prijava
SARAJEVO, July 22 (FENA) - Sarajevo Mayor Abdulah Skaka and City Council Chairman Igor Gavrić handed yesterday the Key of the City of Sarajevo to the former US president and long-time Republican leader in the Senate Bob Dole at a ceremony at his residence.
“The United States will help BiH because you deserve it,” Dole said.
The city council of the City of Sarajevo has given an important acknowledgment to the mayor's proposal. US Senator Bob Dole is one of the most important personalities in building the strong friendly relations of Bosnia and Herzegovina, especially Sarajevo as the capital city, with the United States.
“If it weren’t for Senator Bob Dole, it is a big question what Bosnia and Herzegovina and its capital would look like today. With special pleasure, I have handed the keys to our city as a sign of gratitude for everything Dole has done for our country, and he has done so much,” the Mayor added.
The recognition was handed at the ceremony on the occasion of 96th birthday of Bob Dole, who expressed the wish to visit Sarajevo and BiH again.
Bob Dole has been connected to BiH and Sarajevo his entire career, especially during the aggression against BiH, but also in the years of reconstruction and rebuilding. Dole strongly advocated for a military intervention that would prevent war and destruction of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
According to relevant studies, Dole’s engagement in the Senate and the pressure on the then democratic administration were crucial in the decision of former US President Bill Clinton to launch the military intervention in BiH together with NATO forces.
In addition, Dole has clearly and precisely characterized the events in BiH as aggression and genocide. His contribution as president of the International Commission for Missing Persons was immutable in the first years of intensive search and identification of victims of war crimes.
Dole visited Sarajevo and BiH on several occasions, and his strong political voice as the former majority leader in the US Congress and has encouraged the reforms and progress of Sarajevo and the whole country over the past two decades.
(FENA) L. N.
