Memories of the Spanish soldiers in Bosnia and Herzegovina
Danka Savic- Ambassador of Bosnia and Herzegovina to the Kingdom of Spain / The Diplomat
Bosnia and Herzegovina has an indelible memory of the Spanish soldiers who have been present in our country for many years, in different peacekeeping missions.
The Kingdom of Spain played an important role in the peacemaking process and reconstruction in Bosnia and Herzegovina, mainly through the presence of its troops.
That distant year, 1992, three months after the government of the Kingdom of Spain took the decision on the participation of its troops in the Bosnia mission, on 4 November, Spanish soldiers set off on a journey through Croatia to Bosnia and Herzegovina, a mission of great importance to the Spanish armed forces, undoubtedly the most important one in which Spain has participated outside its borders.
United Nations Security Council Resolution 776, of 14 September 1992, envisaged the deployment of a multinational force on a humanitarian mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Over 46,000 Spanish soldiers took part in the mission, which ended in 2010, as part of the international peacekeeping force deployed in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Lives were also lost in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The first was Lieutenant Arturo Muñoz Castellanos, who died in 1993 after being seriously wounded by a mortar shell while delivering blood to a hospital in Mostar, as a member of the Spanish contingent of UNPROFOR. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, 22 Spanish soldiers and one translator died during the next almost twenty years they were present in our country.
The biggest square in the city of Mostar, since 1995, is called Plaza de España in honour of the Spanish soldiers. The square, which was completely rebuilt and restored, was inaugurated in 2012 by His Majesty, King Juan Carlos I, and a monument was erected in memory of the Spanish soldiers. Today there are two plaques in their memory. In the open-air exhibition space of the Alcazar de Toledo, a commemorative plaque was placed with the names of the Spanish soldiers who died in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
After the war, from 1996 to 2008, Spain supported the reconstruction of Bosnia and Herzegovina and played an important role in the peace process, strengthening the defence sector, assisting refugees, establishing a sustainable economy, stabilising and strengthening the rule of law. Spain, among other things, participated with important funds in the restoration of outstanding cultural and historical monuments in Bosnia and Herzegovina such as the Sarajevo City Hall, the Mostar Cathedral and the Plaza de España in Mostar.
At present, when the most important thing for Bosnia and Herzegovina in terms of foreign policy is its path towards the Euro-Atlantic institutions, Spain's assistance to Bosnia and Herzegovina is carried out multilaterally, through the institutions of the European Union and/or the UN. Spain's importance to Bosnia and Herzegovina is visible in the fact that it is the only country that is symbolically present in our three largest cities: next to the Plaza de España in Mostar, in Banja Luka, where one of the streets is called Alfonso XIII, while in Sarajevo we have the Plaza de Barcelona. Throughout all these years, numerous ties of friendship have been established, permanently connecting our two countries.