INTERNATIONAL PROGRESS ORGANIZATION -- Information Service


International Seminar "Bosnia-Herzegovina. Future Prospects"

 

Tehran, 29 August 1994

 

In his speech before the participants of the International Seminar on "Bosnia‑Herzegovina. Future Prospects" in Tehran, Iranian President Hashemi Rafsanjani yesterday evening strongly criticized the inactivity of European States in regard to the defense of the Muslim people of Bosnia. President Rafsanjani further exposed the policy of double standards of the United Nations: while the world organization acted swiftly in the Kuwait conflict, it does nothing to enforce its own resolutions on Bosnia. The Iranian President further appealed to the Christians in Europe to preserve the dignity of their religion and not to allow the atrocities which have been committed against the Muslim people of Bosnia.

 

The International Seminar was organized by the Institute for Political and International Studies (Tehran). The Foreign Minister of Iran, Dr. Ali‑Akbar Velayati, the Secretary‑General of the Organization of the Islamic Conference, Hamid A1‑Gabid, the Foreign Minister of Bosnia‑Herzegovina, Dr. Irfan Ljubljankić, the Representative of the U.N. Secretary‑General for the Reconstruction of Sarajevo, Mr. William Eagleton, and religious leaders and experts of political science and international law from Europe, the United States and the Muslim world presented papers on the various aspects of the Bosnian conflict.

 

 In his presentation on "The Conflict in Bosnia‑Herzegovina and International Power Politics" the President of the International Progress Organization, Prof. Dr. Hans Koechler, criticized the partition plan of the United Nations and the European Union because it legitimizes the results of aggression against the people of Bosnia. Prof. Koechler compared the expulsions of the Muslims in Bosnia to the fate of the Arab people in Palestine and he warned of the increasing alienation between the Muslim world and the West if the people of Bosnia are further denied their legitimate rights, including the right of return.