Melting-Pot Refugee

- What are your memories of Sarajevo when you were starting as a musician?

In the seventies, Sarajevo was a specific melting pot of artists. Poets of, probably, the best generation happened to be in one place. I remember the long poetic marathons. Sarajevo was small, but it was a real metropolis. It was multicultural, there were many people of different nationalities and incredible stories could be heard. Like those about Serbs who, during World War II, looked after the property of their Jewish neighbors and returned to them every last bit when they came back...

The spirit of tolerance and respect for everything different was present everywhere. This has come to an end. After all this 'cleansing', only backward villages will remain and it will be awful. This is the end of the 20th century culture which is based on mixing, blending and differences. Can you imagine Kant nowadays walking around his little village? It was unimaginable for the end of the 20th century, but is now becoming a realistic metaphor of our future. This is why, on the other hand, I feel so close to France. The French are the most open of all European nations and have the longest tradition of the blending of cultures.

- What is your most distinct memory before the beginning of this war?

Right before the war in Bosnia broke out, I had the opportunity to stand in front of the camera and point to the street where I was born, just at the moment when Muslims were being called to the mosque for prayer and at the same time bells were ringing in both the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches. The street was right next to the Muslim quarter and was called Milos Obilic (the famous Serbian hero) street. It could have been called any other name, but the fact that it was called so can be understood only as a metaphor. I then said that everything beneath us, within our sight, was very difficult to build but easy to pull down.

- By not staying in Sarajevo, did you, Kusturica and many others betray Sarajevo and Bosnia?

No, because our Sarajevo no longer exists. I personally don't support any of the leaders in Bosnia. Just as the Bosnian Serb leadership is willing to send its men to commit unbelievable crimes, Bosnian Muslim and Croat leaders are willing to send their people and sacrifice them for their political aims. The result is that people are being killed everywhere. These are the consequences of the disgusting politics and it is sad that the unfortunate, half-literate people had to vote for such national parties which had announced the war in their programs. Before the beginning of the war, I saw figures of literacy and education levels in Bosnia. Awful. To let those people vote in free elections was the same as putting a bomb in their hands.

- Once, before the elections, you said you would vote for the Muslims. Do you still think so?

I said this when the Muslims seemed to have no back-up state and their policy seemed peaceful and most constructive. Unfortunately, they gave it up later.

- Shouldn't you, as a Bosnian, help Bosnia in some way?

This Bosnia does not need independent artists, it needs poets and artists which will serve the young Muslim or Croatian state. I never served Yugoslavia and now I don't intend to serve any of the Serbian or Croatian or Muslim states. I don't need them.