BOSNEWS digest 473 - 20/11/95

From: Nermin Zukic <[email protected]>

Bosnia-Herzegovina News Directory

CONTENTS

[01] SIMILAR ATTITUDE OF THE BRITISH TORIES AND LABOURITES

London, Nov 18, 1995 (Press TWRA) - British head of diplomacy M. Rifkind and his colleague from the "government in shadow", Robin Cook taught the British MPs in the dispute on the London foreign affairs how the "sides in the Balkans" where British policy "has proved successful" should behave, as "it encouraged the USA to involve in the peace process. "For a stable peace" as they say Serbs should be given gorazde and half of sarajevo. /end/ A.S.

[02] PEACE TALKS CONTINUE IN DAYTON

Dayton, Sarajevo, Nov 19, 1995 (Press TWRA) - Peace talks on ex-Yugoslavia have continued in Dayton in the presence of the US top officials - Secr. of State W. Christopher, presidential advisor for national security Tony Lake and defence minister W. Perry. Meanwhile, Perry left for Estonia, Litva and Letonia trying to explain to the hosts the US unwillingness to receive the three states frightened by greater Russian aspirations, in NATO membership in a hastened procedure.

B-H radio informs that in accord with the proposed separation map "Serb entity" includes the towns of Doboj, in northern and Visegrad in eastern Bosnia being Serb occupied now, and Mrkonjic Grad placed between central and western Bosnia they recently lost. The US diplomats, according to the same source, showed understanding of Milosevic's demand for 18 km wide corridor, north Bosnia, which provides secure link of the western part of "Serb entity" with its eastern part and "Yugoslavia."

Milosevic allegedly resolutely rejected Izetbegovic's demand Visegrad to be included in Federation. The town is famous for the bridge across the Drina river after which the Nobel Prize winner for literature Ivo Andric named to his book. On the very bridge and other sites, Serb extremists have for several times in this century massacred Bosniaks. British intelligence officer Armstrong reported on the mass slaughters committed on that bridge in WW II. Although having been exposed to genocide, till this war Bosniaks have remained majority population in the town and in the Visegrad county where Karadzic's Serbs three years ago killed and expelled many Bosniaks. Milosevic allegedly claims in Dayton that he cannot give up "Visegrad as it has always been a Serb town."

A likely additional pressure on Milosevic could be an article in "The New York Times" writing that technicians of the Yugoslav military have repaired Karadzic's Serbs communication centres being destroyed in NATO air strikes two months ago so that the helicopters and planes from Serbia can fly to Banjaluka ferrying military aid.

The same paper writes that Bosnian delegates at the talks still insist on including Srebrenica and Zepa in the B-H Federation what the US mediators do not approve due to unfavourable positions of the enclaves. Bosniaks also insist on the B-H army being armed and trained after signing the peace agreement what the US had first announced and then gave up under British-French pressure.

The State Department spokesman Burns said that all the Contact group members expressed diplomatic protest to Croatian president Franjo Tudjman due to promotion of the indicted war criminal gen. Tihofil (Tihomir) Blaskic. Readiness of the governments in Belgrade and Zagreb to cooperate with the Tribunal will, as R. Goldstone demanded, has impact on lifting sanctions against Serbia and Montenegro as well as (non)imposing them on Croatia.

[03] MATO TADIC ALSO RESIGNED

Dayton, Nov 19, 1995 (Press TWRA) - Bosnian minister of justice Mato Tadic resigned as a sign of his disagreement with the course of the Dayton peace talks, AFP released. Tadic, ethnic Croat, participated at the negotiations as an expert in the B-H delegation and resigned for the same reason as the president of the B-H Federation K. Zubak did.

State department spokesman N. Burns holds that Sacirbey's resignation to the post of the head of diplomacy to be taken over by a Croat diplomat as "a significant contribution to the strengthening of the Croat-Bosniak Federation to B-H."

Sacirbey said that Federation was a vital factor of the B-H existence as an integral state. "Anyone's personal interest must not be put above the overall interest of B-H or stand on the way to democracy," says Sacirbey.

[04] SUSPECTED WAR CRIMINAL ARRESTED IN THE NETHERLANDS

The Hague, Nov 19, 1995 (Press TWRA) - A Muslim soldier suspected to have committed crimes against Serb civilians in Bosnia as a member of HVO, was arrested in the Netherlands on Wednesday. This was announced yesterday by the International Tribunal for crimes in the former Yugoslavia, Christian Chartier adding that the indictment is to follow for 3 to 4 weeks when his extradition is to be demanded from the Netherlands authorities. /end/ A.S.

[05] EU ON THE POST-WAR RECONSTRUCTION OF CROATIA AND B-H

Brussels, Nov 19, 1995 (Press TWRA) - It has been confirmed in the seat of European Union that its high ranking officials will discuss tomorrow the aid for the war-devastated areas in B-H and Croatia and encouragement of economy development. International community including Japan, Islamic states and the USA are expected to provide for the purpose USD 5 to 6 billion as a starting amount. Of the total amount, EU would secure USD 1.3 billion.

