BOSNEWS digest 504 - 19/12/95

From: Davor <dwagner@mailbox.syr.edu>

Bosnia-Herzegovina News Directory

CONTENTS

[01] EU ADMINISTRATION PRESS CONFERENCE IN MOSTAR

Mostar, Dec 16, 1995 (Press TWRA) - Deputy EU administrator to Mostar, Klaus Metscher and its spokesman Dragan Gasic at today's press conference spoke on the prospects and current situation in the town regarding the peace agreement signed by Izetbegovic, Milosevic and Tudjman two days ago.

Journalists are informed on completion of basic judicial framework of the interim statute for Mostar as well as on the accord concerning most issues comprised in decree on local elections. The only question that remained unsettled is who has the right and where to vote for local authority elections. Combined housing commission will, in eastern and western part of the town, inspect fifty flats in each, where 5O Bosniak (western Mostar) and 5O Croat families (eastern Mostar) should be housed.

Ambassador Metscher said: "If the agreement initialized in Dayton and signed in Paris by presidents, is implemented, it would be good both for B-H and this region in general and make our job in Mostar easier to do. Yet, we certainly wish progress to this town regardless of the situation elsewhere." K. Metscher also says that taking over UNPROFOR responsibility by NATO being deployed in B-H is obvious. /end/ A.S.

[02] KARADZIC, KOLJEVIC, MILOSEVIC ON SARAJEVO

Sarajevo, Dec 16, 1995 (Press TWRA) - B-H Serb terrorist leader, internationally indicted war criminal Radovan Karadzic proclaimed the end of the war state in "Republika Srpska" apart from currently Serb occupied parts of Sarajevo which, according to the peace agreement, should be reintegrated in the B-H Federation early next year. Instead of the war state, Karadzic proclaimed immediate war threat state, Reuter reports. Karadzic invites Serbs not to leave "Serb Sarajevo", claiming that the peace plan implementation might begin in a year or two till when an entirely new town will have been built with the help of Yugoslavia to house Serbs from Sarajevo remaining in this way, all together."

Four Carl Bildt's associates arrived at Sarajevo headed by German diplomat Michael Steiner (Bildt's deputy) and accompanied by French gen. Bertrand Delapresle. Bildt alone will join them next Friday who says will not negotiate with Karadzic or any other war criminal suspect who will be "sooner or later brought before the International Criminal Tribunal in the Hague.'

Washington - State Department described Karadzic's proclaimation of the war end as well as his all other statements and acts as invalid.

Belgrade - "Commitment of the international community and FR Yugoslavia is a guarantee to Serbs in Sarajevo they have nothing to fear of and can trust us," said Serbia's president Milosevic.

Most likely Karadzic's successor Nikola Koljevic said: "Serbs in Sarajevo have guarantee from all sides. All those who want to stay can do so, and those not wishing that can leave, as they have place to go. /end/ A.S.

[03] GEN. JOULWAN ORDERED IFOR OPERATION TO START

Naples, Brussels, Sarajevo, Dec 16, 1995 (Press TWRA) - Commander of the US troops to Europe and NATO, US gen. George Joulwan ordered this morning launching of the IFOR operation in Bosnia in order to implement the Dayton-Paris peace agreement. Joulwan order was issued a few hours after the UN Security Council had terminated the UNPROFOR mandate in Bosnia being taken over by NATO which is authorized as peace keeping and implementing force. IFOR Commander, British gen. sir Michael Walker, will arrive at Sarajevo tomorrow. Joulwan ordered 6O,OOO soldiers to be deployed in accord with the decision made by North Atlantic Council warning that the NATO and other IFOR troops will be properly armed and their commanders mandated to respond to any threat and provocation as well as to act preventively to avoid likely attacks if they find it necessary. "We are not UNPROFOR, repeated Joulwan. /end/ A.S.

[04] SEVERE DISPUTE : MADLEINE ALBRIGHT - BOUTROS GHALI

New York, Dec 16, 1995 (Press TWRA) - Severe disputes were underway between the US ambassador to UN M. Albright and the UN secr. general B. Ghali in the past four days, ie. between their offices which competed in releasing statements in writing. Even more severe was dispute between the US ambassador and the UN secr. general at the Security Council session behind the close doors, diplomatic sources report.

Dispute was caused by Ghali's proposal to send 9,3OO to 11,OOO more soldiers to eastern Slavonia whose deployment would take at least 6 months in order to replace UN Belgian and Russian Federation soldiers and implement the Erdut Croat-Serb accord outside the UN mandate. This initiative was opposed by Croat diplomacy regarding it as an attempt to postpone the beginning of peaceful reintegration of the area into the Republic of Croatia.

