"EUROPE, WAKE UP AND SAVE US!" ABSTRACT: Muhamed Kresevljakovic, the Mayor of Sarajevo, a member of the Radical Party and of President Izetbegovic's Party of Democratic Action, the largest party in the Bosnian parliament, managed to escape from besieged Sarajevo for one week at the beginning of March. An Italian Air Force Falcon brought him from the Bosnian capital to Italy to strengthen the "ray of hope" that his astonishing optimism has allowed him to maintain. (from "Il Messaggero", 5 March 1993) The efforts of the Radical Party to allow the Mayor of Sarajevo to leave his city, efforts made both in the Italian parliament and through political initiatives such as the twinning of the cities of Rome and sarajevo, turned out to be decisive. Kresevljakovic should already have come to Italy on the occasion of the Radical Party Congress. Emma Bonino and Sergio Stanzani, having returned to Zagreb from Sarajevo, where they had met the Mayor, declared on 29 January that he had accepted the invitation to open the proceedings of the Congress, and that only the intervention of the Italian government could at that point guarantee the authorization and adequate security measures for the exit and return of the Mayor and his escort. The UN refused to give permission for his exit because he was a "certain target" of Serbian marksmen. Finally, on 27 February, after further Radical pressure on the Italian government, Muhamed Kresevljakovic arrived in Rome. "I have come here from the largest concentration camp in Europe," were the Mayor's first words on arrival. During his visit he met many important representatives of the Italian government and parliament. He was received by the Prime Minister, Giuliano Amato, to agree on a plan of humanitarian aid for Bosnia and to obtain increased efforts to avoid the current genocide. He met the Presidents of the two Italian Chambers, who promised to promote an international campaign for the reconstruction of the Bosnian Parliament. He also met the Ministers of Defence, Justice, Foreign Trade and Foreign Affairs to request urgent aid for his country, and obtained their full support. In Florence he attended the third international Conference on Regional and Municipal Co-operation, receiving an honourary title from the city " as a sign of hope for a rapid end to the fratricidal war and for the re-establishment of a fair peace." The President of the Republic, Oscar Luigi Scalfaro, confirmed his undertaking to convince the European Community and the UN of the need for urgent solutions and intervention in Bosnia. Before leaving for Sarajevo, Muhamed Kresevljakovic was received by the Pope in a long and intense private audience. INTERVIEW WITH THE MAYOR OF SARAJEVO Have Karadziz's men chosen to boycott the US mission? Or do they want to show they they can take any territories they want? Kresevljakovic: The Serbian aggressors, whether they be volunteers, members of the ex-army, or mercenaries, have set themselves a goal - the "ethnic cleansing" of the territories they want to conquer, and they are pursuing this goal with all the means at their disposal. Until now the passive response of the outside world has justified them. It has convinced them that to keep negotiations alive and at the same time to use arms is a strategy that pays off. That the power of weapons is more important than the power of reason. Europe appears to be incapable of resolving its internal divisions, of overcoming its powerless immobility... Kresevljakovic: The European Community has an enormous responsibility. The first cause of the war was our desire - maybe expressed too soon - to be part of Europe. This is the sin that the Serbian leaders have not pardoned, which made them decide on war. You have spoken out against the peace plan drawn up by Vance and Owen and discussed by the UN. Kresevljakovic: We are in favour of any diplomatic initiative: any negotiation is better than war. But any negotiated solution must be based on a principle that cannot reward the aggressor. The division of Bosnia into ethnically homogeneous zones goes against the desires of Belgrade, that is that all the Serbs must live in a single state. This thesis is the basis of ethnic cleansing. Have you any alternative proposals? Kresevljakovic: The official formulation of alternative proposals is the political task of Bosnia. On my part, I believe there are two main requirements: to ensure the equality of the three peoples - the Moslems, the Serbs, and the Croatians - which live in Bosnia-Hercegovina: we must not confine them in ethnic enclaves. Secondly, to guarantee strict international control over the respect of the right to equality, with the guarantee, the genuine guarantee, that violations will be punished. Bosnia-Hercegovina is a sort of island in Europe in which different ethnic groups and different religions - Moslem, Catholic and Orthodox - co-exist. Has this tolerance disappeared? Is there a danger that Islamic fundamentalism will flare up? Kresevljakovic: Once again it depends on Europe. If Europe continues to remain on the outside, to look on passively as the war and the massacres in our country continue, then the instinct for survival will push the Bosnian people towards extremist, Fascist, and fundamentalist choices.. But I am optimistic, I think that Bosnia's unique quality will survive.