[06] SERBS TRY TO REMOVE EVIDENCE OF MASSACRE IN SREBRENICA

The Hague, Nov 18, 1995 (Press TWRA) - Karadzic's Serbs are trying hastily to destroy the evidence of the massacre they committed against thousands of Bosniaks around Srebrenica. Intelligence services have informed that these days Serbs have been exhuming the corpses from the mass graves in order to remove the evidence of their crimes, said the Dutch defence minister Joris Voorhove in the TV interview.

[07] ITALY AND GERMANY WILL(NOT) ENFORCE PEACE OPERATION

Rome, Nov 18, 1995 (Press TWRA) - Representatives of all parties except the Party of Communist Reconstruction (PRC) supported sending 2,1OO volunteers in the peace keeping operation to B-H. The attitude was expressed in the dispute of the committees for foreign policy and defence attended by Italian head of diplomacy Susana Agnelli and defence minister Gen. Umberto Corcione. They pointed out that Italian soldiers, on whom 2O billion liras should be spent monthly from Italian budget, would be in a peace keeping not peace enforcing operations in B-H, overseen by UN and under NATO command. The volunteers will come from professional units Col Moschin (parachutist), Garibaldi and some other armoured units. Parliamentarians demanded all warring parties to B-H agree on Italian troops before being sent.

Italian soldiers have not been deployed in ex-Yugoslavia in the past years as Italy is neighbouring state with own interests at the area which used to invade and occupy that area including WW II during the fascist regime of Benito Mussolini. At that time, Italian soldiers to Montenegro and southern Croatia were close to Serb royalist-nationalist militia - "chetniks" although nominally the allies of Hitler's Croat quislings, ustashas.

Bonn - Oskar Lafontaine is newly elected president of the main opposition party in Germany, Social-democrats. Unlike his predecessor Rudolf Scharping who opposed to deployment of Germany in the NATO and UN peace keeping operation in ex-Yugoslavia but was ready for some compromise with Kohl's government due to German foreign policy prestige, Lafontaine is unreservedly against any sort of Germany's intervention in the Balkans including medical units and supervision of the UN no-fly zone. SPD explains it by the role that Germany had in that area in the past, particularly during WW II.

[08] SHALIKASHVILI - KOLESNIKOV

Moscow, Nov 19, 1995 (Press TWRA) - Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Shalikashvili met in Moscow with the Commander of the Russian armed forces HQ Gen. released Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation alleging that the issues discussed are "numerous questions dealing with the preparations for the joint operations that should be carried out on the ex-Yugoslavia area by NATO and Russia."

[09] MUHAMED SACIRBEY AND KRESIMIR ZUBAK RESIGNED ?

Dayton, Nov 18, 1995 (Press TWRA) - B-H foreign minister M. Sacirbey offered resignation saying he wants to give his post to Croats due to even division of power enabling their appointment to significant position in B-H govt. Sacirbey criticized the Dayton peace talks and proposed solutions saying the peace agreement for B-H could be signed on Sunday evening or Monday.

Sarajevo - Croatian People Council (HNV) in B-H issued an announcement signed by the Public relation office's head Petar Jozelic claiming that Milosevic told several times to the peace mediators that he had agreed with Tudjman to exchange Bosanska posavina for some areas south of Banjaluka. HNV also releases that Tudjman exerted pressure on Croats in B-H delegation to accept the loss of posavina. HNV calls the B-H delegation to persist on reintegration of B-H and integrity of Sarajevo.

Mostar - During the session of the self-styled Parliament of the so-called CR Herzeg Bosnia, the delegate from B. Posavina, Pavo Gobas demanded reading out the letter of the B-H Federation and the so-called Herzeg Bosnia president Kresimir Zubak who from Dayton resigned to the post of president. Zubak explains it by pressure being exerted on him to accept the surrender of Bosanska posavina to "Serb entity" in B-H. Ivan Bender, the "president" of the so-called parliament and extreme Croat nationalist from Neum, discarded the demand saying the peace talks were not on the agenda and that the Committee for national security and internal affairs was first to decide on reading Zubak's letter.

Orasje - The statement of the Coordination Committee for the implementation of the Constitution of the B-H Federation for Bosanska posavina signed by the president Iko Stanic says the effort of the USA to set up Federation if a whole canton of Posavina- is to disappear, is incomprehensible.

Washington - "There is still disagreement on some vital issues among the negotiating sides. The views of the separation map within B-H, Constitutional order, democratic elections and status of Sarajevo differ. Time has come for negotiators to show their readiness for compromise. The US Secr. of State Christopher will be present at negotiations sa long as the chance for reaching the agreement exists. Signing the agreement on B-H is likely to occur on Sunday," said the State Dept. spokesman N. Burns. Refusal of Congress to endorse the NATO operation in B-H Burns describes as irresponsible.

After being sent another letter of warning by the leaders of the Republican majority in both Houses of the US Congress - the Representatives (Gingrich) & Senate (Dole) to president Clinton saying he should not ignore the attitude of Congress and send the US troops to B-H without consultations and approval of Congress, the House of the Representatives adopted the law which restricts Clinton's right to send the US troops to B-H without the approval for the operation and its financing from the US budget by Congress. Senate is to vote about the proposal soon and adopt it with great majority. The White House announced veto. /end/ A.S.