US diplomacy holds Ghali's proposal "wrong and counter productive by which the secretary general is trying to avoid his responsibility and legal operations being supported by the key members of the Security Council." At the closed Security Council session at which many issues were discussed (termination of the UNPROFOR mandate, approval of the IFOR operation under NATO command, suspension of safe havens in B-H...), Ghali said, when eastern Croatia was discussed, that "he was shocked by vulgarity in the statement of the US representative in a public dispute being pointless." Ms Albright remarked that the UN member states have the right to express their opinion freely and found it unsuitable for the secretary general to refer to the view of a member state as vulgar.

French ambassador Alain Dejammet indirectly supported B. Ghali saying that Secr. general did not start the dispute. Meanwhile, the offices of M. Albright and B. Ghali have taken effort to calm the tension. /end/ A.S.

[05] HAVEL AND VLK IN SRAJEVO BEFORE CHRISTMAS

Prague, Dec 17, 1995 (Press TWRA) - President of Czech Republic Vaclav Havel is to visit Sarajevo on Dec 22, 23, on invitation of Bosnian president A. Izetbegovic, Czech Press agency CTK. That would be a return visit to the president Izetbegovic's visit paid to Prague this autumn where cultural manifestation "A month of B-H in Czech Republic" was held under the patronage of the two presidents. Czech's government should discuss Havel's visit to Sarajevo at the session on Dec 2O. Referring to high church circles, CTK reports that cardinal Miloslav Vlk, the Prague bishop might also travel to Sarajevo. He recently announced he would spend Christmas in Sarajevo with cardinal Vinko Puljic, the Sarajevo bishop.

Bosnian media point out closeness of Izetbegovic and Havel being close friends. None of them was a member of Communist party in their states, they were persecuted for their political belief and did not manipulate with nationalist feelings after coming to power. Havel made an excuse to the Germans for having been expelled from Czechoslovakia after WW II and succeeded in peaceful disintegration of Czechoslovakia although he personally wanted to preserve the common state. Izetbegovic has been persistently against revenge to Serb and Croat civilians in B-H caused by crimes committed against Bosniaks.

Vaclav Havel did not support the intent of Slovenia and Croatia to separate from Yugoslavia regarding it as succession but condemned destruction of Vukovar, assault on Dubrovnik and crimes against civilians. As genocide proved to be the essence of Serb aggression on B-H, Havel advocated its termination at all costs and his criticism included Croatia when its army joined the aggression on B-H. Due to such statements regarding "Bosnian crisis", Havel was criticised by Czech Republic prime minister V. Klaus, a techno-manager who was not a communist, either and is close to the international financial circles and primarily deals with economy issues. Vaclav Klaus is not on friendly terms with V. Havel and held his statements on Bosnia as inappropriate as he is convinced that is not concern of Prague and that Czech Republic should be "impartial." /end/ A.S.

[06] SILAJDZIC: "IF THEY WANT FORCE, THEY WILL HAVE IT"

Sarajevo, Dec 17, 1995 (Press TWRA) - Commenting Karadzic and his associates' threats who are against withdrawal of their troops from around Sarajevo as well as firing grenades on the center of Bosnian capital at the moment of signing the agreement in Paris, Bosnian prime minister said for Bosnian TV: "When called to stop killing people, they started killing more of them. When called to close the concentration camps, they opened even more of them. At the moment when all the world is signing the peace, those terrorists try to resume the war. if they want force, they will have it." /end/ A.S.

[07] SOUVIGNET BROKE HIS LEGS WHEN DOWNED

Paris, Dec 17, 1995 (Press TWRA) - Captain Frederic Chiffot (pilot) and lieutenant Jose-Manuel Souvignet (navigator) who were held in captivity by Karadzic's Serbs in September, October November and the first third of this month, told some details about the their plane "Mirage 2OOO" which Serb downed nearby Pale on Aug 3O, this year, the first day of NATO mass air strikes on their positions. When downed Souvignet broke his legs so they soon realized they would not be able to escape from the site they were downed. Serb found them and captured a few hours later. Souvignet was operated in a Serb military hospital in the presence of gen. Mladic, due to fracture he sufferred. On their return to France, the pilots were thoroughly examined in a Paris hospital to find out the affects of one-hundred-day captivity on their health. /end/ A.S.

