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OMRI Pursuing Balkan Peace, No. 26, 96-07-02
From: Open Media Research Institute <http://www.omri.cz>
Pursuing Balkan Peace
No. 26, 2 July 1996
CONTENTS
[01] KARADZIC'S SLEIGHT OF HAND
[02] UNLESS GRANTED "GUARANTEES," KARADZIC WILL RUN IN ELECTIONS.
[03] KARADZIC "AHEAD OF THEM ALL?"
[04] BELGRADE GIVES BOSNIAN SERB LEADER ULTIMATUM.
[05] BULATOVIC ON BOSNIAN SERB AFFAIRS.
[06] MONTENEGRIN PRESIDENT RENEWS CALLS FOR KARADZIC'S OUSTER.
[07] SERBIAN RADICALS BACK KARADZIC.
[08] WAR CRIMES TRIBUNAL HEARS CASE AGAINST KARADZIC AND MLADIC.
[09] DRAMA AT THE HAGUE.
[10] WAR CRIMES TRIBUNAL INDICTS RAPE SUSPECTS.
[11] EXHUMATION BEGINS IN SREBRENICA AREA.
[12] BIGGEST WAVE OF EVICTIONS IN BANJA LUKA SINCE DAYTON.
[13] BOUTROS GHALI BLASTS SEPARATISM IN BOSNIA.
[14] BOSNIAN ELECTIONS TO GO AHEAD ON 14 SEPTEMBER...
[15] ...WHILE DOUBTS REMAIN.
[16] BOSNIAN SERB TOWN TO EXPAND ASSEMBLY TO REFLECT CHANGES.
[17] MOSTAR ELECTIONS COME OFF SMOOTHLY.
[18] U.S. SAYS ISLAMIC FIGHTERS ARE GONE FROM BOSNIA.
[19] BOSNIAN SERB GENERAL SEES POSSIBILITY FOR CONFLICT.
[20] THE REPUBLIKA SRPSKA'S "ARIZONA ROAD."
[21] THE KARADZIC IMBROGLIO: BILDT TRAPS HIMSELF.
[01] KARADZIC'S SLEIGHT OF HAND
Bosnian Serb civilian leader and indicted war criminal Radovan Karadzic
announced on 30 June that he will delegate all of his powers as president of
the Republika Srpska (RS) to his hard-line vice president, Biljana Plavsic. He
will continue to retain the title of president, the chair of his governing
Serbian Democratic Party (SDS), and the option of running in the 14 September
Bosnia-wide elections, the BBC reported. Plavsic herself stressed that
Karadzic remains president, that her assumption of his duties is merely
temporary, and that only an election can remove him from office. She is
regarded as one of his strongest nationalist loyalists, and even Serbian
President Slobodan Milosevic once suggested in public that she needs a
psychiatrist.
Karadzic's move comes against the backdrop of the SDS's election convention,
which reelected him as party leader on 29 June and nominated him on 1 July to
run for the presidency in September. This also comes after threats by
representatives of the international community and by Milosevic that Karadzic
must go or the RS will face renewed sanctions (see below). Milosevic had
earlier resisted pressures against Karadzic but has since been confronted with
the possibility of renewed sanctions against Belgrade if he does not take
steps against his former protege.
The Dayton agreement explicitly says that there is no place in public life for
war criminals. Karadzic had previously delegated some of his duties to Plavsic
to try to sidestep the issue, and on 27 June made any resignation conditional
on political and territorial concessions to the RS, Nasa Borba reported. He
specifically demanded recognition of the RS as an independent entity, and the
outright cession to the RS of the strategic town of Brcko, which is headed for
international arbitration later this year.
The major Western allies found Karadzic's conditions unacceptable last week,
and it appears that his latest move has not impressed them, either. On 30 June,
White House spokesman David Johnson said: "our policy on him remains what we
have said in the past: that he needs to be not only out of power but he needs
to be out of influence, out of town and in the dock." Reuters also reported
that Germany, France, and the UK agreed with the U.S., but that Johnson
admitted to "some confusion" regarding the Western reaction in general. This
stemmed from the initial position taken by some international representatives
dealing with Bosnia, such as High Representative Carl Bildt, who seemed to be
content with Karadzic's move as "a step in the right direction" (see below).
He had earlier said that "Karadzic has now delegated all his authority. He
still nominally calls himself president. Let him. He can call himself the
Chinese emperor or Donald Duck. It means nothing," Beta news agency
noted.
