---------------------------------------------------------------- B o s N e w s - Jan. 14, 1995 Source: HINA ----------------------------------------------------------------- EXCERPTS FROM THE THE ADDRESS OF THE CROATIAN PRESIDENT FRANJO TUDJMAN TO THE NATION REGARDING THE END OF THE UNPROFOR MANDATE IN CROATIA (UNOFFICIAL TRANSLATION) (January 12, 1995) Dear Croatians and citizens of Croatia, I am addressing you at an historic moment that - in accordance with my constitutional powers - I have made a decision on terminating the mandate of the peacekeeping force in the Republic of Croatia on March 31 this year, in line with the expiry of the current mandate. Today I sent a letter to the UN Secretary-General, Mr Boutros Boutros-Ghali, informing him of this decision, while chief factors of the international community had earlier been informed through my special envoys. This decision is of crucial significance for the further and swifter resolution of the problem of occupied Croatian areas. Three years ago we agreed to the deployment of UN peacekeeping troops in Croatia in order to end the aggression of the Communist- led Yugoslav People's Army (JNA), Serbia and Montenegro and to stop the further destruction of Croatian towns and prevent even greater human losses. Under such circumstances, our decision to accept the deployment of peacekeepers proved justified. Initially, the arrival of peacekeeping forces undoubtedly produced positive results. ( ... text deleted ...) UNPROFOR's failure to fulfil its tasks and enable the implementation of the Vance Plan and all Security Council resolutions should be blamed on rebel Serb leaders in occupied areas and even more so on Belgrade leaders who wanted to make them part of a greater Serbia. (... text deleted ...) I take this opportunity to particularly address all Croatian citizens of Serbian nationality, especially those in occupied areas: On my behalf, and on behalf of all authorities and the public of democratic Croatia, I call on you to join efforts aimed at avoiding further conflicts and seeking a peaceful political solution to the problem of occupied areas and all political, economic, cultural and social issues relative to your ethnic community in Croatia. Democratic Croatia guarantees to you, Serbs in Croatia, all human and ethnic rights in line with the highest standards of international conventions, while the UN and all international factors call on you to respect the constitutional and legal order of the Republic of Croatia, the state you belong to. By putting this decision into effect, we wish to accelerate the return of occupied Croatian territories so that we can fully concentrate our efforts on the economic and cultural development of our country which has long suffered. The achievement of a final peace in Croatia will also encourage a speedier resolution to the crisis in Bosnia-Herzegovina as well as the establishment of peace and a new international order in this part of the world. EXCERPTS FROM THE TEXT OF PRESIDENT TUDJMAN'S LETTER TO GHALI ZAGREB, Jan 12 (hina) - The following are the excerpts from the text of President Tudjman's letter today to Boutros-Boutros Ghali on ending the UNPROFOR mandate in Croatia. "Excellency, The on-going crisis in South-Eastern Europe, started by the aggression of the Yugoslav Communist Army and of Serbia and Montenegro, following the dissolution of the former SFR of Yugoslavia, against Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, has become a grave security threat to the whole region. (... text deleted ...) Despite its endeavours, UNPROFOR has been unable to implement the most important operative provisions of the Vance Plan and subsequent Security Council resolutions, including the latest Resolution 947(1994). The key provisions of the Vance Plan (Res. 740/1992, preceded by the Res. 721/1991) included: the demilitarization of the UNPAs (i.e., disarming and disbanding of rebel Serb units); the establishment of the local police force (with only side arms) in a proportion reflecting the national composition of the population which lived there before the hostilities, under civilian UN police monitors the development of military observers in parts of Bosnia-Herzegovina adjacent to Croatia; the return of displaced persons to their homes. None of these provisions have been implemented. Moreover, a critically important element of the peace process, i.e., the control of Croatia's international border, provided for by Resolution 769 (1992), has not been enforced. (... text deleted ...) Moreover, the occupied territories of Croatia have been used for constant attacks on other parts of Croatia and even Bosnia and Herzegovina. The international community has recently been aghast and scandalized when the UN Safe Zone of Bihac in neighbouring Bosnia-Herzegovina has been unchallengedly attacked by Serb insurgents from UNPAs. These attacks by the UNPA Serbian forces continue even today, despite the general cease-fire agreement in Bosnia and Herzegovina, in gross violation of all international norms. (...text deleted ...) Mr. Secretary General, Therefore, as the President of the Republic of Croatia, I have the honour to inform you that the UNPROFOR mandate is hereby terminated effective March 31, 1995 in accordance with Resolution 947 (1994). The Croatian Government will immediately contact your Special Representative Mr. Y. Akashi and will discuss with him all the questions regarding the withdrawal of UNPROFOR forces. We hope it will be accomplished in a dignified, proper and efficient way till the end of the mandate or no later than three months after the expiry of the mandate. Croatia is also prepared to conclude with the United Nations an agreement on continued logistic assistance and support for UNPROFOR's operations in the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, including the continued and uninterrupted functioning of the UNPROFOR Headquarters in ZAGREB. In both aspects the UN can fully count and rely on the continued support and assistance of the appropriate Croatian Government institutions. (... text deleted ...) Croatia is also prepared to intensify the negotiating process with the Belgrade authorities leading to mutual recognition within internationally recognized borders. It is however, our most determined demand that the sanctions against Belgrade regime and Bosnian Serbs should not be suspended before the recognition of Croatia within its internationally recognized borders by Belgrade, as a prerequisite for the peaceful reintegration of occupied parts of Croatia. GHALI'S STATEMENT AFTER RECEIVING TUDJMAN'S LETTER ZAGREB, Jan 12 (Hina) The following is a statement from UN Security General, Boutros-Boutros Ghali after he received Croatian President Franjo Tudjman's letter on ending the UNPROFOR mandate. I have been informed today by President Tudjman that the Republic of Croatia will not accept a further renewal of the mandate of the United Nations Protection Force in his country beyond 31 March 1995 when the current mandate expires. I very much regret this decision by the Croatian Government. The United Nations played a decisive role in bringing a halt to the brutal war on Croatian soil three years ago, and the United Nations Protection Force has helped prevent a resumption of the fighting since. While I am painfully aware of the frustration of the Croatian people that a final political settlement has eluded us, I should like to recall that the unremitting efforts of the international community have resulted in visible progress, particularly in the opening of the Zagreb-Belgrade highway. I am gravely concerned about the risk of renewed hostilities