Ethnic cleansing and destruction in Stolac
Stolac is located in southern Herzegovina, approximately 40 km southeast of
Mostar. It is a quasi-mythical town. Nobel laureate Ivo Andric, author of “The
Bridge on the Drina,” once pointed out that “if God created the world anywhere,
then he created it in Stolac”. Its municipality was indeed one of the most significant
centers of Bosnian culture, and Bosnia and Herzegovina considered proposing
Stolac for the UNESCO list of mankind’s cultural heritage in the 1980s.
Neolithic sketches, about 5,000 years old, were the first traces of civilization
in the area. The Illyrian megalithic fortress Daorson, and subsequently the
Roman fortress Diluntum, preceded Stolac. The town and its architecture were
a mixture of indigenous, oriental, and Mediterranean culture which created its
distinctiveness.In early 1993, the HVO “Knez Domagoj” brigade and the BiH army
“Bregava” brigade fought together against the Serbs. By April, 1993, the HVO
turned against the BiH army and occupied one part of Stolac, dividing its territory
with the army of Republika Srbska. The town was cleansed of its Muslim inhabitants.
Then the HVO, which must have been disturbed by all the eclecticism of the town’s
architecture, destroyed much of its cultural heritage.The first impression one
gets of Stolac is one of austerity. It is not a hospitable environment, with
high, arid hills surrounding the town on three sides, its sole vitality provided
by the Bregava river.
The town was deserted in the sweltering heat, most locals bathing in the Bregava,
apparently the only form of local entertainment. We soon ran into a Spanish
foot patrol, who were visibly bored, and rather surprised that anyone would
want to visit Stolac. The three told us that the locals had been placid since
IFOR arrived: bar brawls were the only excitement the Spaniards had witnessed.
Heading eastwards, the road coasts the Uzinovici section of town on a hillside.
The view is one of total destruction. Projectile holes on every roof attest
to prolonged shelling, most likely from the initial stages of the war between
the HVO and BiH army on one side — the Serbs on the other.Yet the destruction
was far more systematic. Most houses seem to have been dynamited at the foundations,
and whoever did it was thrifty on explosive and not particularly skillful. The
structures are damaged beyond repair — though most still stand — slanted at
awkward angles, giving the impression of imminent collapse. The HVO was also
kind enough to leave its initials sprayed on these ruins for posterity.Heading
back to the center of Stolac we passed through the Uzinovici section.
The old Orthodox cemetery was surprisingly intact. Not a house around it was
still standing. Eventually we fell upon the ruins of the Ismail-Kapetan Saric
mosque. It was formerly a charming construct built in 1741, adorned with rich
flower arabesque. Two years before the war extensive restoration work was initiated
for the conservation and revival of the mosque complex. The craftsmen’s efforts
were in vain. In the summer of 1993, when the HVO took over Stolac, the mosque
was set on fire and the roof, together with the minaret, collapsed on itself.
We ventured to look for the other mosques, of which formerly there were, in
Stolac alone, four. Yet the only visible monument in sight was an overturned
statue to the victims of the Second World War. Resigned, we inquired with some
local kids. They pointed at a grassy knoll next to the river, grinning, seemingly
amused by our dismay.”Who did that?” we inquired. “Why, we Croats did.” they
replied openly, still grinning. Their candor was shocking as well as sinister.
An elderly man confirmed, very casually, that the mosque had indeed been where
the grassy knoll is today until the summer of 1993. The mosque of Hadzi-Alija
Hadzisalihovic (in the part of town called Cuprija) was built in 1736. There
was formerly a well and a fountain in the mosque courtyard and the stone minaret
was octagonal and 15 meters high.
The mosque was burnt on July 27th 1993, and dynamited on August 2nd 1993. After
it was torn down, the construction material was removed. The grass lawn betrayed
nothing.We then set out to find the Orthodox church of Holy Assumption of Christ,
which was built in 1870. The top of the bell tower at the entrance had been
decorated with a rosette bearing a six-pointed star. A valuable icon from the
17th century had adorned the church. The church had been looted and then set
on fire in the summer of 1992 by the HVO. They were courteous enough to overturn
only one tombstone.We failed to find the mosque of Ali-Pasha Rizvanbegovic (built
in 1732) and the mosque of Sultan Selim (built in 1519 and considered one of
the oldest mosques in BiH).
Later we were told that the first one was burnt on the evening of July 28th
1993 and dynamited on August 8th 1993. It was torn to the ground, and the remaining
construction material was trucked away. The second was burnt and dynamited by
HVO soldiers in the early summer of 1993, causing considerable damage. In early
August, 1993, the mosque was dynamited again and torn to the ground. At the
same time, all attached facilities were destroyed. The construction material
was later removed.
The war in Bosnia was noted not only for out-and-out attacks on the people
of the region, but also on the various landmarks that made up their cultural
identities. From Mostar to Sarajevo to Banja Luka, religious monuments, libraries
and all manner of memorials in between have been the targets of systematic attack
by extremists.”Why do we feel more pain looking at the image of the destroyed
bridge (in Mostar) than the image of the massacred people?” asked Croatian journalist
Slavenka Drakulic in May of 1994. “Perhaps because we see our own mortality
in the collapse of the bridge… We expect people to die; we count on our own
lives to end. The destruction of a monument to civilization is something else.
The bridge, in all it’s beauty and grace was built to outlive us. It was an
attempt to grasp eternity. It transcended our individual destiny.”The only comforting
fact on this trip was that the ancient Roman castle above Stolac and the necropolis
still stand. This perhaps is because there aren’t many Romans around these days
and thus pose no apparent ethnic or political threat.