Date: May 26, 1994
Author: Valentina Krčmar, Director, Mothers for Peace – Bedem Ljubavi (Toronto Chapter)
Addressed to: Ms. Clairette Bourque, Co-Clerk, Special Joint Committee Reviewing Canadian Foreign Policy, House of Commons, Ottawa
View the Original Letter: krcmar book 2_Part122-1.pdf
About This Letter
On May 26, 1994, Valentina Krčmar, writing on behalf of Mothers for Peace (Bedem Ljubavi), submitted a formal written statement to the Special Joint Committee Reviewing Canadian Foreign Policy. Addressed to Ms. Clairette Bourque, the letter reflects both deep frustration and moral urgency, urging the Canadian government to confront its past failures and adopt more humane and informed policies toward the ongoing war in Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina
Krčmar begins by recalling the organization’s origins at the onset of the war in 1991, describing Mothers for Peace as a group formed out of shared grief and compassion:
“Our organization was formed in 1991 at the onset of aggression against Croatia. All our members are of Croatian and Bosnian origin. At the time we felt that the loss of any mother in Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina was our loss, and the pain they felt was our pain.”
She outlines the group’s mission — to collect humanitarian aid, inform the media and government, and alert international agencies about the atrocities unfolding — only to be met with silence and disbelief from officials.
“We immediately disseminated this information to the relevant departments of our government and media, but to no avail. Our previous government chose to listen to the pro-Yugoslav or Serbian sources, thus not reacting to our information. Many horrific events could have been prevented.”
Krčmar structures her statement around three main areas of concern:
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Human Rights Violations – She condemns the global failure to act despite widespread knowledge of concentration camps, rape camps, and other atrocities that “are still not disbanded, still operating.”
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Distribution of Humanitarian Aid – She criticizes the false portrayal of the war as “civil”, which resulted in equal aid being distributed to victims and aggressors alike, calling it a moral failure born of ignorance and misinformation.
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Immigration Policy – Krčmar highlights the absurdity and danger of Canada’s immigration procedures, noting that Croatian and Bosnian refugees were forced to travel through active war zones to reach the Canadian Embassy in Belgrade, while “the Yugoslav embassy is still operating in Canada.”
Her tone turns sharply toward accountability, calling for a reassessment of Canada’s foreign and humanitarian policies, which she argues left Croatian and Bosnian Canadians feeling “isolated, angered, and very bitter.”
“We sincerely hope that the policies of the previous government will be re-assessed and new, more humane and more objective policies will be established to serve all Canadians.”
Krčmar concludes the submission with a list of six concrete recommendations, including:
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Involving Canadian Croatians and Bosnians in policy-making.
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Distributing aid based on need, not false neutrality.
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Closing the embassy in Belgrade and opening offices in Zagreb and Sarajevo.
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Investigating the inaction of international organizations like the UN and ICRC.
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Supporting Croatia and Bosnia in rebuilding democratic institutions and joining global organizations.
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Ensuring Canada takes leadership in preventing future humanitarian disasters
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Krčmar’s statement stands as both a policy brief and a moral testimony — a voice demanding that Canada live up to its values of justice, compassion, and truth. It is a call not only for reform but for remembrance, ensuring that Canada never again turns away from human suffering cloaked in diplomatic neutrality.