should United Nations peacekeepers be withdrawn from Croatia for this reason, the international community will continue its dialogue with the Government of Republic of Croatia on the issues raised in President Tudjman's letter. I will, of course, submit his request to the Security Council for its consideration. In the meantime, I urge all parties to exercise the utmost restraint as we collectively work to restore lasting peace to the Balkan region. ******************************************************** Date: Mon, 16 Jan 1995 17:50:25 GMT Message-ID: BOSNIAN SERBS PLAY CAT-AND-MOUSE WITH UNPROFOR. The Los Angeles Times reports on 16 January that "gunmen loyal to Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic tricked French peacekeepers for the second straight day into opening a front-line crossing for their traffic, then forced UN soldiers to close it once it was time for Bosnian government loyalists to pass." AFP said on 15 January that the ostensible issue centers on conflicting interpretations by government and Serbian officials as to what kinds of traffic are permitted to pass on the Sarajevo airport road. UN commander General Sir Michael Rose held talks over the weekend both with Bosnian Serb General Ratko Mladic and with Karadzic, but to no avail. Mladic instead told Rose that the UN should not try to move men or supplies across Serb-held territory into UNdesignated "safe areas" because the roads are not safe in winter weather, despite the fact that the UN provided the Serbs with fuel for snowplows. Meanwhile, the BBC on 16 January quotes a London daily as saying that Rose earlier planned to give Bosnian Serbs copies of NATO flight plans for Bosnia as a "confidence-building measure," but that NATO did not agree and now no longer provides such information to the UN. -- Patrick Moore, OMRI, Inc. MORE DEAD AND WOUNDED IN BIHAC. International media report on 16 January that at least seven civilians were killed and more wounded in the UN-declared "safe area" over the weekend. A UN spokesman called the attacks from Bosnian Serb or Krajina Serb artillery "outrageous" and "murder," but the BBC added that Bosnian government forces were nonetheless able to make some gains on the ground. Meanwhile, on the diplomatic front, Reuters on 14 January said that the Contact Group's diplomats are continuing their "exploratory exercise" regarding a revised peace plan and met with the Bosnian government leadership on that day. In other developments, AFP said that Belgium has withdrawn 130 peacekeepers as planned despite pleas from the UN for them to stay, and that Jordan is also preparing for a pull-out. In Zagreb, the government-controlled daily Vjesnik on 16 January is continuing a series of attacks on Bosnian Prime Minister Haris Silajdzic. Finally, international media reported from Manila on 15 January that Pope John Paul II again issued a plea for peace in Bosnia. -- Patrick Moore, OMRI, Inc. WHISTLING IN THE DARK IN CROATIA? The Croatian government and media launched a campaign over the weekend to promote popular support for President Franjo Tudjman's decision not to extend UNPROFOR's mandate when it runs out at the end of March. Statements by Tudjman and others stress three key themes: that Croatia had no choice but to ask the 12,000 peacekeepers to leave, that the move will not mean the start of a new war, and that it will instead help promote an early peaceful settlement. Reuters on 15 January reported that any military activity would most likely be limited to raids, and that Tudjman made his decision for domestic political reasons despite strong international pressure to let the UN remain. One diplomat said that "Tudjman had to do this in order to stay in power, it's as simple as that." There is widespread feeling in Croatia that UNPROFOR's presence has simply served to protect rebel Serbs' control of onethird of the country and prevent 300,000 refugees from returning home. Nonetheless, Borba on 16 January runs the headline: "Fear of a New War." -- Patrick Moore, OMRI, Inc. WHY IS BORBA UNDER SIEGE? Independent Borba's weekend issue of 14-15 January features a series of articles on the media in post-communist countries throughout Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. One item explores the plight of the independent Borba, and the ongoing government crackdown and efforts to silence the Belgrade daily. While the author states it is difficult to say precisely what motivates Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic and his cronies to undertake any course of action, there is speculation that, like all authoritarian and dictatorial rulers, he is ultimately incapable of tolerating independent and critical media. It is also speculated that Borba's propensity to report on developments in Bosnia and Herzegovina, information about which Milosevic has shown he wants to control and vet carefully, prompted the timing of the current attack.-- Stan Markotich, OMRI, Inc. ======================================================== TODAY'S ISSUES==> TOPIC: MILITARY & ARMS Ref: C1LP3574 Date: 01/17/95 From: STEVE SCHULTZ (Leader) Time: 08:59pm \/To: ALL (Read 0 times) Subj: BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA UPDATE 92 shells hit the area of Velika Kladusa yesterday, and Bihac remains tense after the Bosnian Government attacked Vedro Polje and Klokot with retaliation last weekend by Bosnian Serb artillery. LT GEN Sir Michael Rose, the commander of U.N. forces in Bosnia, and ADM Leighton Smith, commander of N.A.T.O. Forces Southern Europe engaged in a shouting match over the weekend. Smith refused on Saturday to reveal plans for N.A.T.O. flights over Bosnia to Rose, because he believed Rose would pass them on to Serbs. Rose reportedly later sent a letter of apology to Smith. Bosnian Government troops blocked about 1,000 U.N. personnel in their barracks yesterday to protest the arrival of a Serbian liaison offcier at Tuzla airfield. (Roger Cohen/N.Y.T.) ******************************************************** B o s N e w s - Jan. 17, 1995 A United Nations delegation failed on Sunday to persuade nationalist Serbs to reopen roads in and out of Sarajevo and U.N. officials said the impasse could have grim repercussions on efforts to bring peace to Bosnia and Herzegovina. The delegation, (which included the commander of U.N. troops in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Michael Rose,) emerged empty-handed, with no agreement on the reopening of the so-called "blue routes" into the Bosnian capital. U.N. peacekeepers denounced latest demands of nationalist Serbs as calculated obstruction imperilling the truce. U.N. spokesman Colonel Gary Coward said that if the Serb's are "not prepared to come to some sort of arrangement, then this puts the current peace process in jeopardy. This needs to be resolved in the short term." The opening of the routes was a condition of a New Year four-month ceasefire. Prime Minister of Bosnia and Herzegovina Haris Silajdzic said on Sunday that "if the routes agreement breaks down and if Bihac remains under attack, if we remain cut off and strangled, there would be pressure to return to war." He added that that kind of behaviour could leave the Government little choice but to resume fighing. A mortar bomb that smashed into a bridge in Bihac town on Saturday killed five people, one more than earlier reported, and wounded four. UN spokesman Gary Coward said that the mortar was apparently fired in retaliation for a Bosnian army successful lightning assault out of the Bihac "safe area" hours before on the adjacent Klokot area. An 82mm mortar bomb hit a school in Bihac town on Sunday