Mostar rebuilds its bridge
Statebuilding can be a slow, painful process, with lots of reverses, lots of buried tensions, lots of frustration. On the other hand, a lot of time, patience, and money can occsionally yield partially successes. In that light, it’s good to read this Reuters report from the Bosnian town of Mostar: The city of Mostar, a ...
Statebuilding can be a slow, painful process, with lots of reverses, lots of buried tensions, lots of frustration. On the other hand, a lot of time, patience, and money can occsionally yield partially successes. In that light, it's good to read this Reuters report from the Bosnian town of Mostar:
Statebuilding can be a slow, painful process, with lots of reverses, lots of buried tensions, lots of frustration. On the other hand, a lot of time, patience, and money can occsionally yield partially successes. In that light, it’s good to read this Reuters report from the Bosnian town of Mostar:
The city of Mostar, a symbol like Sarajevo of the bloody end of Yugoslavia, has joyfully unveiled its rebuilt 16th-century bridge which some hope can help reconcile its Muslims and Croats. Almost 11 years after Bosnian Croat artillerymen shelled it to destruction, the new “Stari Most” (Old Bridge) was officially inaugurated at a spectacular ceremony attended by international guests and delegations on Friday. Fireworks lit up the sky high above the elegant single-span bridge at the end of a programe which featured Beethoven’s “Hymn of Joy” and nine of Mostar’s legendary divers jumping into the green rushing waters of Neretva with torches in their hands…. Throughout the day, the 29-metre (95-foot) bridge was the focus of all attention in the eastern, Muslim quarter ahead of the ceremony. The narrow streets in the Old Town were packed despite scorching heat and heavy security. Rusem Srakic, a Muslim taxi driver who has returned to live in the western, Croat part of the town, said he felt “as if I was being born again, just like Mostar is being born again”. Mostar’s Muslim mayor, Hamdija Jahic, told Reuters earlier on Friday: “I think this is a new beginning, that’s what citizens have been telling me too. You can feel a special atmosphere all over.” UNESCO and the World Bank were helped in the $15 million project by other institutions and governments including the Council of Europe, Croatia, Turkey and Italy. The original bridge was commissioned by Suleiman the Magnificent about 100 years after Turkey’s Ottoman empire claimed the Balkans. It stood the tests of time and war until November 1993, when it succumbed to Bosnian Croat high explosives in an attack condemned globally as an act of sheer vandalism. In a painstaking reconstruction, Turkish engineers and other experts used white marble from the original quarry nearby and a combination of old techniques and new technology to build an exact replica.
Daniel W. Drezner is a professor of international politics at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University and co-host of the Space the Nation podcast. Twitter: @dandrezner
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