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Twenty years after the siege of Sarajevo by Bosnian Serb forces ended, a museum is set to be built to commemorate the city’s wartime suffering, but opponents of the plan say it’s not worthwhile considering the perilous state of municipal finances.
Adnan Busuladzic, director of the National Museum in Sarajevo, said that the construction of the Siege Museum was pointless because the city’s Historical Museum has a display about the 1992-95 siege.
“The duplication of the same theme is not practical and it benefits no one. I am not saying this is a bad idea, but we already have an installation about the siege and I think the installation in the Historical Museum should be upgraded,” Busuladzic said.
The National Museum has been closed since October 2012 after the city stopped its 5,000 euro annual grant and the Historical Museum is also struggling financially.
However supporters of the plan said that a new, modern Siege Museum would benefit the city.
Suada Kapic, the founder and director of the Fama International organisation, which initiated the idea, said that it would not be a normal museum but a multimedia installation and would not need permanent funding because it would finance itself.
“This model of self-sustainability is a new approach. The place itself will be inviting and we will have a private-public partnership,” said Kapic.
Another member of the Siege Museum consortium, renowned Bosnian director Dino Mustafic, said it would complement rather than compete with other museums in the city.
“Why would one cultural or education institution threaten the work of another?” Mustafic asked.
Ramiz Kadic, the education, sport and culture assistant to Sarajevo’s mayor, said that the city has been supporting the Siege Museum project, but not with significant funds.
The project is also supported by the Sarajevo’s Centre municipality, which gave a land slot for the construction.
Jovan Divjak, a local NGO leader who is also a member of the Siege Museum consortium, said that funds now needed to be raised for the construction. He said that an international tender for potential builders has already been issued.
“Many countries have shown interest in helping,” said Divjak.