morning, killing a 19-year-old woman, according to Paul Risley, another U.N. spokesman. A second mortar bomb launched at about the same time struck a nearby building, killing a 15-year-old girl and wounding her mother, he said in Sarajevo. Radio of Bosnia and Herzegovina said 11 were wounded in the attack. In Sarajevo a 13-year-old Igor Krstic riding a sled became the first civilian wounded wounded since a ceasefire was signed. UN sources from Velika Kladusa are reporting that militiamen of Fikret Abdic had been sweeping town's neighbourhoods to pick up civilians for forced labour on front lines. Sources (spoke on the condition they were not identified) said that "the detainees all looked exhausted and malnourished and the state of their clothing was extremely poor (...) On January 4 we saw 121 men being led away at gunpoint by Abdic forces at 10 in the morning and then returned at four in the afternoon. Two days later it was 104 men and five women and on January 8th 30 men and 10 women." The UN believes that those people are being punished for a lack of political support for Abdic. U.N. military observers had strong evidence that the detainees were being forced to dig trenches on front lines where artillery battles occur daily. In Vienna, Yasushi Akashi, the UN special envoy, tried to defend present UNPROFOR role in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia. He said that Bosnia nad Herzegovina is not a clear-cut case like the Gulf and that UNPROFOR's primary role was to create conditions for "parties in conflict" to "negotiate peace." He also added that "Impartiality is the greatest asset of a peace-keeping mission, despite the complex moral and practical issues it raises...the price of consent is impartiality." Meanwhile, UN Secretary-General urged Croatia on Monday to reconsider its demand that peacekeepers be withdrawn. In a report to the Security Council Ghali said that this could lead to new fighting and that he fears that "the withdrawal of UNPROFOR would be likely to lead to the resumption of war." The U.N. is preparing plans to withdraw the peacekeepers and the 3,000 civilians and soldiers working at the Zagreb headquarters of U.N. operations. Their mandate expires March 31. U.N. peacekeepers were sent to Croatia in early 1992. In an incident on Sunday, a NATO jet helping enforce a U.N. no-fly zone over Bosnia mistakenly fired two rockets into the ground during a training exercise. Both rockets impacted close to a Canadian U.N. peacekeeping unit base near the town of Visoko ======================================================== BOSNEWS : OMRI Jan 17 MORE HEADACHES FOR THE UN IN BOSNIA. A number of developments continue to undermine the shaky cease-fire that came into force at the start of the year. First is further shelling of the Bihac area, about which one news agency wrote on 15 January: "it was not clear which sides were fighting." A second issue is the presence of what the ceasefire agreement calls "foreign forces, " namely those of the Krajina Serbs and of the Croatian army. AFP on 16 January quotes UNPROFOR as calling for the Croatian military to leave Bosnia and Herzegovina, where they are active on the Livno and Kupres fronts with Bosnian Croat forces. A third problem is the discovery by the UN of at least 50 Bosnian government soldiers in three different places in Mt. Igman's demilitarized zone, from which they were supposed to be gone. A fourth concern is the continued Serb blockade of supply routes into Sarajevo, which they were expected to reopen last weekend. Reuters on 17 January said that the Serbs "sabotaged an accord... by demanding the roads be used only by eight foreign relief agencies that do not need them." -- Patrick Moore, OMRI, Inc. MORE REACTIONS TO CROATIAN DECISION ON UNPROFOR. While the Croatian authorities continue their intensive campaign to mobilize domestic support for President Franjo Tudjman's decision to end UNPROFOR's mandate on 31 March, UN Secretary General Boutros Boutros-Ghali was quoted by news agencies on 16 January as saying he hopes that Zagreb will change its mind and let the peacekeepers stay. He expressed the fear that governments might not only withdraw their forces from Croatia but from other parts of the former Yugoslavia as well. Boutros-Ghali also referred to the "practical and financial aspects" of a UN pull-out. Tudjman offered to let the UN, whose presence means big income for Croatia, keep its headquarters in Zagreb. Reuters wrote on 13 September, however, that a new location is under consideration by the world body. "Among the choices are Sarajevo, which some object to for safety reasons, or perhaps even the Slovenian capital of Ljubljana." Boutros-Ghali also said on 16 January that he fears the Croatian decision will lead to a renewal in the fighting. Similar concerns were expressed by the rump Yugoslav Prime Minister Radoje Kontic, Tanjug said, and by the Bosnian Serb news agency SRNA, which claimed that Zagreb is already planning a new war. -- Patrick Moore, OMRI, Inc. SERBIA OFFERS INTEREST-FREE CREDITS FOR SETTLERS IN KOSOVO. The Serbian government is offering interest-free credits for building houses or buying flats to citizens of Serbia who left Kosovo and want to return. The credits are valid for a period of 40 years and are also offered to specialists who want to move to Kosovo, the independent Borba reported on 17 January. The goal is to settle about 100,000 ethnic Serbs and Montenegrins in the mainly ethnic Albanian region, which has an estimated population of two million. -- Fabian Schmidt, OMRI, Inc. [As of 1200 CET] Compiled by Liz Fuller and Steve Kettle ******************************************************** Date: Wed, 18 Jan 1995 20:36:50 BOSNEWS: OMRI jan 18 BOSNIANS GIVE UN ULTIMATUM OVER TUZLA AIRFIELD. The New York Times reports on 18 January that the Bosnian government has told UN commander General Sir Michael Rose to reopen the Tuzla airfield by 1 February or pull out the UN forces now stationed there. The paper says there are over 200 men involved, while news agencies put the figure at 450. The UN is supposed to reopen the airfield for relief flights and first tried to do so last March. But Serb gunners in surrounding hills made this impossible, so Rose allowed a Serb liaison officer to be smuggled into the airfield area to verify that no government military flights would be allowed. The Bosnian authorities, however, have long regarded Rose as pro-Serb and objected to the presence of Colonel Slavko Guzvic, the liaison officer. The BBC added that the Muslims suspect Guzvic of involvement in war crimes. The New York paper noted further that it is "not clear how Rose could justify the Serbian officer's presence at the airport, since the UN headquarters in Tuzla is located elsewhere." -Patrick Moore, OMRI, Inc. OTHER BOSNIAN DEVELOPMENTS. News agencies on 17 January quote UN spokesmen as saying that the Serbs forced some 500 Muslims and Croats out of their homes in the past two weeks. The main areas involved are Banja Luka, Kotor Varos, Bosanska Gradiska, Kljuc, and Doboj. Elsewhere, France announced that General Bernard Janvier will take over the UNPROFOR command for the former Yugoslavia from General Bertrand de Lapresle when the later finishes his assignment in March. -- Patrick Moore, OMRI, Inc. UN ASKS CROATIA TO RECONSIDER ABOUT UNPROFOR. News agencies reported on 17 January that the Security Council made its first official response to Croatia's decision announced last week not to renew UNPROFOR's mandate at the end of March. The 15-member body asked Croatia to reconsider the move, stressing that the forces are vital to regional security. The statement