Reactions
In the good old days, each of Laibach's visit to Sarajevo meant the proclamation of a state of emergency within the ranks of the national service. But times have deteriorated to such an extent that the once most subversive group in the territory of former Yugoslavia now gets prime time on TV Bosnia and Herzegovina, at 8 p.m., right after the evening news, and its concerts are announced on the news itself, within the first fifteen minutes. ... Laibach's concert in Sarajevo was a two - hour - long, solid and conceptually well - structured event which forecasted to the public of Sarajevo, hungry for such events, what in fact would be brought to them by what Bosnian President Alija Izetbegovic had signed that evening in Dayton: freedom, peace and a state without territory." Ozren Kebo Dani/Mladina, No. 48, 28 Nov., 1995
"The highly professional show, with an extraordinary synchronization of light, smoke and other musical - rhythmical effects and the sophisticated stage performance in which everything was elaborated and executed in detail, convinced us of the high artistic credibility of Laibach's musical aesthetics." Ta. Pandurevic Oslobodenje, No. 17047 24 Nov., 1995 ""NATO", the album by Laibach, also features a song called "Mars on River Drina" (read: The War God Mars on the River Drina, read: March on the River Drina), - a Serbian military march from the First World War. Even fanatical professionals and artists such as Laibach hesitated to play this piece at the concert in Sarajevo. Believing that Laibach would play it, I waited in anticipation for the reaction of the audience in the literally packed auditorium of the National Theater. The beating of three drums slowly transformed into what we, or at least most of us, otherwise feel about this composition: pure horror. Sarajevo is perhaps the last city in the world in which "March on the River Drina" should have been performed, but Laibach played it in the only way possible, and they succeeded." Srdan Vuletic DANI, No. 38, December 1995 "What is wonderful about Laibach's concert in Sarajevo is the fact that their performance was absolutely no different from similar shows in other cities around the world. Laibach did not pathetically extol us to the skies (which is frequently the case), nor did they patronize us (which is even more frequent) just because we are from Sarajevo. And that's what we want and need. Amsterdam, Moscow, Berlin, Ljubljana, London, Minsk, Sarajevo - it's all the same. Only in such a way can Sarajevo be included in the map of European, world cities." Srdan Vuletic DANI, No. 38, December 1995 "This was in any way one of the most important war - time events in Sarajevo." Ozren Kebo Dani/Mladina, No. 48, 28 Nov., 1995 "Laibach's concert, as well as the entire NSK presence in Sarajevo, came out so well that, at that moment, the peace agreement signed in Dayton looked like one of the accompanying events." Srdan Vuletic DANI, No. 38, Dec. 1995 "It was an appropriate mix of the machismo and surrealism beloved of Balkan artists, and a rare opportunity for Sarajevo's young to forget the war; although with peace talks under way in Dayton, some saw the concert as a fortuitous omen." Emma Daly, foreign correspondent in Sarajevo "I think tonight might be the end of the war, Laibach is
a good sign. I feel great."
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