War symbol in last phase of rebuilding

SARAJEVO - Agence France-Presse

The European Union will fund the last phase of restoring the national library in Sarajevo which became a symbol of the destruction of the 1992-1995 Bosnian war, officials said March 7.

The final part of the library’s reconstruction, valued at 4.9 million euros, should be finished by April 2014, Sarajevo mayor Alija Behmen said after signing the accord with EU special representative in Bosnia Peter Sorensen.

“Sarajevo will once again have its jewel, constructed in the era when Bosnia was a part of the Autro-Hungarian empire,” Behmen said.

Sorensen said the “protection of cultural heritage is of crucial value for the EU, as we are committed to respecting diversity and identity.”

In August 1992, Bosnian Serb gunners targeted the library, built in 1896, burning it to the ground.