added that the Council understands Croatia's frustration over the continued Serbian occupation of onethird of its territory. Vecernji list notes on 18 January that President Franjo Tudjman and other top government officials met the previous day with US ambassador Peter Galbraith. The UNPROFOR issue appears to have been at the top of their agenda. Elsewhere, that same paper indicates that continued contacts at various levels have failed to break the impasse in relations between Croatia and Slovenia. -- Patrick Moore, OMRI, Inc. WILL KARADZIC GAIN FROM OPPOSITION PARTY CONTACTS? The 16 January edition of the weekly Vreme poses this question in an article analyzing contacts between Serbia's opposition parties, notably the Democratic Party (DS), the Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS), the Serbian Radical Party (SRS) and the leadership of the Bosnian Serbs. Related queries explored include: "How great is the political effect of the pilgrimages by the Serbian opposition for Dr. Karadzic?" and "What does this all mean on the international, Bosnian, and Serbian political scenes?" According to the piece, leaders of the above mentioned parties have a record of lending support to Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic, notably since backing his decision to reject an international peace plan for Bosnia and Herzegovina turning over control of 49% of the country to the Bosnian Serbs. While Serbia's President Slobodan Milosevic and his Socialist Party of Serbia endorsed this plan, the opposition parties' decision to side with Karadzic has done little to change the regional balance of political power, notes the article. In conclusion, it observes that the opposition is too "weak and disunited . . . and shall remain that way for the foreseeable future" for Milosevic to seriously worry about its activities, a fact which is "impossible" for Karadzic to miss. -- Stan Markotich, OMRI, Inc. SANDZAK MUSLIM LEADER DISMISSED. Rasim Ljajic, General Secretary of the mainly Muslim Party of Democratic Action of Sandzak, was dismissed at a party congress on 14 January, the independent Borba reported on 17 January. Ljajic had offered to leave already last July. Borba said that the resignation had to do with Ljajic's unhappiness with leading trends in the party. According to Politika on 18 January, Ljajic opposed the idea of a separation of Sandzak from rumpYugoslavia as advocated by party leader Sulejman Ugljanin. -Fabian Schmidt, OMRI, Inc. ALBANIA AND NATO TO HOLD MILITARY EXERCISE. Albania will hold its first joint military exercise with NATO in the context of Partnership for Peace at the end of January, Reuters reported on 17 January. The exercise, code named Sarex 95, will be held on the Albanian coast with a unit of the US 6th Fleet. According to Defense Ministry spokesman Pandeli Ristani, Italy, Britain and Germany have confirmed their participation with ships, helicopters and troops. -- Fabian Schmidt, OMRI, Inc. -------------------------------------------------------------- B o s N e w s - Jan. 10, 1995 =============================================================== BIHAC, Bosnia and Herzegovina Heavy infantry fighting erupted between Bosnia Government forces and nationalist Bosnian Serbs near the U.N. "safe area" of Bihac. The latest clashes were fuelled by Serb attempts to recapture the village of Klokot and its water reservoir, which supplies Bihac, from Government 5th Corps troops who seized it in a surprise attack Friday. UN spokesman Paul Risley in Sarajevo said that there "was ground fighting on the west side of the safe area. We think the 5th Corps is holding to positions they took around and near the Klokot reservoir." The Government troops trying to oust Croatian Serbs regained 3.6 miles of territory over the weekend. TUZLA, Bosnia and Herzegovina In Tuzla Bosnian Army have cut phone lines and blockaded UN troops stationed at the airport. Bosnian Government is calling for immediate and unconditional whitdrawal of more than 1000 UN peacekeepers from Tuzla's airport. Most of the troops are Norvegian. The government's minister for relations with the United Nations, Hasan Muratovic sent a letter Monday to U.N. officials demanding the pullout from the airport. He said that the Government will not change its position. A letter gives UN until Feb. 1 to open the airpport or withdraw the troops. Pullout should be completed by March 1. In a telephone interwiev Bosnian Vice-President Ejup Ganic said that the move was prompted by the stationing of a nationalist Serb liaison officer at the UN controlled Tuzla airport without the approval of the Bosnian Government. UNPROFOR spokesman Koos Sol said that the placement of the nationalist Serb liaison officer was supposed to facilitate the reopening of the airfield. The U.N. commander there, Gen. Gunnar Ridderstad, said he regarded the letter of Bosnian government as pressure to open the Tuzla airport. The nationalist Serbs army has shelled the facility numerous time causing the airport to be shut down. Mr. Ganic says the blockade will last until the liaison officer leaves the UN base. SARAJEVO, Bosnia and Herzegovina Paul Risley, UN spokesman, said in Sarajevo that Serb forces had ignored UN appeals to back away from Srebrenica -- another UN safe area. Under cover of the cease-fire the nationalist Serbs had advanced one mile closer to the safe area demarcation line last week. The area had been generally quiet since then, but the Serb forces had not withdrawn. Risley said that nationalist Serb have "reinforced their positions with several tanks and armoured personnel carriers." Asked if the cease-fire was falling apart Risley told that the UN would like to see a quicker pace on the part of both parties. Around Sarajevo, Bosnian Government withdrew its remaining troops from a demilitarized zone on Mount Igman, said U.N. spokesman Lt. Col. Gary Coward. Nationalist Bosnian Serbs gave permission for several U.N. convoys to besieged enclaves in eastern Bosnia, and let a U.N. humanitarian aid convoy reach civilians in Bihac. A civilian route out of Sarajevo remained closed. FRONT LINES, Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnian government forces and nationalist Serb forces briefly exchanged mortar fire in the northeastern Bosnia. There was also sporadic shelling and small arms fire around the town of Maglaj. Heave small-arms and mortat fire was reported around the town of Velika Kladusa. U.N. spokesman in Zagreb, Chris Gunnes said that more than 21 artillery and mortar shells fell west and south of Bihac. Farther north, about 90 artillery shells fell east and southeast of Velika Kladusa. UNITED NATIONS Lt. Gen. Rupert Smith of Britain, 51, who takes over command of U.N. troops (approximately 22,000 troops) in Bosnia this month, ended two days of meetings Tuesday with U.N. officials and diplomats concerned with peacekeeping operations. The overall command of the 39,500-strong UNPROFOR will also change-- Gen. Bernard Janvier of France will succeed Gen. Bertrand de Lapresle on March 1. Smith was assistant chief of the deffense staff at Britain's Defense Ministry from Sep '92 until Nov. '94. He won the Distinguished Service Order for his service in Kuwait during the Gulf War. ======================================================= TODAY'S ISSUES==> TOPIC: MILITARY & ARMS Ref: C1MP0958 Date: 01/18/95 From: STEVE SCHULTZ (Leader) Time: 08:15pm \/To: ALL (Read 4 times) Subj: BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA UPDATE The Bosnian Government demanded that the U.N. reopen the airfield at Tuzla yesterday. It was opened in March, 1994, but was closed immediately because of