[08] AGNELLI: "SERBS GOT TOO LITTLE, MUSLIMS TOO MUCH"

Rome, dec 17, 1995 (Press TWRA) - Italian diplomacy head Susana Agnelli, in the statement issued for Italian state TV RAI, but ignored by most Italian papers, said: "I think that there is still a long and thorny way to peace in Bosnia and ex-Yugoslavia. The problem is that Serbs got too little and Muslims too much."

Minister Agnelli's statement caused neither a diplomatic scandal nor attracted greater attention of media in Bosnia or elsewhere. As a reason for that the observers hold the unstable political scene in Italy where ministers are replaced very fast. The process has been intensified since the collapse of major Italian parties which composed more than 5O governments in the past fifty years (Christians, Democrats and Socialists but also Republicans, Liberals and Social Democrats). S. Agnelli's statement is not surprising as she, since the beginning of her mandate has given anti-Bosnain, anti-Croat and anti-Serb statements.

In this century, including both World Wars, Italy has traditionally flirted with Serb nationalists as they had a common opponent - Croatia which comprises eastern Adriatic coast being the aspiration of Italian expansionists and Serbs offer a division of the area between them. In the past, parts of Adriatic eastern coast were attached to Venetian state and when Italy became united state it was included in Italian state. Italian foreign minister, and presiding of the EU Ministry Council, Gianni de Michelis was a Venetian at the time of the first attempts of Slovenia and Croatia to become independent state, five years ago. De Michelis was often target of criticism in Zagreb and Ljubljana where media described him as pro-Serb and pro-Yugoslav.

S. Agnelli belongs to a powerful family with influence outside Italy including pharmaceutical, car and arms industry, oil and international corporations. The Agnellis are closely connected with Serb military industry. /end/ A.S.

[09] SACIRBEY ON SARAJEVO AND CROAT WAR CRIMINALS

Sarajevo, Dec 17, 1995 (Press TWRA) - Bosnian head of diplomacy M. Sacirbey commented the statement issued two days ago by Croatian president Tudjman who had criticized decision of Bosnian judiciary to bring charges against 82 Croats in B-H suspected of war crimes and crimes against humanity. Tudjman claimed that such indictments did not contribute to better relations between Croats and Bosniaks in the B-H Federation and Zagreb and Sarajevo.

"There is not any agreement stating that those responsible for war crimes should not be tried. Persons like Ivica Rajic should be brought before the court as they did not kill only innocent Bosniaks but also Croats," said Sacirbey.

Croatian weekly "Nacional" released this week an interview with Ivica Rajic and his associates in Kiseljak entitled: "If Muslims continue accusing Croats of war crimes in the Hague, a bloody war will break out between us again." /end/ A.S.

[10] KOZIREV DENIED RUSSIAN GRANT OF ASYLUM TO R. MLADIC

Moscow, Dec 17, 1995 (Press TWRA) - Russian head of diplomacy A. Kozirev denied the claim released in the British paper "The Sunday Times" saying that Moscow granted R. Mladic asylum. The same source states that Russian diplomat Viktor Sipilov arrived from Belgrade at Zvornik and offered gen. Mladic to settle in Russian Federation and lecture at a military academy to avoid trial before the International Tribunal for the crimes he had committed. "That simply is not true," says Kozirev. /end/ A.S.

[11] FUSS OVER SARAJEVO, QUIET IN BANJALUKA

Sarajevo, Dec 17, 1995 (Press TWRA) - UN official who wants to remain anonymous commented for the Reuters, the attention paid to Serb duty to leave the occupied parts of Sarajevo.

"The world intervenes to protect Serbs in Sarajevo although nothing has happened to them ignoring at the same time maltreatment, expulsion and looting being exerted against Bosniaks and Croats in Banjaluka, or better to say what has remained of them. Local non-Serb population there are victims of terror and all other sort of violence and none organization or person even tries to stop them, as all attention is focused on Serbs in Sarajevo. Mediators, UN and western governments came running to Sarajevo to grant Serbs protection to be secured by NATO, the international police forces and world public. The fact that everything is over in Banjaluka is accepted as only a few thousands of Croats and Bosniaks have remained there and the number of Serbs in and around Sarajevo is still considerable which is tried to be preserved," said the UN official who has been to Bosnia for some years.

B-H authorities repeated that the criminals among the Serbs in Sarajevo cannot be exempted or spared of punishment and that postponement of taking over Sarajevo's occupied part by B-H government was ruled out as well as guarantee to all Serbs in Sarajevo apart from criminals for full protection and equality with all other residents. /end/ A.S.