Reuters quoted a Western diplomat, however, as suggesting that the Serbs had
again taken Bildt to the cleaners. The BBC added that the Bosnian government
denounced Karadzic's announcement as a sham, but that entire affair has
boosted Karadzic's popularity with many Bosnian Serbs. -- Patrick Moore
[02] UNLESS GRANTED "GUARANTEES," KARADZIC WILL RUN IN ELECTIONS.
Unless the Republika Srpska's international recognition is assured, Karadzic
will indeed run in the forthcoming elections and win, he said at the 27 June
session of the SDS steering committee, Nasa Borba reported. The daily also
reported that posters of Karadzic as the SDS candidate appeared in Pale as a
part of the party's pre-election campaign. U.S. Assistant Secretary of State
John Kornblum said in Sarajevo, however, that the U.S. will accept no
conditions on Karadzic's resignation. "He must now quickly bow to the pressure
of the international community... leave office and go to The Hague," AFP
quoted him as saying. -- Daria Sito Sucic
[03] KARADZIC "AHEAD OF THEM ALL?"
But indicted war criminal or not, Karadzic seems to have succeeded in
convincing many of his countrymen that his fight is theirs as well. According
to recent polling data garnered from ten towns in the Republika Srpska by
Ekstra Magazin, the SDS remains "ahead of them all" in voter preference,
Nasa Borba reported on 25 June. A plurality of 40.5% of decided voters would
reportedly cast their ballots for the SDS in upcoming elections, while only
17.5% would back the Milosevic-sponsored Socialists. In third place, gaining
the support of 11%, is the Serbian Radical Party of accused war criminal
Vojislav Seselj. Some 30.5% of those polled, dubbed Karadzic "the personage of
confidence," while only 14% said they had confidence in Milosevic. -- Stan
Markotich
[04] BELGRADE GIVES BOSNIAN SERB LEADER ULTIMATUM.
Milosevic, for his part, seems to have added to the pressure on his former
protege. The Serbian president, along with his federal counterpart Zoran Lilic
and Montenegro's Momir Bulatovic, gave Karadzic an ultimatum to demand his
immediate departure from the Bosnian Serb presidency, Nasa Borba reported on
26 June. According to the ultimatum, Karadzic's noncompliance with the terms
of the Dayton deal warrants his ouster, and failure to depart from office
would result in a renewed round of sanctions against the Republika Srpska by
rump Yugoslavia. Reuters observed that the ultimatum "came after months of
lobbying by the U.S. and European officials who believe Karadzic's continued
presence in office is a threat to the Bosnian peace process" and adds that
with Karadzic's ouster, other Bosnian Serb hardliners may become easier to
prosecute at The Hague. -- Stan Markotich
[05] BULATOVIC ON BOSNIAN SERB AFFAIRS.
The Montenegrin president, moreover, went on record saying that "Karadzic...
may not officially and legally enter Montenegro." Nasa Borba on 27 June
reported that when queried at a press conference about whether or not Karadzic
and his military counterpart Gen. Ratko Mladic would be taken prisoner if
discovered in Montenegro -- given that "some months ago Karadzic was not
apprehended during 'a walkabout of Montenegro,'" -- Bulatovic said he had no
"official information" about "Radovan Karadzic's sojourns in these parts."
Bulatovic described Karadzic as "a very well protected man... His house is
guarded by some 500 heavily armed men." He added he did not believe the
Republika Srpska would collapse if Mladic and Karadzic were to give up
politics and, according to Montena-fax reports of 26 June, feels "that not
even the international community insists on [Karadzic] being sent to The Hague,
but only on his removal from political life." -- Stan Markotich
[06] MONTENEGRIN PRESIDENT RENEWS CALLS FOR KARADZIC'S OUSTER.
Bulatovic repeated his call for Karadzic to go, this time on a 28 June
interview with RFE/RL. Bulatovic observed that "Karadzic, as the leader of the
Bosnian Serbs and the Serbian Democratic Party, refuses to meet [conditions]
he has already agreed to." But when queried about whether or not rump
Yugoslavia was prepared to send to The Hague three Yugoslav army officers
accused of involvement in the massacre of at least 260 Croat civilians near
Vukovar in 1991, he said that question was "too sensitive to answer with just
a yes or a no." -- Stan Markotich
[07] SERBIAN RADICALS BACK KARADZIC.