Serbian gunners in the surrounding hills. The demand yesterday was to reopen it by February 1, or withdraw the 200 U.N. personnel there by March 1. After expensive refurbishment and maintenence of a large staff, to leave Tuzla would be an expensive humiliation. Bosnian President Alija Izetbegovic asked Parliament yesterday to allocate money to the army to form special mobile units for maneuvering in difficult terrain. (Roger Cohen/N.Y.T.) ******************************************************** Date: Thu, 19 Jan 1995 18:14:11 BOSNEWS: OMRI Jan 19 PROBLEMS CONTINUE FOR UN IN BOSNIA. International media report on 19 January that a host of problems continue to dog the UN's attempts to reinforce the shaky cease-fire in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Government forces fired on Serbian forces near Donji Vakuf; a Serbian sniper seriously wounded a Sarajevo teenager; and government forces were again spotted in the Mt. Igman demilitarized zone. Supply roads remain closed and Sarajevo's gas supply is precarious. In violation of the UN's no-fly zone over the embattled republic, Krajina Serb helicopters on 18 January flew at least 20 supply missions to Serbian forces around Bihac, the Los Angeles Times reported the next day. Bosnian Serb gunners also reinforced their positions around the "safe area" of Srebrenica. All these developments suggest that the current cease-fire is regarded by both sides as little more than a breathing space before resuming serious fighting in the spring. The New York Times concludes that the international community has given up on military deterrents and that other options have not worked. "Peace-making efforts . . . now lack direction, ideas, or any momentum," the newspaper says. -- Patrick Moore, OMRI, Inc. OTHER BOSNIAN NEWS. The independent Borba on 19 January quotes US ambassador to the UN Madeleine Albright as outlining eight points that rump Yugoslavia must clarify regarding its relations with the Bosnian Serbs. The move is connected to the extension of the partial lifting of sanctions against Belgrade for a second period of 100 days. One of the points is "ending all logistical and other support for the Bosnian Serb army." Vjesnik, meanwhile, describes continuing problems between the Muslim and Croatian partners in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Zagreb press has been reporting for some days on various tensions and frictions stemming from the Croatian fear that the Muslims view themselves as the dominant--if not ruling--element and refuse to treat the Croats as equals. In the latest exchange, the Constituent Assembly was unable to meet on 18 January because the two sides' leaderships could not reach agreement in advance on the rotation of the current president and vice president. The Muslims say that the term of the federation's Croatian president, Kresimir Zubak, has expired, while the Croats maintain that the length of his mandate must be linked to the implementation of all provisions of the Washington agreements that set up the federation. -- Patrick Moore, OMRI, Inc. CROATIA TO RECONSIDER EXPELLING UNPROFOR? News agencies report on 18 January that Zagreb may let UNPROFOR stay on after its current mandate runs out on 31 March if Belgrade recognizes Croatia in its Tito-era boundaries and if Croatian refugees from Serb-held territories can go home. This would fulfill two key demands that Zagreb has long made regarding UNPROFOR's mandate. Meanwhile, Hina notes that the Croatian government will build a center near Osijek to house 40,000 refugees with Norwegian and other West European money. -- Patrick Moore, OMRI, Inc. CROATIA'S JOBLESS LAWYERS. Hina reports on 18 January that Croatia had 247,55 registered unemployed in December 1994, up 1.8% over the previous year. The list is topped by lawyers and other "skilled and highly skilled professionals." Elsewhere, Finance Minister Bozo Prka on 17 January told Reuters that his government has "stabilized the economy and eliminated inflation," adding that "if we settle the political problems, Croatia will be a model for small countries in economic transition." Hina reported the same day that the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development has made a DM 70 million loan to Croatia to improve its road network, including completing a major highway between Zagreb and the Adriatic coast. -- Patrick Moore, OMRI, Inc. ---------------------------------------------------------------- B o s N e w s - Jan. 19, 1995 ================================================================ "Officials said the Serbian officer, Slavko Guzvic was effectively smuggled into the airfield after being driven to Tuzla from Sarajevo in one of General Rose's cars." Bosnian government wants U.N. commander to reopen vital airfield By Roger Cohen c.1995 N.Y. Times News Service SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herzegovina -- Angered by the behavior of the United Nations commander here, the Bosnian government gave him an ultimatum Tuesday to reopen a critical airfield in the northeastern town of Tuzla. The airfield in the Muslim-held town was declared open by the United Nations last March, only to close immediately because of threats from Serbian gunners in the surrounding hills. Tuesday, the Muslim-led government demanded that the U.N. military commander, Lt. Gen. Sir Michael Rose, either reopen the Tuzla airfield by Feb. 1 or remove the more than 200 U.N. soldiers stationed there. The ultimatum reflects the deep mistrust between the government and the United Nations, a sentiment that has been undermining attempts to consolidate a four-month cease-fire declared last month in Bosnia. The cease-fire has sharply reduced the fighting in Bosnia at a time when a severe winter would in any event have curbed combat. But efforts to open roads into Sarajevo, exchange prisoners of war and end the fighting in the northwestern Muslim pocket of Bihac have been unsuccessful. Overall, the cease-fire has come to look much more like a brief pause before renewed fighting in the spring than a prelude to serious negotiations for peace. Bosnia's president, Alija Izetbegovic, asked the parliament Tuesday to allocate more money in a proposed budget to the army to form special mobile units for maneuvering in difficult terrain. Tensions reached the breaking point Tuesday over the situation at Tuzla, an industrial town about 50 miles north of Sarajevo. Earlier this month Rose outraged the Bosnian leadership by deploying a Serbian liaison officer, Col. Slavko Guzvic, at the airfield without informing the government. Officials said the Serbian officer was effectively smuggled into the airfield after being driven to Tuzla from Sarajevo in one of Rose's cars. The Tuzla-based 11th Corps of the Bosnian army promptly protested by blockading U.N. forces in the Tuzla area in their barracks, a situation that has continued for almost a week. The government says there is no reason for Guzvic to be at the airfield. Behind the vehemence of the protest is the Bosnian government's long-held suspicion that Rose is more sympathetic to the Serbs than to the government and tends to accommodate their wishes wherever possible. Rose, who is to leave Bosnia next week when his year-long stint as commander ends, regularly denies such allegations, portraying his stance as the studied neutrality essential to any peacekeeping mission. The U.N. military did not respond formally to the government's ultimatum. Maj. Koos Sol, a spokesman for the U.N. force here, said Rose had assisted in deploying the liaison officer under the terms of the cease-fire agreement and in the hope that his presence might lead