Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,
We are here today to honour the memory of twelve men and women who died while carrying out their duties as members of the international peace mission in Bosnia and Herezegovina.
Many different considerations prompt an individual to travel to another country and work for peace. Among these considerations must surely be the simple desire to help others.
The twelve who perished on this mountainside four years ago perished because they were helping consolidate the peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Altruism played a part in their presence that morning aboard that helicopter.
They were doing honourable work. They were honourable people.
We remember them with a sense of loss. We remember them, too, with a sense of resolve. The desire to help others must illuminate the work of every person here, of every person who is actively engaged in sustaining Bosnia and Herzegovina’s recovery from war. The recourse to a higher motivation, beyond material gain or personal aggrandisement, must drive the work of peace implementation. It isn’t easy work, but it is good work
We honour the memory of those who died here. We go from this place the more determined to bring to a fruitful conclusion the work that drew those twelve good people to Bosnia and Herzegovina, far from their homes.