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Bosnia, Croatia,
Montenegro and Serbia, whose neighborly relations often suffer
over disputes dating back to the war, spent six years persuading
the United Nations to protect the graveyards as part of their
shared heritage.
Bosnia's Civil Affairs Minister Adil Osmanovic announced on
Monday that a committee of the U.N. Educational Scientific and
Cultural Organization (UNESCO) had recognized the unique and
universal cultural value of the tombstones, known as stecci.
"They also acknowledged and welcome an unprecedented cooperation
between our four countries on this project," Osmanovic told a
news conference together with ambassadors of the other three
countries and a UNESCO representative.
"Bearing in mind what our countries have been through in the
near past, this project has really proved the importance of the
graveyards and stecci for the regional relations," he added. "It
is our joint success."
Bosnia co-ordinated the campaign to have the stecci listed.
The tombstones date to the 12th century and are treasured in the
Balkans for their unique decorative symbols and carvings, often
linked to the medieval Kingdom of Bosnia. Around 60,000 have
been found in Bosnia, with nearly 10,000 more scattered across
Croatia, Montenegro and Serbia.
Each of the countries has its own cultural and historic
monuments on the U.N.'s protected heritage list, and each has
nominated more, but the stecci campaign was the first joint bid
since the former Yugoslav states went their separate ways.
The UNESCO committee listed 21 new World Heritage sites at a
meeting last week in Istanbul that was overshadowed by the
failed coup attempt in Turkey on Friday.
(Reporting by Daria Sito-Sucic; Editing by Catherine Evans)
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