to the opening of the airfield. The Serbs have long insisted that a liaison officer be present at the airfield for any flights to occur. Yet it was not clear how Rose could justify the Serbian officer's presence at the airport, since the U.N. headquarters in Tuzla is located elsewhere. Paul Risley, a U.N. spokesman, acknowledged: "If the idea was to get the airport open, it has failed." Tuesday, the Bosnian government's minister for relations with the United Nations, Hasan Muratovic, sent a letter to Rose that warned: "If for any reason the airport is not opened by Feb. 1, 1995, we demand that the United Nations begin to leave the premises of the airport from Feb. 1 and that this be unconditionally completed by March 1, 1995." The United Nations has spent a great deal of money refurbishing the airfield and maintaining a large staff there. To leave without being able to use the airfield to bring in food for the local population and supplies for the U.N. battalion based in Tuzla would amount to an expensive humiliation. Transmitted: 95-01-17 23:51:08 EST --------------------------------------------------------------- B o s N e w s - Jan. 19, 1995 ============================================================== To ANALYSIS: BOSNIAN CEASE-FIRE IS MERELY A PRELUDE TO RESUMPTION OF FIGHTING By ROGER COHEN c.1995 N.Y. Times News Service SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herzegovina Like its more than 30 predecessors, the cease-fire that took effect this month in Bosnia is slowly unraveling because the killing cannot be stopped while the political will to find a settlement is absent. Wednesday the Serbs flew close to 20 helicopter sorties to resupply their positions just west of Bihac, where Muslim-led government forces have taken the villages of Vedro Polje and Klokot in a counteroffensive begun after the cease-fire took effect on Jan. 1. Paul Risley, a spokesman for the United Nations in Sarajevo, said the Serbian sorties were "a clear violation of the no-fly zone over Bosnia." The helicopters took off from the Udbina airfield in the adjacent Serbian-held part of Croatia, where NATO has also banned military flights. The orties appear to signal a Serbian determination to retake the two villages. NATO bombed the runways at the Udbina airfield in November but spared the Serbian attack aircraft taking off from there at the insistence of U.N. commanders. Since then, the prospects for any military involvement by NATO in the Bosnian war have evaporated, and the latest Serbian flights predictably prompted no response. The Serbian sorties and the earlier government offensive were significant in that they illustrate the way the Muslim-led government and the Serbs are preparing for more war rather than considering options for peace. Moreover, the absence of any international response illustrates the complete disarray of peacemaking efforts, which now lack direction ideas or any momentum. Already, the ambitious so-called "cessation of hostilities" accord signed on Dec. 31 has frayed to the point where it is little more than a tenuous cease-fire, much like its ephemeral forebears in the 33-month-old war. Under the terms of the four-month agreement, utilities were supposed to be restored, but Sarajevo was virtually without gas Wednesday in temperatures well below freezing. Sniping was supposed to stop, but a young boy out sledding in the capital was shot and wounded by a Serbian sniper Tuesday. Plans to exchange liaison officers have only brought a paralyzing standoff between the Bosnian government and the United Nations at the airport in Tuzla. The U.N. commander, Lt. Gen. Sir Michael Rose, visited the area Wednesday in the hope of persuading government forces to end a blockade of his peacekeepers, but he did not succeed. The front lines of the rival armies were supposed to pull back to allow the interposing of U.N. troops, but this has not happened. Vital roads across the Sarajevo airport were supposed to open, but they remain closed. Prisoners were supposed to be exchanged, but remain in detention. Croatian Serb troops were supposed to withdraw from the Bihac area, and Croatian army units from the Livno region, but both remain in Bosnia. The basic reason for these failures is clear enough: With no prospect for a political settlement, there is no real incentive for either side to prepare for anything other than more fighting in the spring. The American ambassador to Bosnia, Victor Jackovic, left Wednesday for the United States for consultations aimed at reviving international peace proposals that have already been on the table for six months without producing a flicker of hope that they might lead to a settlement. Those proposals consist of a map offering 51 percent of Bosnia to a Muslim-Croat federation and 49 percent to the Serbs, who would have to give up a third of what they hold. Endless international contortions in recent months have not altered the fact that the Serbs find this map unacceptable. "There has been no movement from the Serbs and it really does seem to me that this whole process is going nowhere," said one Western diplomat. One obvious conclusion, after six months of fruitless diplomacy, might be to let this latest map rest in peace like its many predecessors and try to come up with something new. But the so-called "contact group" of mediators the United States, Russia, Britain, France and Germany insists that the map must be accepted as the prelude to any new political talks. The trouble is, no leverage exists to bring about such acceptance. Three forms of pressure on the Serbs had been outlined to make them accept the plan military, economic and psychological. The first has been abandoned. The second had not worked; prices in the Bosnian Serb stronghold of Pale are scarcely higher than in Belgrade. And the third evaporated when international talks with the Bosnian Serbs resumed, ending their supposed hermetic isolation. The only thing left is more talk. Western officials have therefore been engaged in recent months in an effort to make the plan seem firm to the Bosnian government, which has accepted it, while describing it as very flexible to the Serbs, who want to change it. But this attempt at a balancing act has not worked. The question now is, how long can this elaborate diplomatic dance around a rejected plan go on? The cease-fire must be accompanied by political progress if it is to take hold and mean something. But there is no sign such progress is forthcoming. The Bosnian government is already drawing its conclusions. This week, Ejup Ganic, the vice president of the Muslim-Croat federation in Bosnia, said, "We will respect the cease-fire agreement, but only when the Serbs accept the contact group plan." Such acceptance is, however, a remote possibility. The Clinton administration knows this. It also knows that it will again confront the politically explosive question of lifting the arms embargo against Bosnia at about the same time the four-month cease-fire expires. "We realize we have just over three months, at best, before a resumption and probably a worsening of the fighting," said one American official. "The problem is the Serbs continue to set the agenda and we have run out of ideas." NYT-01-18-95 1919EST -------------------------------------------------------------- B o s N e w s - Jan. 19, 1995 ================================================================ SARAJEVO, Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnian President Alija Izetbegovic met last night with US Ambassador to B-H Viktor Jakovich regarding the difficulties in implementing the Constitution of the Federation of Bosnia- Herzegovina. It