European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - May 18, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse                                M41$ w a 1 War w Urfe % a 1? # 41 i Hij a is to a a we Al s s a a it 4 i "4 Mostar Quot i m sorry for the old Bridge. I love it. It s my first  a. Quot. A. A v ,. A a a a earlier this year the United nations educational scientific and cultural organization in Paris announced plans to rebuild the Bridge when the War ends promising an exact copy. Enesco architect Rodolfo Almeida who was visiting . Projects near Mostar earlier this Spring said Quot from the Point of View of architecture the Bridge is the single most important thing that has1 been destroyed in this  a a a  a a a. V but he added with a laugh if the rebuilt Bridge in t a perfect copy he does t intend to lose his head Over it. Leon Davico Counselor to the director general of Enesco in Paris said Quot we will rebuild the Bridge exactly the Way it was. I Don t know if Well use goats us whatever but All the plans we can a our hands on will  a a a a a a a a a a. A a although the exact materials Are under dispute some experts say it in t so far watched an idea to use eggs milk and animal hair. A a. Quot but anyway we have to count on 20th-Century and not 16th-Century technology. Recent techniques will be applied Quot said Dino Milinovic general Secretary of the croatian National commission of Enesco in Zagreb. The Bridge s original blueprints still exist stored in archives in Istanbul Turkey said Josip 5ilic, Secretary of a croatian Muslim committee that formed the Day after the Bridge was destroyed. The committee Hopes to collect Money for the restoration which Enesco said will be done entirely with private funds. Silic an Urban planner in Zagreb who was born in Mostar said the blueprints were hauled out in the 1960s when the eroded foundation was destroyed. The plans show that the Bridge took nine years to build starting in 1557. Stones were quarried from an area about four Miles from the City where the Stone still exists and hauled to the Riverside. They were Cut precisely to fit together and arranged on the ground. When the water level receded in the summer of 1557, a wooden scaffolding was erected and the stones were put into place within five months. Gravitational Force held the Bridge together. Holes Are in places that take the most pressure. A a \ a a a a.  he said he doubts another Story that circulates about the architect running away before the scaffolding was taken Down fearing the Bridge would fall. Quot Neimar Hajredin knew perfectly Well How to Cut the stones. He knew before the Bridge was built that it would stand Quot he said adding that with proper maintenance the Bridge could have lasted  Silic said the Bridge s original stones will be fished from the River and the Bridge rebuilt place by piece. But a videotape of the two Day execution taken by a Soldier and kept at East Mostar s radio station shows a plainly that Many of the stones were blown to bits. When the Bridge finally collapsed rocks flew every direction with larger pieces falling into the River and sending a Spray As High As the Bridge. A even if architects do succeed in rebuilding the Bridge few people in Mostar expect it to be the same Quot maybe my grandchildren will be Happy with a new Bridge Quot said Dragi the civil Engineer. Quot but i cannot be m my  a. A a. A Catherine t. Toups is a free Lanca writer living in Croatia. Iman Peers from her House in East Mostar. Sarajevo residents try to maintain a Normal life despite the presence of . Troops. At right a shopper looks at eggs a which were Selling for about $3 each shortly before easter. Few in Sarajevo expect Calm to last by Lance Gay. Scripps Howard news service n eerie Calm has settled Over War ravaged Sarajevo in Bosnia and Herzegovina As if its survivors Are daring to wonder if the two years of non Stop shelling and sniping Are / Over. A a a a. A few think it is. A a Sarajevo s misery has bred Only cynicism. People there think the silencing of the serbian guns in the mountains in late april is just another Lull in a longer War that in t yet Over. They be Felt the euphoria of cease firms and quiet before Only to hear the shelling resume again. And Sarajevo is still surrounded on All sides with the occasional pop of a sniper s Bullet to remind everyone walking on marshal Tito Boulevard a Sarajevo ? infamous Quot sniper s Alley Quot a that there s no peace agreement yet. Quot we Are living in the greatest concentration Camp in the world Quot said Ismet Spahic 55, the Imam of Sarajevo s once elegant but now Shell scarred 16th-Century Imperial mosque. A a a. Spahic who is also Deputy chairman of the islamic Community of Bosnia said All the United nations Effort has achieved is to Herd muslims into isolated communities where they Are at the mercy of serbs guarding the highways for food fuel and supplies. Quot we Are now like beasts rounded up in a Hunting place Quot he said. What s happening now is just a breathing space As the armies reposition themselves he said. Quot in my opinion this War has barely started. None of the goals of the parties have been achieved. The goal of this War was to eliminate Bosnia and Divide it up Between a greater Serbia and a greater Croatia that has not yet been  Spahic who lost his wife and three daughters in Serbia shelling of Sarajevo said it would be better for the United nations to withdraw and drop the arms embargo so muslims can get weapons and fight Back. Phony ceasefires and meaningless negotiations Over new boundaries. Are just prolonging the agony of bosnian muslims he said. Quot it s better to die fighting than to be slain like sheep Quot Spahic said. Quot american troops Aren t essential. Just give us m-1gs and Abrams tanks and we will do our jobs Quot others plead for the politicians who started this War to negotiate an end to it. Quot there arc an awful lot of interests who do not want it to Stop but nobody Ever asks us about this Quot said Jelica de uric 60, a retired schoolteacher. Quot we Are left to fight for our bread and water because no one wants to a  Liliane Hrbenic 35, a serb married to a Muslim said life on the serbian Side of Sarajevo is filled with the same sort of daily misery. The Way she sees it there Are no winners in the War. A a. A. A a a 1 a she said she does t know what the fighting has been All about. The War has destroyed not Only buildings but civic Pride morale and families As Well she said. Quot we have had two years to think about Why this happened and nobody has an . 7 wednesday May 18,1994 the stars and stripes 25