Date: January 21, 1993
Authors: Valentina Krčmar (Director) and Margaret Butković (Vice President), Mothers for Peace – Bedem Ljubavi (Toronto Chapter)
Addressed to: Dr. Boutros Boutros-Ghali, Secretary-General of the United Nations
View the Original Letter: krcmar book 2_Part54.pdf
About This Letter
In this searing January 1993 letter, Mothers for Peace – Bedem Ljubavi confronts Dr. Boutros Boutros-Ghali with what they describe as one of the most shocking betrayals of justice by the United Nations: the reported deployment of Yugoslav “peacekeepers” under the UN flag to Angola — even as Yugoslavia stood accused of genocide, war crimes, and ethnic cleansing in Croatia and Bosnia.
The letter lists a series of direct, piercing questions:
“Which ‘Yugoslav government’ did you contact to request their peacekeepers?”
“Didn’t the UN place sanctions on Yugoslavia/Serbia?”
“How can a nation condemned as an aggressor, responsible for rape, torture, and mass murder, serve under the UN banner?”
Valentina Krčmar and Margaret Butković condemn the UN’s hypocrisy, arguing that this act not only dishonors the victims but destroys the organization’s moral legitimacy.
“By employing the services of the Yugoslav aggressors, you have put the UN’s reputation in jeopardy and ruined its credibility. Engaging the services of war criminals by the UN is despicable and must be stopped.”
The letter was copied to a sweeping list of global leaders and media outlets, including Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, President Bill Clinton, Secretary of State Warren Christopher, Amnesty International, and major news networks like CNN, ABC’s Nightline, and Reuters — signaling Mothers for Peace’s refusal to let the matter remain buried in diplomatic obscurity.
Krčmar and Butković close with words that transcend protest — a moral indictment written on behalf of those silenced by war:
“Our Croatian and Bosnian victims, either dead or alive, cannot speak for themselves, but we will speak for them until justice is done.”
This letter remains one of the most unflinching rebukes ever directed at the United Nations by a grassroots humanitarian group, revealing the depth of global disillusionment with the UN’s handling of the Balkan wars.