But Karadzic still has his friends in rump Yugoslavia, especially members of
the Serbian Radical Party (SRS), led by accused war criminal Vojislav Seselj.
Nasa Borba on 28 June reported that Seselj has almost unconditionally backed
a Karadzic run for the Bosnian Serb presidency. According to the daily, Seselj
has remarked that the SRS in the Republika Srpska would "[even] endorse
Karadzic and... withdraw their own candidate." -- Stan Markotich
[08] WAR CRIMES TRIBUNAL HEARS CASE AGAINST KARADZIC AND MLADIC.
But the folks at the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia
in The Hague have been active, too. On 27 June they launched hearings against
the two top indicted Bosnian Serb war criminals, AFP reported. This is not a
trial in absentia, but is a form of investigation and political pressure based
on the tribunal's Rule 61. That measure was drawn up specifically to deal with
cases such as Croatia and Serbia, in which the accused are hiding behind a
state's refusal to hand them over. Witnesses give evidence, although
Karadzic's lawyer is not supposed to participate in hearing lest it turn into
a trial, Nasa Borba reported. Two lists of charges have been drawn up for
each of the two accused. The first concerns the war in Bosnia in general, and
covers ethnic cleansing, prison camps, murder, rape, and torture as well as
the bombing of civilian targets and the seizing of UN soldiers. The other
concerns the "direct responsibility" of Karadzic and Mladic in the killings
and mass graves that followed the fall of Srebrenica. At the end of the week-
long hearings, the tribunal is expected to issue an international arrest
warrant for the two accused. -- Daria Sito Sucic
[09] DRAMA AT THE HAGUE.
Karadzic's Belgrade lawyer, Igor Pantelic, nonetheless appeared before the
court and asked to listen to proceedings and be given access to the documents
prepared by the prosecutor's office, Nasa Borba reported. The latter request
was rejected as contradicting tribunal rules. After the proceedings, Pantelic
said he was quitting because he found the court's treatment unfair. Meanwhile,
the tribunal's prosecution office presented evidence against the Republika
Srpska and rump Yugoslavia for not arresting the two accused despite having
had "numerous chances" to do so, and called for the tribunal president to
officially inform the UN Security Council of the two countries' non-
cooperation. -- Daria Sito Sucic
[10] WAR CRIMES TRIBUNAL INDICTS RAPE SUSPECTS.
The court has not been busy only with the two "big fish": 17 more individuals
have been indicted, Nasa Borba reported on 28 June. Among them are nine
ethnic Croats, accused of taking part in attacks on Muslim settlements and in
massacres against Muslim civilians. The remaining eight are ethnic Serbs,
accused of taking part in the mass rape of Muslim women. According to various
reports, the indicted Serbs took prisoners near the southeast Bosnian town of
Foca between April 1992 and February 1993. Some of the women were as young as
twelve years-old. They were enslaved, beaten, and forced to work in make-shift
brothels. The indictments against the ethnic Serbs marks the first time The
Hague has dealt with instances of rape as war crimes. -- Stan Markotich
[11] EXHUMATION BEGINS IN SREBRENICA AREA.
And other war crimes were in the news as well. The UN Office for Human Rights
in Sarajevo said that a Finnish expert team would begin on 25 June to exhume
the remains of bodies in the area of Srebrenica, Oslobodjenje reported on 24
June. The Finns will work in the region of Kravice, where several thousand men
are believed to have been killed when the former enclave was overrun by Serbs
in July 1995. The team will also examine and attempt to identify the remains
so that they may be given proper burials by their kin or by the Bosnian
government, UN spokesman Alexander Ivanko said. The team will act within the
mandate of the UN Special Reporter on Human Rights, Elizabeth Rehn of Finland,
and the UN expert on missing persons, Manfred Novak, AFP reported. The project,
sponsored by the Finnish and Dutch governments, is to be completed in four
weeks. -- Daria Sito Sucic
[12] BIGGEST WAVE OF EVICTIONS IN BANJA LUKA SINCE DAYTON.
Ethnic cleansing, moreover, continues. Kris Janowski, the UNHCR spokesman in
Sarajevo, said some 52 Muslims were evicted from their homes in Serb-
controlled Banja Luka starting early June. This is the biggest wave of "ethnic
cleansing" since the Dayton peace accord was signed, Oslobodjenje reported
on 26 June. Janowski said the UNHCR has no evidence that the Serb police are
behind the evictions "but they obviously cannot control it." Meanwhile, the
head of the NATO-led Implementation Force in Bosnia, U.S. Admiral Leighton
Smith, warned Serb Parliament Speaker Momcilo Krajisnik at a meeting in Pale
that he was not satisfied with the Serbs' treatment of Bosnian Muslims, AFP
reported on 24 June. -- Daria Sito Sucic
[13] BOUTROS GHALI BLASTS SEPARATISM IN BOSNIA.
