Sarajevo is the European Jerusalem, a city of peace, not conflict

In Sarajevo, a hundred years ago, a terrorist murder took place. Some would say it was a patriotic act, but for me it was terrorism – said Dr. Mustafa Cerić at the conclusion of the symposium on national prevention of genocide and mass crimes today at the Gazi Husrev-beg Library in Sarajevo, speaking about the assassination carried out by Gavrilo Princip against the Austrian heir to the throne Franz Ferdinand, writes the Bosnian news agency Patria.

The symposium, titled „Ethics and International Relations: The Crisis of 1914 and What It Means for Us Today”, was initiated by the Family Memorial Foundation from New York, the Islamic Community in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the Auschwitz Institute for Peace and Reconciliation (AIPR) - a prestigious non-profit organization dedicated to building a world that will prevent genocides, writes Patria.

In addition to Dr. Cerić, the symposium in Sarajevo was attended by Patricia Whalen, former international judge at the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the War Crimes Chamber, Vahidin Omanović, co-founder and executive director of the Center for Peacebuilding from Sanski Most, Dr. Martin Mennecke, University of Copenhagen and the Royal Danish Defence College, Dr. Esmir Ganić, president of the American University in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and many other professors and academics from Oxford, Yale, Harvard, and other prestigious world universities.

Dr. Cerić said he is happy that the organizer chose Sarajevo as the venue for this symposium. That, said Dr. Cerić, is the right city for such things, because the people in Sarajevo have survived genocide.

- Sarajevo is the first European Jerusalem, and the second Jerusalem in the world. But, I hope that Sarajevo will be a city of peace, not a city of conflict – stated Dr. Cerić.

Michael Ignatieff, chair of the Carnegie Council and one of the participants in the Sarajevo symposium, said that to achieve peace and progress in Bosnia and Herzegovina, a new constitution is needed.

- The people here have suffered a lot. And, I can only learn many things from you. But, based on what I have heard from people in Sarajevo, a new constitution is needed here that will allow you to take care of your own destiny, rather than seeking it from foreigners – said Ignatieff.

The seminar was held on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the beginning of the First World War and the Sarajevo assassination, writes Patria.