European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - May 18, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse                                A Start most connected the two sides of Mostar for 427 years a until destroyed by croatian shelling. Most of bosnian incan be rebuilt not re at top a photo taken in Early november 1993 showed the heavily damaged Bridge a few Days later it was gone. La. ? u fuck a by Catherine t. Toups he execution of stari most took two Days. Under a shining november Sun the croatian army fired antitank missiles regularly and deliberately at its most vulnerable stones. Finally the ancient Bridge Over the Nereiva River in Mostar Bosnia and Herzegovina / a exploded in a crying hissing splash into the / Blue Green Waters Over which it had reigned for 427 years. / a a a a / / a hearts All Over Bosnia Sank with it and the macabre cracking of automatic rifles shooting in Victory sealed their shame. A it Quot. But at nearly the same instant the Bridge fell people started talking about putting it together again. Stari most old Bridge Ini bosnian a had gracefully linked East to West through Austro hungarian Rule venetian attack and two world wars too Beautiful to destroy new rulers simply claimed the turkish Bridge As their own creation postcards from the Austro hungarian Era identified stari most As a roman Bridge. If there is truth in the legends the Bridge was t exactly a piece of cake to build. Stari most was an elegant 16th a Century Stone Bridge whose unsupported Span stretched 95 feet a an unusually wide distance. It was built in 1566 by order of the local turkish ruler King Solema half with City taxes and half personal funds. As the unfounded Story goes he commissioned several architects and beheaded them when they failed. Finally a builder famous for his Beautiful mosques was found. Neimar Hajredin succeeded where others failed reportedly by cementing the stones with Sand eggs milk and goats hair. A. /  in recent times the Bridge connected East Mostar the old mostly Muslim Side of Mostar with the heavily croat Western Side. The two ethnic groups each comprised about 35 percent of the City and 25 percent of the. Marriages were mixed. A of All the losses endured in the War few seem to have had As deep an effect on people of both ethnic groups As the loss of stari most. A. A. A Deri a 22-year-bid from Muslim East Mostar used to be a Bridge jumper Quot a boy paid by tourists to plunge. Daringly in the cold Nereiva from stari most. Now a Soldier with a booming Man s voice he and four Quot front line friends Quot perform a song titled Queen of the Nereiva. As if singing to their lovers the Young men Promise to win revenge. / Quot i am so sorry that my son won t jump into the River from that Bridge to have that kind of feeling he said. A clattering footbridge temporarily replaces stari most. Until a peace Accord was signed in March Between muslims and croats few people dared to Cross it to reach a Small Muslim enclave on the other Side near the front line a a a a a. A a for a while during the ethnic clashes in the former a. Yugoslavia the two groups fought against the serbs but then the croats aligned with the serbs arid the two sides turned on each other. /. In the 10 months under croatian siege East Mostar was shelled an estimated 100,000 times. Not a second Story stands intact and most people took to their cellars for safety. An estimated 1,400 civilians died turning the City gardens into graveyards. West Mostar was battered but cafes never shut Down and the streets remained dotted with sports cars of thriving Biack marketeers. . Troops had to sit on their hands during the two Day bombardment. Their Mission prevented them from stopping the shelling of the Bridge just As it prevented them from intervening when they saw snipers aim at children. Col Antonio Carvajal commander of the Spanish battalion posted in Mostar sadly Shook his head when asked if the destruction served any military purpose Quot none at All. It s nonsense. It s Only to damage to harass Quot he said. A. The reasoning is beyond anyone from either Side of the Bridge. Quot Hitler wanted Paris but he did t destroy Paris. They say they wanted Mostar then Why did they destroy Mostar Quot said Dragi a 28-year-old civil Engineer from cast Mostar. Quot i Don t know How Man can be so crazy. I prefer  a. The Bridge was for muslims and croatians Quot said Ante Tony Carapina who owns cafe Hollywood in West \ 24 the stars and stripes wednesday May 18, 1994 /