Reopening of bridge raises hopes for better future in Bosnia

MOSTAR, Bosnia-Herzegovina -- Bosnians and foreign dignitaries on Friday celebrated the reopening of a more than 400-year-old stone bridge that became a symbol of the senseless brutality of Bosnia's war when shells destroyed it in 1993.

The reconstruction of the stone span -- which had survived centuries of conflict, including two world wars, before it was shattered -- raised hopes that the war-wrecked nation could rebuild a multiethnic society.

"It is good that we closed the gap over the Neretva River," said Eldin Palata, a cameraman from Mostar who shot footage of the bridge tumbling into the river when it collapsed 11 years ago.

"But until we close the gap in our heads, there will be no real progress. This is a good chance to allow our children to put behind all the evil of the war."

Britain's Prince Charles, British actor John Cleese of "Monty Python's Flying Circus" fame, and more than 200 other dignitaries from 52 international delegations were on hand for the festivities, which began early Friday with a symbolic performance of brass bands from Croatia, a predominantly Catholic country, and Turkey, a mainly Muslim nation.

The bridge, built under the Turkish Ottoman empire, was destroyed midway through a war that killed 260,000 people.

More than 2,100 performers were taking part in concerts and other activities, including displays of diving from the bridge by local daredevils.

The area around the bridge was off-limits to most Mostar citizens, who watched the nationally televised festivities at home. Security was tight, with more than 2,300 police officers mobilized to seal off the heart of the city. Helicopters patrolled overhead and police divers watched the river.

Revelers said they hoped the rebuilt span would help reunite Muslims and Croats in this picturesque southern town.

"The destruction of this bridge a decade ago brought home to many around the world the full force of the evil that was happening here," said Paddy Ashdown, Bosnia's international administrator.

"I hope and believe that its reopening today will be an equally powerful moment -- the moment when hope for the future of this country became stronger than the fear of the past."

The elegant white-marble "Stari Most," or Old Bridge, has been a beloved landmark since its completion in 1566. Mostar, 45 miles southwest of Sarajevo, is named for the bridge.

Reconstruction work began in 1997, but the rebuilding of the 95-foot span got underway in earnest in June 2002, after workers extracted the scattered remnants from the riverbed. The project cost $15 million, much of which was donated by the United States, Turkey, Italy, Netherlands and Croatia, as well as numerous organizations and individuals.

Last summer, workers hoisted the final stone into the central arch, restoring the splendor of the span known before the war as an emblem of a crossroads between East and West, Islam and Christianity.

UNESCO chief Koichiro Matsuura called the bridge's reconstruction "an act of recovery and commitment for the future. It represents a desire for peace and hope for the better future."

The reopening "stands as a victory for peace, a victory for Bosnia as a multiethnic and multicultural society," said Sulejman Tihic, who heads Bosnia's multiethnic presidency.

Today, Bosnia remains deeply scarred both physically and psychologically.

NATO-led troops still patrol to keep the peace, and an international administration oversees the country. The Dayton peace accords that ended the war carved Bosnia into a Muslim-Croat federation and a Bosnian Serb mini-state, underscoring how peaceful prewar coexistence has given way to postwar bitterness and mistrust.

Mostar essentially remains two cities. Its Muslims and Roman Catholic Croats send their children to different schools, watch their own television stations and cheer for rival soccer teams.

But many hope the bridge will help reconnect people.

"Mostar today sends to the world a positive picture of Bosnia," Prime Minister Adnan Terzic told The Associated Press. "The opening of the Old Bridge opens a new page in Bosnian history."