BOSNEWS digest 440 -- 22/20/95

From: Nermin Zukic <[email protected]>

Bosnia-Herzegovina News Directory

CONTENTS

[01] DEVELOPMENTS ON THE DIPLOMATIC FRONT AND ON THE GROUND IN THE BALKANS

Representatives from the Bosnian Army and Serbian forces met under U.N. auspices on the front-line in northwestern Bosnia to establish a truce. Fighting has continued in the region despite an official cease-fire. Serbian forces recently advanced four miles into government-held territory north of the strategic town of Sanski Most.

The Croatian government and Serbian forces plan to resume negotiations next Monday over the future of eastern Slavonia, the only region of Croatia still occupied by Serbian forces. Croatian President Franjo Tudjman recently assured Assistant Secretary of State Richard Holbrooke that, contrary to speculation about Croatian troop movements, Croatia would not attempt immediately to liberate the region by force, at least so long as negotiations led to a peaceful settlement before the end of November.

Beginning on October 31, the U.S. will host peace negotiations between Bosnian President Alija Izetbegovic, Croatian President Franjo Tudjman, and Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio. Izetbegovic issued today 21 demands for the talks. The demands included terminating the arms embargo against Bosnia if a peace accord is signed and banning suspected war criminals from taking part in elections in post-settlement Bosnia. Izetbegovic also said that Russian troops participating in the settlement implementation force should be matched by an equal number of troops from Muslim states. Russian UNPROFOR troops have been notoriously pro-Serbian. Russian and NATO officials remain unable to agree to an integrated command structure to accommodate Russia's demand that its troops not be under NATO command.