Letter to President Bill Clinton – A Plea for Action”
Date: February 7, 1993
Authors: Valentina Krčmar and Margaret Butković, Mothers for Peace – Bedem Ljubavi (Toronto Chapter)
Addressed to: President Bill Clinton, The White House, Washington, D.C.
View the Original Letter: krcmar book 2_Part57.pdf
About This Letter
In February 1993, Mothers for Peace directors Valentina Krčmar and Margaret Butković addressed this impassioned appeal directly to U.S. President Bill Clinton, urging decisive American intervention to stop the mass suffering in Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The letter opens with a plea to “look at the suffering people of Sarajevo, Mostar, Župa, and others,” invoking the devastation of Vukovar, where mass graves were being uncovered — including one with more than 200 victims. Krčmar and Butković condemn the silence of international institutions and the inaction of UN negotiators Cyrus Vance and Lord David Owen, accusing them of enabling continued atrocities.
“Because of these acts, he [Vance] should have resigned long ago and given his position to somebody neutral and with more compassion.”
The writers describe Vance’s public praise of Slobodan Milošević as “honesty” — an example of the moral blindness infecting global diplomacy. They implore Clinton not to be misled by such voices and to act where others have failed:
“Please, Mr. Clinton, do not be swayed by Lord Owen or Mr. Vance. Remember the countless dead… the raped and killed women and children… the displaced thousands. You are the only one that can help the Croatian and Bosnian nations.”
This letter is both an appeal and an indictment — a plea for American leadership against genocide, and a cry from those who had already lost faith in the world’s conscience.
