23 years ago, HVO destroyed the Old Bridge, its new beauty revealed in 2004

It has been 23 years since the Old Bridge was destroyed. During the aggression against Bosnia and Herzegovina from 1992-1995, the 'Old' was first partially damaged by Serbian forces and the JNA, and then on November 9, 1993, the HVO destroyed the Old Bridge as part of a shelling and terror campaign against Mostar, writes Patria.

A day earlier, on November 8, 1993, the HVO began the bridge destruction campaign by firing dozens of projectiles at the bridge's arch and towers, which ended with its final destruction.

The world-famous arch was destroyed after 427 years of existence. The Old Bridge in Mostar was built between 1556 and 1557. It is the work of the Turkish builder Mimar Hajrudin, by order of Suleiman the Magnificent. Legend has it that Hajrudin, upon completion of the construction, did not have the courage to watch the scaffolding being removed from the bridge. When the scaffolding was removed, a stone crescent of wondrous appearance and beauty appeared over the Neretva.

Twelve years ago, on July 27, it was restored and spectacularly opened in what was then the happiest city in the world. The restoration lasted 11 years, and the 'Old' was officially opened to the public on July 23, 2004. A year later, UNESCO included it on the list of world cultural heritage.

The Old Bridge is one of the symbols of BiH, and Mostar is visited by thousands of tourists annually who admire the beauty of the unique stone arch. The bridge in Mostar has been an inspiration to many writers, painters, photographers, singers...

Its beauty also impressed peace mediator Richard Holbrooke when he visited Mostar as a young man in 1960. He described the Old Bridge as a "beautiful 16th-century bridge" and "the most famous symbol of multi-ethnic harmony in Yugoslavia."

- When I last saw the high arches of the bridge, it was crumbling under incessant Croatian shelling, pathetically protected by car tires hanging from ropes on its sides - he wrote.

Holbrooke writes that during one visit to Mostar when a ceasefire was signed, hostility still prevailed.

- The Croatian part of the city was held by organized gangsters - he wrote.

Even Franjo Tuđman and Gojko Šušak, in a conversation with Mate Boban at Pantovčak, spoke about mass murders occurring in Mostar. "It stopped," Boban excused himself. "42, 43 murders." This was, of course, not true, as far more Bosniak civilians were liquidated.

- Because of the crimes, because of the persecution, it is an example of how we are carrying out the same or worse genocidal cleansing, and no one is held accountable, and that is why Mostar will be placed under international tutelage - Tuđman knew even then. He then complained to Boban that on this side, "they filmed for two days how the Old Bridge was being destroyed, and then announced from Germany to America how Croats were destroying the bridge."

Recently, a falsified document about the destruction of the Old Bridge, allegedly ordered by the Army of BiH general Arif Pašalić, also appeared. In this case, the falsifiers are trying to wash away their shameful role in Mostar anew. Thus, day by day, the current regime in Croatia is working on a unified pressure on Bosniaks, because the sole goal is to acquit the Prlić group, who were convicted in the first instance for a joint criminal enterprise, at the Tribunal.