Back in New York, the UN issued a report under the name of its secretary
general charging the Bosnian Serbs with consolidating and continuing ethnic
cleansing, Reuters and AFP stated on 26 June. The study specifically cites the
resettling of Serbs from the Sarajevo suburbs in the Brcko area of northern
Bosnia, the fate of which is to be determined by international arbitration
later this year. Boutros Boutros Ghali concluded that "it appears that the
Republika Srpska remains active in its efforts aimed at separation, as
publicly declared by its present leadership and reflected by events on the
ground." The report also noted separatist tendencies among the Croats and even
the Muslims. Boutros Ghali added that UN efforts to improve police work
throughout Bosnia-Herzegovina will be meaningless if the local police continue
"to discriminate against, harass and intimidate citizens who are not of their
own ethnicity." He also condemned Croatia for the killing of Krajina Serbs and
the pillaging of their property, Nasa Borba wrote on 27 June. -- Patrick
Moore
[14] BOSNIAN ELECTIONS TO GO AHEAD ON 14 SEPTEMBER...
But it was the elections -- after Karadzic -- that proved to be the main news
story of the week. OSCE chairman Flavio Cotti announced on 25 June that the
Bosnian general elections will take place on the last possible date set down
in the Dayton peace agreement. The vote has been described as the most
complicated in history and will take place on seven different levels in the
Croat-Muslim federation and in the Republika Srpska. An OSCE diplomat told the
BBC that the upcoming elections will give an impetus to all sides to respect
the civilian provisions of the treaty such as freedom of movement and open
media. But to date such provisions have largely been ignored, and, as long as
IFOR refuses to enforce them, are likely to be ignored in the future. --
Patrick Moore
[15] ...WHILE DOUBTS REMAIN.
Bosnian Vice President Ejup Ganic welcomed the announcement of the vote,
saying: "we think the elections will reinforce the stability of Bosnia-
Herzegovina." But his government also stressed that the Serbs' non-compliance
with the civilian aspects of Dayton threatens to render the electoral process
meaningless. Cotti himself added that the vote could face "serious problems"
if Serbian war criminals remain in power, AFP reported on 25 June. The Clinton
administration and some other Western governments have been pressuring the
OSCE to press ahead with the elections regardless. The White House wants the
vote out of the way before the U.S. elections in November. -- Patrick
Moore
[16] BOSNIAN SERB TOWN TO EXPAND ASSEMBLY TO REFLECT CHANGES.
The Bosnian elections, in any event, are to be based on the prewar demographic
situation, as is clearly specified in the Dayton agreement. The Derventa
authorities, however, are going ahead and expanding the local assembly from 26
members to 50. This will reflect the huge growth in the north-central Bosnian
town's population after four years of the ethnic cleansing of Muslims and
Croats, together with an influx of Serbs. The prewar population was 3,000,
while the current total is estimated at 5,000 and growing. According to the
changed and newly adopted Community Constitution, there has to be one assembly
member for each thousand citizens. -- Yvonne Badal in Sarajevo and Patrick
Moore
[17] MOSTAR ELECTIONS COME OFF SMOOTHLY.
The elections in the Herzegovinian city of Mostar are widely regarded as a
test case for the Bosnian vote. The EU hopes the ballot will be the first step
in uniting the divided city, which is split into the claustrophobic eastern
Muslim and more prosperous western Croatian halves. First returns, however,
suggest that the nationalist parties were the big winners.
The Muslims feel they have been given short shrift in the town since the Croat-
Muslim war of 1993. The Herzegovinian Croats, for their part, argue that they
need Mostar, since it is the only city truly worthy of the name connected to
their territories in western Herzegovina. It thus remains to be seen whether
the ballot will serve its intended purpose and if the new city council --
which is slated to meet in about two weeks to elect a new mayor -- can
actually achieve this aim.
EU Administrator Ricardo Perez Casado called the ballot successful and well
organized. He acknowledged that problems remain but said the vote was a
significant step toward reestablishing structures that will permit political
and social coexistence in the city. No major electoral irregularities were
noted, and this was the first day on which freedom of movement actually was
introduced in Mostar, backed by over 3,000 international troops and hundreds
of Bosnian Muslim, Croatian and international police officers.
