Eurasia Press & News
TEHRAN (Fars News Agency)- Editor-in-chief of Bosnia’s ‘Slobodna Bosna’ apologized to the Iranian nation for his weekly’s insult to the founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran, the late Imam Khomeini, and described it as an unintentional mistake.
Speaking in a meeting with Iranian embassy officials in Bosnia Herzegovina on Tuesday, the journalist offered his apology to the Iranian nation for the release of the unethical article in his weekly and further expressed his weekly’s profound regret over, what he described as an unintentional insult.
He also stressed that the measure was not a product of political motives and that the issue was not meant to serve the political objectives of any Bosnian or foreign movements, assuring that the whole story was just the result of a technical flaw by the producer of the photo-report.
He further ascertained that his weekly did not seek to insult religious and political leaders or beliefs, and reminded that his weekly had been the first to have protested at deislamization trend in Europe three months before the insults to the holy prophet of Islam (PBUH) in the Danish papers were publicized.
Meantime, the weekly official pointed out that the author of the article is a young believing Muslim from a well-know religious family in Bosnia, and reiterated, “The writer did not at all mean to insult the late Imam Khomeini.”
He also underlined that Bosnian people also hated the measure as they may never forget the strong supports and aids Iran has extended to them in the past.
Following the release of an article in the Bosnian weekly ‘Slobodna Bosna’ deemed insulting the founder of the Islamic Republic, the late Imam Khomeini, Iran’s embassy in Bosnia Herzegovina adopted extensive measures, including several meetings with the press, in a bid to show Tehran’s strong protest at the measure, which finally led to growing public protest and official apology by state officials, including Bosnian president, and Bosnian ambassador to Tehran and the weekly’s editor-in-chief.
Chairman of the Bosnian Endowment Organization has also stated his strong objection to the issue in a letter published in the same weekly alongside the Iranian embassy’s letter of protest.
Yet, the Iranian embassy officials have stressed that they would take the required measures to proceed the case in the court.
In a letter, the ambassador of Bosnia Herzegovina to Tehran expressed his regret and sorrow over publication of an insulting article in a Bosnian weekly.
In a letter addressed to the Institute for the Publication of the late Imam Khomeini’s Works earlier, the Bosnian ambassador to Tehran said that the measure taken by the Slobodna Bosna weekly is an insult to all the Bosnian Moslems who consider Imam Khomeini to be the symbol of Islam, justice and even beyond justice.
The Bosnian ambassador to Tehran further added in his letter that Slobodna Bosna is not a widely circulated publication in Bosnia Herzegovina and has already been boycotted by the Muslim community of his country and that this publication pursues to impair friendly relations between the Islamic Republic of Iran and Bosnia Herzegovina.
The ambassador of Bosnia Herzegovina to Tehran concluded his letter by stating that the measure taken by the said publication is misuse of freedom and expressed his deep regret over such an unethical practice.
