Alliance to Defend Bosnia-Herzegovina

The “Alliance to Defend Bosnia-Herzegovina” (ADBH) was created in July 1993 in the UK, with the aim of establishing a high-profile and cross-party campaign in defense of the sovereignty and integrity of the  Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The group sharply criticised the Bosnia policy led by the British and other Western governments, as can be read, for example, in this statement from autumn 1993: “ADBH opposes the UN arms embargo which has so cruelly denied Bosnia the means to defend itself and its population from well-armed aggressors. It also advocates appropriate military intervention under UN auspices in support of Bosnia’s sovereignty and integrity. [In regard to the ongoing peace negotiations] ADBH is categorically opposed to the West’s efforts to force a solution based on ethnic segregation, and dismemberment of an internationally-recognised sovereign state. Any such deal sets an ominous precedent both by rewarding genocide and aggression, and by endorsing the repugnant, racist ideology of ethnically-based states – in effect establishing an internationally-backed system of apartheid in the centre of Europe. The consequences would reverberate throughout Europe and the world.”

ADBH also aimed to be a gathering point for different Bosnia-solidarity groups in the UK, and published from October 1993 on the newsletter “Bosnia Report” where it informed about the war and different activities to support Bosnia and Herzegovina. Active members of the ADBH included academics such as Norman Stone, Adrian Hastings, Noel Malcolm, Nigel Osborne, Branka Magas and Quintin Hoare, as well as members of parliament and politicians as Calum McDonald, Patrick Cormack and Michael Foot.