Voter turnout was over 50% out of a population of 99,000. They cast their
ballots in districts were they lived in 1991 and, therefore, many had to cross
the internal border. Previous attempts to restore freedom of movement had
failed, usually in the face of Croatian opposition. An attempt by the EU
administration to open a bridge link between both districts earlier the year
ended in disaster when Croat rioters attacked arriving Muslims and stoned then-
EU administrator Hans Koschnick. Considering such problems, the EU regarded
peaceful voting a major victory in itself. Thousands of refugees from Mostar
also voted in Stockholm, Bonn, Bern and Oslo.
Six slates of candidates took part in the polls. The favorites were the List
for a Unified Mostar of east Mostar Mayor Safet Orucevic, and the Croatian
Democratic Community (HDZ) of west Mostar Mayor Mijo Brajkovic. The EU had
feared that especially the strong nationalist lobby in the HDZ might disrupt
the process leading to unification of the city. The EU accordingly developed a
complicated ballot system in cooperation with both sides. Seats in the
municipalities or city districts will be divided according to a pre-war ethnic
key. The City Council, however, will be composed of 16 Croats, 16 Muslims, and
five members of other nationalities. All parties were thus forced to nominate
members of Croat, Muslim and Serb nationality to be able to claim all seats
they may win in the ballot. The hope remains that these candidates, who do not
have the nationality of their respective ethnically defined party, will tilt
the balance in favor of the creation of a unified Mostar.
Results announced on 1 June showed that the two nationalist parties had won
and that the ethnic polarization of the city was underscored. The Muslim List
for a United Mostar secured some 48% of the votes while the HDZ took 45%,
Oslobodjenje reported. AFP, however, quoted an EU official who did not want
to be named as suggesting that the ballot was fraudulent by saying: "My
impression is that everything has already been agreed [in advance]."
Problems, in any event, are likely to remain. Bosnian Prime Minister Hasan
Muratovic complained that some 20% of Muslims' names did not appear in the
polling station's registers. A EU spokesman gave a lower figure, but Muratovic
nonetheless called for new elections. -- Fabian Schmidt
[18] U.S. SAYS ISLAMIC FIGHTERS ARE GONE FROM BOSNIA.
Turning to military affairs, the White House announced on 26 June that Bosnia-
Herzegovina has ended its "military and intelligence relationship" with Iran
and that there are no "organized" foreign fighters left on government-
controlled territory. This opens the way for a $70 million American program to
train and equip the mainly Muslim and Croatian armed forces. The statement was
issued in Lyon, France, in conjunction with the G-7 conference, news agencies
reported. National Security Council spokesman Brian Cullin noted that some
former Iranian fighters remain "in civilian roles, but we see no evidence of
any remaining organized mujahedeen units, nor do we believe that any of the
individuals remaining are engaged in military or intelligence activity." All
foreign fighters were to have been out of Bosnia in January, and the lingering
Iranians were a point of contention between Washington and Sarajevo. --
Patrick Moore
[19] BOSNIAN SERB GENERAL SEES POSSIBILITY FOR CONFLICT.
On the other side of the front lines, Bosnian Serb Gen. Manojlo Milovanovic,
speaking to Pale radio on 26 June, did not rule out the possibility for
renewed conflicts in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Dubbing the existing peace in the
country "unstable," Milovanovic said the Bosnian Serb military's priorities
include "maintaining and equipping the army.... and [safeguarding] the welfare
of our soldiers," allegedly because "the very survival of the Republika Srpska
depends [on such factors]." The general also timed his remarks to coincide
with his Vidovdan message for 28 June, which is a holiday full of historical
meaning to Serbs. -- Stan Markotich
[20] THE REPUBLIKA SRPSKA'S "ARIZONA ROAD."
