| ||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||
Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina, August 15, 1996
Good morning. President Izetbegovic, thank you for welcoming me back. When I came last February, Sarajevo was in the grip of winter and the immediate aftermath of war. Now, as peace takes hold, I have returned in Bosnia's summer of hope.
This once beseiged airport, remembered around the world as the symbol of Sarajevo's isolation, is the newest symbol of this city's reintegration with the world. Yesterday, Sarajevo International Airport reopened to civilian traffic. An Air Croatia charter flight has just landed. The first scheduled passenger flight is due to arrive next Monday. Step by step, Sarajevo's isolation is coming to an end. The horizons which were shrunk by four years of hatred and war are once again lifting.
The reopening of this airport also testifies to the hard work and enormous accomplishments of recent months. We can be proud of the determination and skill of General Heinrich and IFOR, along with Dick Sklar and his team. I salute them for their efforts.
I also salute the hard work and courage of the Bosnians and their friends in the international community who are repairing roads and rail lines, rebuilding bridges and factories, and working in countless other ways to build a lasting peace.
I have just come from Geneva, where I met with President Izetbegovic along with Presidents Milosevic and Tudjman. I am encouraged that the three Presidents agreed yesterday to take a series of steps to ensure the successful conduct of next month's elections. The elections are another critical crossroads on Bosnia's hard road to a lasting peace. They challenge Bosnia's leaders and people to live up to the letter and the spirit of the Dayton Agreement. This is a challenge that can and must be met.
My main purpose today will be to encourage all those involved to do their utmost to create the conditions for democratic elections, and to ensure that the election results are respected. I will walk through the historic heart of Sarajevo to get a glimpse of its revival. I will meet with IFOR's commander, Admiral Lopez, and attend an OSCE-sponsored roundtable with a broad spectrum of Bosnian political and religious leaders.
I will also speak directly to the people of Bosnia on television. I will offer a message of support as they prepare to take up the great responsibility and great opportunity of choosing their own leaders and determining their own future.
Thank you again for welcoming me this morning.
[end of document]
Return to the Home Page
This is an official U.S. Government source
for information on the WWW. Inclusion of non-U.S. Government links
does not imply endorsement of contents.
