Date: May 3, 1994
Author: Valentina Krčmar, Director, Mothers for Peace – Bedem Ljubavi (Toronto Chapter)
Addressed to: The Honourable David Collenette, Minister of Defence, House of Commons, Ottawa, Ontario
View the Original Letter: krcmar book 2_Part116_Part1.pdf
About This Letter
In this letter dated May 3, 1994, Valentina Krčmar, writing on behalf of Mothers for Peace (Bedem Ljubavi), addresses Canada’s Minister of Defence, David Collenette, expressing deep concern about the attitudes and awareness of Canadian peacekeepers stationed in Croatia and Bosnia during the ongoing war.
Krčmar refers to a recent letter published in the Toronto Star — written by a Canadian peacekeeper, Major Banks — which she enclosed with her correspondence. She argues that the letter reveals a misguided and politically neutral interpretation of the war, one that fails to distinguish between aggressors and victims.
“This letter is a very typical opinion of our peacekeepers about the situation in Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. This position that our peacekeepers are taking is of great problem to many of us.”
Krčmar clarifies that Mothers for Peace does not expect Canadian soldiers to take sides but insists that neutrality must not come at the cost of truth:
“We do not expect our peacekeepers to side with anyone; peacekeepers cannot do that. But we would like them to know who the aggressors are, and who the victims are.”
She criticizes Major Banks’s characterization of the conflict as a “civil war,” a term that distorts the nature of Serbian aggression and minimizes the suffering of civilians:
“There is an obvious fact that even Major Bank’s letter is offering to the Canadian public not a military opinion about the situation in Croatia, but a political one when he states: ‘We see first-hand the results of civil war.’”
Krčmar urges the Minister to disclose what educational materials and briefings were provided to Canadian peacekeepers before deployment — including reading lists, lectures, and the names of instructors responsible for their orientation. Her goal is to ensure that Canada’s peacekeeping forces are informed, impartial, and grounded in factual understanding of the war’s origins and power dynamics.
“We would like to see the materials that were given to our peacekeepers about the political situation in former Yugoslavia, the causes of the war, and if it is possible, the list of the lecturers.”
This letter demonstrates Krčmar’s unwavering commitment to truth and accountability — extending even to her adopted country’s role in the conflict. It highlights her belief that misinformation, especially among peacekeepers, risks perpetuating injustice rather than preventing it.
