandWithAleppo, Patria reports.

The solidarity rally "Sarajevo – To the Metropolises of the World for Aleppo and Syria" will be broadcast live on BHT1, while the same signal will be broadcast to the world public via Al Jazeera Balkans through the Al Jazeera network.

The president of BZK Preporod, Prof. Dr. Senadin Lavić, emphasized that the city of Sarajevo has a great moral capacity to send a voice of reason into the world of today's wars.

- It is a demand for peace to reign among people and for us to finally realize that we must build cultures of peace that will respect each other. Human life must truly become the greatest value for all of humanity - Lavić emphasized, adding that silence is a special kind of complicity in the misfortunes of others.

Prof. Dr. Eli Tauber emphasized that this protest aims to encourage other cities to undertake similar initiatives.

- The fact that we are today in a situation where the Holocaust is behind us, and we have an obligation to raise our voices and clearly state that it is time for the suffering of people around the world to stop. People did not react in 1933 when the Holocaust began, nor after the war ended. People did not react even when genocide and mass crimes occurred in Bosnia and Herzegovina. We want to provide an impetus to save humanity, because if we do not finally stop being those who stand by idly, then the world will fall into ever greater cataclysm - Tauber stated on behalf of the Jewish Cultural, Educational, and Humanitarian Society La Benevolencija, which also joined the organization of the Protest.

- We joined this initiative with all our hearts. Like other participants, we do not want this gathering to be politically colored, but exclusively humanitarian. Tomorrow, all together, citizens of Sarajevo and Bosnia and Herzegovina, we raise our voices and hope that the world will hear us - said Prof. Dr. Mato Zovkić on behalf of HKD Napredak.

Emphasizing that Aleppo's suffering is a disgrace to the entire world, the coordinator of the Peacebuilding Network Goran Bubalo said that the suffering must stop and that talks about peace must begin.

- Bosnia and Herzegovina suffered in the war, but it showed that peace is possible and that coexistence is possible and necessary. With all our differences and similarities, Sarajevo and Bosnia and Herzegovina are standing up and jointly sending a message of peace. Together we must build a better world for ourselves and for the generations to come, and Bosnia and Herzegovina is sending its heart and messages of peace to Aleppo - Bubalo stated on behalf of the Peacebuilding Network.

At the end of today's press conference organized on the occasion of tomorrow's protest, the president of the Management Board of the Solidarity Association, Syrian Mustapha Bekou, briefly addressed the attendees, emphasizing that this protest, as a sign of support for the Syrian people, restores trust in the world at a time when they lack food, water, and basic living conditions.

The Organizing Committee of the Protest invites all citizens of Sarajevo and Bosnia and Herzegovina to join this gathering, and at the end, a joint message from the citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina will be officially forwarded to all embassies in BiH, NATO, the United Nations, the European Union, and other relevant international organizations. A special traffic regime will be in effect in the city center tomorrow from 3 PM to 4 PM. The organizers appeal to all interested parties to support the gathering with their presence, stating that appropriate banners have already been prepared and that any politicization of the event is not welcome.