Date: April 19, 1993
Author: Canadian Women’s Congress of Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina (including Valentina Krčmar, Mothers for Peace – Bedem Ljubavi)
Addressed to: TVO (TVOntario), 2180 Yonge Street, Toronto, Ontario
View the Original Letter: krcmar book 2_Part91-3.pdf
About This Letter
This letter, written on April 19, 1993, and addressed to TVO (TVOntario), expresses outrage over the public broadcaster’s coverage of the Bosnian War, specifically criticizing the program “Between the Lines.” The letter, signed by representatives of the Canadian Women’s Congress of Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina (which included Mothers for Peace – Bedem Ljubavi), denounces the broadcast as misleading, irresponsible, and dangerously sympathetic to Serbian propaganda.
The authors demand accountability from TVO, questioning how and why the production was approved.
“We require an explanation as to how this production was conceived and why. Particularly because this production presents the war very differently than other world news agencies, including CNN, BBC, NBC, ABC, CBS, and even CBC.”
The letter’s tone is both indignant and sorrowful — the voice of a community already traumatized by war and now betrayed by a trusted Canadian institution. It condemns the program’s distorted portrayal of refugees and its inclusion of Serbian paramilitary leader Arkan, who was then wanted by Interpol for war crimes.
“We find this program insulting, especially your portrayal of the refugees in the so-called camp going downhill on a sleigh! History will show this as ludicrous.”
“And for good measure, you threw in a dialogue with Arkan — a war criminal — who without any challenge justified stupidly his reasons for slaughters, ethnic cleansing, and genocide.”
The letter accuses the program of spreading misinformation and hate, warning that such media irresponsibility could further divide ethnic communities in Canada.
“This documentary has created severe problems in the ethnic communities here in Canada, and tempers are running high. What was the real purpose of this presentation?”
The authors also question the funding and intent behind the program, implying that it may have been influenced by Serbian interests:
“Was it by any chance, as we suspect, one interest group?”
They close with a resolute declaration that the record of their protest will stand as testimony — a refusal to remain silent in the face of manipulation and injustice:
“We are putting everything in writing, so that our children twenty years down the road will not think that we have not done anything to challenge this documentary.”
This letter stands as a powerful example of how Mothers for Peace and the broader Croatian and Bosnian diaspora in Canada confronted not only the horrors of war abroad but also the distortion of truth at home.
