We are the citizens of Sarajevo, troubled by many uncertainties which could the future of our city, and disturbed by the lack of progress towards a solution. In order to guarantee the future security of Sarajevo, and the right of its people to a civilized life,

WE HEREBY DEMAND the lifting of the blokade and the demilitarization of the city.

We make this demand in our own names, in the names of the many victims of the brutal war against Sarajevo, and in the names of our descendants. After all the agony caused by physical destruction, we are now being threatened with the permanent partition of our city, which would entail the destruction of our distinctive way of life, grounded in diversity and tolerance, which the people of Sarajevo have cherished for centuries. Such a partition would represent not merely the artificial division of a historical unified city, but a line of cleavage segregating different civilizations, religions, and cultures newly inscribed on the soil of modern Europe.

We reject this prospect. We invite the citizens of Sarajevo and the entire world community to join us in a new struggle, a second battle for Sarajevo, a defensive battle against the spiritual and moral degradation ad ethnic animosity that would accompany such a partition. We are determined to preserve the cultural life diversity and tolerance that our ancestors constructed and that we ourselves have nurtured and preserved. In support of the position adopted by the Municipal Assembly of Sarajevo, the city's higest authority, we therefore issue the following

D E C L A R A T I O N

for a free and unified Sarajevo

1. We are irrevocably committed to a free, open and undivided Sarajevo. We will permit noone to partition our city for any reason, especially at a time when the entire civilized world is tending toward greater inter-cultural collaboration and integration.

2. We are firmly convinced that our life of diversity and tolerance is a priceless inheritance from our past, and the only secure foundation for a paceful and happy future for all citizens of Sarajevo and Bosnia-Herzegovina.

3. We demandthe just and timely punishment of all war criminals, and the safe return of all exiles refugees. Both measures are essentional for the restoration of normal life and the renewal of our tradition of multi-ethnic harmony.

4. We unreservedly accept the Charter of United Nations and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as the basis for our actions, and as criteria of justice in social relationships. We call upon the international community for help in determing the future of Sarajevo and Bosnia-Herzegovina on the basis of these principles. We are convinced that only a democratically structured polity can guarantee the dignity, preserve the freedom, and protect the interests of all our citizens.

At this critical moment, all of us - citizens of the world community as well as citizens of Sarajevo - bear responsability for the fate of these civilized values.

THE CITIZENS OF SARAJEVO