was suggested that US Government initiate a meeting between the Bosnian Croats and Muslims. Mr. Izetbegovic proposed that the meeting be held by the end of this month. FRONTLINES, Bosnia and Herzegovina The separatist Serb forces yesterday continued to violate the cease-fire agreement in B-H. The general alert was put in effect in the Livno area yesterday afternoon after the separatist Serb forces initiated assaults on civilian targets in the district. HVO forces repelled an attempted infantry breakthrough. HVO positions on the Livno front came under Serb artillery and infantry fire today. No casualties were reported and the lines of confrontation remain unchanged. The cease-fire agreement is for the most part respected on the Orasje-Bosanski Samac front. Some sporadic small arms fire provocations were reported last night and this morning. A larger number of Serb military vehicles were reconnoitred around midnight en route Brcko-Loncar-Bosanski Samac, indicating that the Serbs continue to dispatch fresh forces to the region. SARAJEVO, Bosnia and Herzegovina Radio of Bosnia and Herzegovina accused nationalist Serb forces ringing Sarajevo of cutting heating gas to the capital during a winter cold snap despite a pledge to improve utilities as part of a cease-fire accord. Bosnian Radio said that Serb forces had shut down one of two valves outside the city. A second valve remained open and was providing just enough gas for the city's western suburbs. The UN said the reason for the low gas pressure was still unclear and could be due to cold weather. A UNPROFOR spokesman Lt. Col. Gary Coward confirmed pressure was down. He said that "there is some discussion whether this was due to the low temperatures rather than any particular action by anyone." ANKARA, Turkey Turkey's Foreign Ministry Ferhat Ataman said that Turkey sympathises with Croatia's decision to cancel the mandate for U.N. troops to stay on its territory. He added that the "situation must change but regretfully, it is obvious that UNPROFOR is not able to prevent the status quo in the region from becoming established," said Ataman. Ankara is reviewing a U.N. appeal to members to contribute another 6,500 troops for Bosnia and Herzegovina. ZAGREB, Croatia The Defence and National Security Council of Croatia met last night in order to discuss the current domestic and foreign affairs issues. It concluded that Croatia would stand by its decision to terminate the UNPROFOR mandate which becomes executive at 24:00 hours on 31st March. The Council agreed that that steps toward the peaceful reintegration of Croatia's occupied territories should continue even after the withdrawal of UN troops. GENEVA, Switzwerland Peace mediator Thorvald Stoltenberg announced that he was not surprised by the Croatian decision to terminate the UNPROFOR mandate. Referring to the Z-4 Plan and the reintegration of the UNPAs into Croatia's constitutional and legal system, Mr Stoltenberg said he did not want to approve the proposed plan until it has been studied by the UN Security Council and Secretary General Boutros-Ghali. The international peace mediators continue to insist on the importance of bilateral recognition between the ex-Yugoslav states, although, according to Mr Stoltenberg, Serb President Slobodan Milosevic is not prepared at present to recognise Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina within their internationally recognised borders. =================================================== TODAY'S ISSUES==> TOPIC: MILITARY & ARMS Ref: C1PN1176 Date: 01/20/95 From: STEVE SCHULTZ (Leader) Time: 07:19pm \/To: ALL (Read 11 times) Subj: BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA UPDATE Fighting in the Bihac area increased yesterday, with an increase in shelling to the east-southeast of the U.N. base near Velika Kladusa. 436 explosions were recorded by mid-afternoon. It is reported that rebel Serbs from the Krajina region of Croatia are moving heavy weapons south toward Bosnian Government front lines near Bihac. (Reuters/N.Y.T.) ----------------------------------------------------------------- ----- B o s N e w s - Jan. 20, 1995 ============================================ SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herzegovina The prisoners -- 49 from each side -- were released at opposite ends of Sarajevo's Brotherhood and Unity bridge, which lies between territory held by the Bosnian government and the separatist Serbs. The exchange was first after October '94 when two sides exchanged 292 prisoners. An estimated 1,500 still are being held. On Thursday, Bosnian Foreign Minister Irfan Ljubijankic reiterated that his side will not re-enter peace talks unless Serbs accept a peace plan they consistently have rejected. "The Bosnian government is looking for greater signs of movement on the Bosnian Serb side, and that's very legitimate and understandable," said Lt. Gen. Sir Michael Rose, the outgoing U.N. commander in Bosnia. Bosnian government negotiator Hasan Muratovic and a senior Bosnian Serb leader, Momcilo Krajisnik met at the Sarajevo airport in another attempt to reach agreement on reopening civilian roads into the city. The talks ended without result, but the two sides said they would meet again for more negotiations. Bosnian President Alija Izetbegovic was scheduled to arrive Friday in Cairo to hold talks with Egyptian leaders on the Bosnian conflict. Izetbegovic has planned a four-day visit to meet with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and other leaders on the situation in the mostly Muslim country in the former Yugoslavia, which remains locked in conflict with Serb forces. FRONTLINES -- Bosnia and Herzegovina UN spokesman Lt. Col. Christian Levaudel said that "there was an increase in shelling to the east-southeast of the UN base near Velika Kladusa." Heavy shelling rocked the northwest Bihac region Thursday and continued early Friday before tapering off. U.N. observers in northwest Bosnia counted 74 explosions Friday and more than 800 Thursday south of Velika Kladusa. The U.N. commander in Bihac, Col. Charles Lemieux, said: "Fighting continues in the northwest of the pocket between Abdic forces supported by the RSK (Serbs from Croatia's Krajina region) and members of the Bosnian army 5th Corps." Lemieux said that in the south of the enclave, where the mostly-Muslim 5th Corps is facing Bosnian Serb forces, the cease-fire was holding. Rebel Serbs from Croatia were reported moving heavy weapons toward the battlezone. UNPROFOR Commander for former Yugoslavia General Bertrand de Lapresle is to visit Bihac on Thursday in an attempt to strengthen the cease-fire in the region. According to UNPROFOR HQ in Sarajevo, the UN Commander is to meet with Bosnian Army 5th Corps Commander General Atif Dudakovic. In central Bosnia government troops in Bugojno fired artillery towards Serb-held Donji Vakuf and Serbs responded in what became a short artillery duel, a UN spokesman said. UN officials also reported scattered shelling and exchanges of gunfire in northeast, northwest and western Bosnia, citing 14 detonations in the Kalesija and Doboj, as well as around the besieged capital, Sarajevo. Separatist Serbs set up a roadblock leading into the government-held enclave of Srebrenica in eastern Bosnia, said a U.N. spokesman, Lt. Col. Gary Coward. He also reported a brief mortar exchange on front lines east of Tuzla. Western diplomats said that in areas where the cease-fire was being observed, it was probably largely because of snowy weather now gripping much of Bosnia and making it difficult to fight. The Serbs also were refusing permission for the UN to bring in materials to de-ice