PRESS RELEASE

Citizens Alternative Parliament of Bosnia and Herzegovina

The non-governmental organizations in Bosnia and Herzegovina, gathered in the Citizens Alternative Parliament, express their concern over the fact that not much effort has been invested in search for missing persons, although two and half years passed from signing the Dayton Peace Agreement.
There are about 21.000 persons registered as missing persons in Bosnia and Herzegovina. About 250.000 members of their families are trying to find an answer on the fate of their husbands, children, parents, cousins. The pain of the families is unbearable and it is a basic human obligation to give them information about their missing members of the families.
The families have the right to bury their closest relatives in an honorable way, for unfortunately, everything lead us to conclude that the majority of the missing persons is not alive.
The processes of the normalization of the situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina, of the reconciliation and establishing the tolerance and understanding are not possible without appropriate answers concerning the fate of missing persons be given.
Citizens Alternative Parliament deems that the authorities on all levels in Bosnia and Herzegovina are the most responsible for search for missing persons. We remind you that the entity authorities have not yet exchanged information on the fate of the missing persons, however, they were obliged to do that according to The Dayton Peace Agreement. Thus therefore, we demand from official authorities to disclose all information which may help in the process of search for missing persons. We also appeal to all of those, including the representatives of the international community, who may help in search for missing persons as well as in the exhumations and identification of the bodies, to do everything in their power in order to solve this great and painful problem.

Citizens Alternative Parliament
of Bosnia and Herzegovina

Tuzla, June 24, 1998