Bijeljina, June 28. Regional security authorities have captured eight members
of a gang known to have stopped and stolen eight cars on the north-south road
from Zupanja to Tuzla -- known as "Arizona road" -- from Federation or foreign
citizens. Among the stolen vehicles were three Mercedes, one Audi 80, one Jeep,
one Golf, one Honda, and one bus for a grand total of DM 300,000 DM. The armed
gang worked in groups of four, using a car without license plates and driving
along the Arizona road. They would then choose their victim and block his or
her passage from two directions. The cars were later sold in Serbia or, with
the "help" of a mediator, sold back to the owner. (One Hungarian businessman
paid DM 20,000 for the return of his jeep.) "The Arizona road", Bijeljina
police official Raco Marjanovic told an OMRI reporter, "becomes a dream road
for every criminal... We believe that there is a gang in Orasje [a Croatian-
held town in the international corridor near the Sava River] that cooperates
with the one here. This is why stolen goods can disappear so easily. All
criminal activities here will continue until finally Croatian, Muslim and
Serbian police cooperate. And I must admit that we in the [RS] Interior
Ministry still have not gotten permission to cooperate with Federal police." --
Yvonne Badal in Sarajevo
[21] THE KARADZIC IMBROGLIO: BILDT TRAPS HIMSELF.
Under the constitutional amendment of the military provisions of the Dayton
Peace Accord, all signatories must cooperate fully with the International
Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia. No one indicted for war crimes
may hold an appointed or elected public office. On 29 June, the G-7 leaders
issued a statement insisting that Karadzic -- an indicted war criminal --
leave his post immediately and permanently. Some members of the international
community believed Karadzic was meeting their demands. But in Pale, the
reality was very different (see above).
"What has happened in Pale over the last few days is not what the
international community asked for," noted Bildt's pale-faced but adamant
deputy, Michael Steiner, during the daily international press briefing in
Sarajevo's Holiday Inn on 1 July. "Radovan Karadzic was reelected chairman of
the ruling SDS," Steiner continued. "To me, that is clearly a public function.
He is a chairman of the SDS commission that selects the candidates who will
run for election. He will now appear publicly more often than he has in the
last nine months. This move is an exact contradiction of what the
international community requested. This status quo is intolerable and we need
action. We feel that the international community must now follow its words
with actions."
IFOR Commander Admiral Leighton Smith and spokespeople for the Tribunal
expressed unequivocal support for Steiner's position. "We will do everything
within our mandate to remove Radovan Karadzic from any position of power,"
Smith promised in a written statement. In an unusually serious tone, veteran
United Nations spokesman Alexander Ivanko read a one-sentence statement from
the Hague: the court "would like to the remind the international community
that removing Radovan Karadzic from power is just the first step on the way to
The Hague."
After the press conference, Steiner quickly answered a few questions and then
rushed off to await word from an all-night session of the Pale leadership. The
journalists, who for several days had demanded clarification of Bildt's
position on the developments in Pale, were surprised by a statement from his
spokesman, Murphy. On Friday, he had claimed that the Office of the High
Representative can do very little about Karadzic's election as SDS chairman
because "in a Western democratic tradition political parties are subject to
private law." On Monday, however, he added that, "I am instructed to say that
despite contradictory legal positions on this matter we do not consider it a
private matter when Mr. Karadzic is the head of a ruling party. We do not
think that it is in accordance with the spirit of Dayton."
But there were more surprises ahead. Murphy also confirmed that Bildt had
drafted Karadzic's resignation letter, which is identical to the text that was
prepared in May when Karadzic refused to sign the letter and only offered a
verbal promise to step down, followed by a formal transfer of "some of the
presidential powers" to Vice President Biljana Plavsic. The text, promising
transfer of presidential powers without mentioning resignation, uses the same
wording of the Republika Srpska constitution[22] .
Bildt, according to Murphy, thought that such a step-by-step approach has the
most chance of being carried out. Murphy did not want to elaborate on why
Bildt did not simply ask for Karadzic's resignation, which is also possible
under the Republika Srpska constitution. As one Western diplomat commented:
"Bildt has been sending totally confusing messages to everybody for so long,
that no one took him seriously anymore. Now he trapped himself. He asked
Karadzic to sign a document that was prepared by the Office of the High
Representative. After a month of negotiations he gets a signature and then
says it is not enough. How can Pale understand that? If it would be a policy,
it would be a wonderful dirty trick, teaching Pale that they are not the only
ones who know how to play such a game. But I am afraid it is just another one
of Bildt's chaotic moves. Unlike others, this one could and should
work."
Karadzic's SDS commission will submit their final list of candidates for the
14 September elections to the Organization for Security and Cooperation on 4
July. -- Jan Urban in Sarajevo
Compiled by Patrick Moore
This material was reprinted with permission of the Open Media
Research Institute, a nonprofit organization with research offices in
Prague, Czech Republic.
For more information on OMRI publications please write to info@omri.cz.
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