the runway at Sarajevo airport, a vital link in the international humanitarian effort, Coward said. He said the situation would become critical soon. A U.N helicopter flight scheduled to verify that government troops had belatedly left the DMZ was cancelled after the Serbs raised "unacceptable conditions," a UN spokesman said. Nearly 1,000 U.N. peacekeepers near Tuzla in north-central Bosnia are under blockade for a ninth day. The UN has tried for a year to persuade separatist Serbs to allow aid flights into Tuzla airport, and permitted them to dispatch a liaison officer to the area Jan. 8. That prompted the government's blockade, and its threat to ask the UN peacekeepers to leave by March 1 if the airport does not open. Masked gunmen believed to be Bosnian Serbs held up UN French soldiers outside Sarajevo and tried to steal their vehicle before being scared off. A UNPROFOR spokesman confirmed that such an incident took place on the frontline airport road on Sarajevo's western outskirts on Thursday but gave no details. GENEVA, Switzerland Mediators from the United States and key European nations met for the first time Thursday with counterparts from Islamic countries and agreed to work together to end the war in Bosnia. But the first meeting between the group and the "contact group" of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) did not produce any agreement on a full-scale meeting of foreign ministers, as asked for by Islamic states. The Islamic countries included Egypt, Iran, Malaysia, Morocco, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Senegal and Turkey. The OIC has long called for the United Nations to lift its arms embargo against Bosnia and Herzegovina. An OIC summit in Casablanca in December ended with a call for a ministerial meeting between the OIC contact group states and the major powers -- Britain, France, Germany, Russia and the USA. Diplomats said the two groups did agree that the current peace map proposal rejected by Bosnian Serbs must be accepted by them before negotiations on constitutional issues could begin. Muhamed Sacirbey, Bosnia's ambassador to the United Nations, said the joint approach would increase pressure on Bosnian Serbs to accept an international peace plan. "I don't think the Western contact group can afford a polite brush-off any more," he said. "They are coming to a realisation that any change for the better is not going to happen overnight and they must solidify their forces to maintain the pressure on the Serbian side." UNITED NATIONS During a closed-door meeting on Thursday attended by the new overall commander of UNPROFOR French General Bernard Janvier the UN received offers of several thousand additional troops, hundreds of armoured personnel carriers and more than 30 helicopters for service with the UN force in Bosnia. The offers were made by Bangladesh, Britain, Germany, Italy, Malaysia, Norway, Pakistan, Spain, Sweden, Turkey and the USA. The offers included: Bangladesh: a mechanised battalion and 30 military observers. (Some 1,230 troops already in B-H.) Britain: 15 helicopters (three Chinooks capable of lifting loads of 10 tons, six Army Air Corps Lynx including an advance party of two acting as communications aircraft, six Army Gazelle scout helicopters) with crews, 19 military observers and 200 ground crew. (Arround 3,350 troops now in B-H;) Germany: 100 unmanned armoured personnel carriers; Italy: 50 armoured personnel carriers, a field hospital and a number of military observers; Malaysia: a mechanised battalion of 899 troops and two mechanised companies totalling 467 personnel, and over 100 armoured personnel carriers. (About 1,500 Malaysian troops are currently in B-H;) Norway: five military observers and an unspecified number of armoured personnel carriers, subject to government approval. (Some 690 Norwegian troops now in B-H;) Pakistan: a 1,315-man fully-equipped mechanised battalion and 20 military observers. (Arround 3,000 Pakistani troops are now in B-H) Spain: 136 men in specialised teams and platoons. (The total Spanish contingent after this will be 1,426. It is based in the Jablanica and Mostar regions.) Sweden: 58 snow vehicles, subject to parliamentary approval. (Some 1,040 Swedish troops are serving in B-H;) Turkey: eight military observers, an air control team and a radar unit. (Some 1,450 Turkish troops already in B-H;) USA: 18 unmanned helicopters (13 attack helicopters and five observation helicopters), 50 unmanned armoured personnel carriers, night-vision devices, radios, ground surveillance radars and engineering equipment. Argentina was said to have offered to transfer a battalion of about 850 men now serving in Croatia which recently called for the removal of the 12,000 U.N. troops on its territory. Existing contingent of UNPROFOR forces in Bosnia and Herzegovina is arround 39,500 troops. BRUSSELS, Belgium A NATO source said on Friday that NATO's military commanders have submitted a plan to the political chiefs of the military alliance for withdrawing U.N. troops from Bosnia if the need arises. The plan is due to be reviewed next week by NATO's military committee after which it will have to be officially approved by the ambassadors, possibly in mid-February. 14 countries of the 16-member military alliance had offered troops, logistics or material for the possible pull-out. NATO's military commander said after a meeting in Brussels last month then he might need up to 45,000 troops backed by three aircraft carriers and as many as 70 extra warplanes to cover a possible withdrawal. "Our main concern in terms of the Bosnia planning is that whatever goes on in Croatia, we would still have access to the kind of facilities we need in Croatia for a Bosnian pullout," he said. ZAGREB, Croatia According to UNPROFOR spokesperson Michael Williams, UNPROFOR was looking into the possibilities of moving their headquarters to Sarajevo or some other neighbouring country because it would be difficult in a political sense for them to remain in Zagreb after the termination of the mandate on 31st March. Mr Williams said that the possibility of the UN peacekeepers remaining in the UNPAs and not in other parts of Croatia was absolutely out of the question, adding that the UN Security Council resolutions and the UNPROFOR mandate clearly recognise the sovereignty of Croatia within its internationally acknowledged borders. BELI MANASTIR, Croatia A court in a Serb-held area of Croatia for the first time Thursday convicted Dusan Boljevic, a 47 years old Serb soldier, of war-time atrocities and sentenced him to 20 years in prison. He was accused of killing at least six ethnic Croats and Hungarians during the 1991 war in Croatia. His trial was an obvious attempt by Croatia's Serbs to show the world they could carry out their own justice for war atrocities. Self-styled Serb states set up in Croatia and Bosnia, as well as Serbia proper, do not recognize an international tribunal created by the United Nations to deal with war crimes in former Yugoslavia. The war-crimes proceedings --the first by a Serb-dominated court since Yugoslavia's war started in 1991 -- was not recognized under international law. SARAJEVO, Bosnia and Herzegovina The UN said Thursday that Russia will pipe more natural gas to parts of former Yugoslavia, including the besieged city of Sarajevo. Major Martin Morris, a U.N. utilities expert, said Russia had agreed to pump more gas through a pipeline to Serbia and on through Serb territory in Bosnia to Sarajevo. It was now hoped Russia would boost the gas flow to Sarajevo to normal needs of 60,000-65,000 cubic metres an hour from 50,000 now and around 30,000 a year ago. SOURCES: