Outraged Bosnian women keep up pressure over Angelina Jolie film

Nov 30, 2010, 17:40 GMT

Sarajevo - Bosnian war victims maintained pressure on Hollywood star Angelina Jolie, whose directing debut has stirred a huge controversy in the war-torn country, a report said Tuesday.

Bakira Hasecic, member of an organization representing women war victims, wrote to Jolie via the United Nations refugee agency UNHCR of which she is a goodwill ambassador and asked for a meeting, the daily Dnevni Avaz said.

The film she is currently making has outraged Bosnian Muslims because it reportedly tells a story of love between a Muslim women and a Serb soldier who raped her.

The 1992-95 war in Bosnia pitted the Belgrade-backed Serbs against Muslims and Croats. The conflict was marked by atrocities, including the organized rape of women.

Rape victims say the idea of a rape victim falling in love with a rapist is preposterous. Pushed by the women war victims group, Bosnia's culture ministry at one point revoked Jolie's film permit, but reversed the move a few days later.

The protests forced Jolie to shoot much of the film in Hungary. The shooting has now been completed but no date has been set for the release of the still untitled film.

Jolie insisted that she has no intention of hurting the war victims and urged opponents of her film to see it before protesting against it.

The actress, who has been a UNHCR goodwill ambassador since 2001, did not say whether she would meet representatives of the Bosnian women's organization, Avaz said.