================================================== DATE=3/6/95 TYPE=BACKGROUND REPORT NUMBER=5-19817 TITLE=BOSNIA / MILITARY BYLINE=DOUGLAS ROBERTS DATELINE=SARAJEVO CONTENT= VOICED AT: INTRO: BOSNIAN GOVERNMENT LEADERS ARE EXPRESSING GROWING FRUSTRATION WITH THE FAILURE OF DIPLOMATIC EFFORTS TO END THE NEARLY THREE-YEAR-OLD CONFLICT IN THE BALKAN STATE. THERE ARE CLEAR INDICATIONS THE GOVERNMENT IN SARAJEVO IS PLANNING A BID TO RECAPTURE TERRITORY FROM SERB FORCES. FOR THE MOMENT, A NEW YEAR'S TRUCE CONTINUES TO HOLD IN MOST PARTS OF THE COUNTRY. VOA'S DOUGLAS ROBERTS IN SARAJEVO REPORTS MOST ANALYSTS BELIEVE IT IS JUST A MATTER OF TIME BEFORE FULL-SCALE WAR RESUMES. TEXT: FOR BOSNIA'S PRIME MINISTER, HARIS SILADZIC, THE MOMENT OF TRUTH IS FAST APPROACHING HERE. THE DIPLOMATIC PROCESS IS IN LIMBO (SUSPENDED), HE SAYS, AND THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY HAS NO ANSWER TO THE CONTINUING BOSNIAN SERB REJECTION OF THE PEACE PLAN PUT FORWARD BY THE FIVE-POWER CONTACT GROUP LAST YEAR. // SILADZIC ACT // AND WE SEE A CONFUSED, IMPOTENT, AMBIVALENT INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY TRYING TO FORGET ABOUT BOSNIA. THIS IS THE REAL PROBLEM. WE HAVE NOW A STALEMATE, UNFORTUNATELY, AND IT LOOKS LIKE--LOOKS LIKE -- WE ARE GOING TO HAVE MORE BLOODSHED. // END ACT // THE NEW YEAR'S TRUCE IS ALREADY BEGINNING TO FRAY. IT NEVER REALLY TOOK HOLD IN THE NORTHWESTERN ENCLAVE OF BIHAC. NOW, SNIPER FIRE IS ON THE RISE IN SARAJEVO, AND THERE ARE REPORTS OF BOSNIAN GOVERNMENT ATTACKS NORTH OF HERE. COLONEL GARY COWARD, SPOKESMAN FOR THE U-N PEACEKEEPING FORCE, SAYS BOTH SIDES ARE TAKING ADVANTAGE OF THE CEASE-FIRE TO GEAR UP FOR WHAT COULD PROVE TO BE A MAJOR NEW OUTBREAK OF HOSTILITIES. // COWARD ACT // THEY ARE, IN MILITARY PARLANCE, REARMING, REFITTING, RECONSTITUTING; AND ON THE BOSNIAN GOVERNMENT SIDE, TAKING THE OPPORTUNITY TO REORGANIZE THEIR ARMY. THEY ARE TRYING TO GO FROM WHAT WAS JUST ALMOST A GAGGLE (LOOSELY ORGANIZED COLLECTION) OF INFANTRY UNITS THAT WOULD GO OUT AND DO NOTHING MUCH MORE THAN STRONG FIGHTING PATROLS TO TRY AND CARRY OUT AN OFFENSIVE ACTION; THEY ARE TRYING TO REORGANIZE THEMSELVES INTO WHAT IS EFFECTIVELY A MANEUVER ARMY. // END ACT // BOSNIAN GOVERNMENT LEADERS MAKE NO ATTEMPT TO CONCEAL THE MILITARY BUILD-UP, NOR ARE THEY RETICENT TO TALK ABOUT ITS OBJECTIVES. VICE-PRESIDENT EJUP GANIC: // GANIC ACT // YES, WE ARE NOW TRYING TO REORGANIZE OUR ARMY TO SUSTAIN THIS PRESSURE AND, OF COURSE, TO MAKE SOME ADVANCES HERE AND THERE. AND I THINK WE WILL DO VERY WELL. // END ACT // THERE ARE ABOUT 140-THOUSAND TROOPS IN THE BOSNIAN ARMY NOW. AND WHEN COMBINED WITH THE 60-THOUSAND IN THE ALLIED CROAT MILITIA, IT GIVES SARAJEVO A DISTINCT MANPOWER ADVANTAGE OVER SERB FORCES. THE SERBS REMAIN SUPERIOR IN TERMS OF FIREPOWER. AND BOSNIAN LEADERS LOSE NO OPPORTUNITY TO DERIDE THE CONTINUING U-N ARMS EMBARGO THAT THEY SAY HAS PREVENTED THEM FROM ACHIEVING A BATTLEFIELD PARITY WITH THE SERBS. BUT CLEARLY, SOME ARMS ARE GETTING THROUGH TO THE SARAJEVO GOVERNMENT. LAST MONTH, U-N OBSERVERS RECORDED A SERIES OF UNIDENTIFIED HELICOPTER AND FIXED-WING AIRCRAFT FLYING LOW, AND POSSIBLY LANDING AT THE GOVERNMENT-CONTROLLED AIRPORT AT TUZLA, NORTHWEST OF HERE. THE MYSTERIOUS FLIGHTS DID NOT SHOW UP ON THE SOPHISTICATED TRACKING GEAR EMPLOYED BY NATO, AS PART OF ITS ENFORCEMENT OF THE NO-FLY ZONE OVER BOSNIA. THIS LED SOME U-N COMMANDERS TO SPECULATE THAT A FOREIGN GOVERNMENT, PROBABLY THE UNITED STATES, WAS DELIVERING ARMS TO BOSNIAN TROOPS IN VIOLATION OF THE U-N EMBARGO. U-N OFFICIALS LATER PUBLICLY ACKNOWLEDGED THERE WAS NO CLEAR EVIDENCE TO SUPPORT THAT CONTENTION. AND U-S OFFICIALS STRONGLY DENIED IT. BUT WHATEVER THE TRUTH OF WHAT HAS COME TO BE KNOWN AS THE TUZLA AERIAL MYSTERY, WESTERN DIPLOMATS SAY THERE IS NO DOUBT THAT ARMS SUPPLIES ARE BEING DELIVERED TO BOSNIAN GOVERNMENT FORCES BY LAND, AIR AND SEA. THE BOSNIAN ARMY IS NOW BETTER TRAINED, BETTER PREPARED AND BETTER EQUIPPED, SAYS A SENIOR WESTERN ENVOY HERE, WHO ALSO SEES A PARALLEL DECLINE IN THE MORALE, RESOURCES AND LOGISTICAL CAPABILITIES OF BOSNIAN SERB FORCES. HE ATTRIBUTES THE DECLINE IN PART TO THE SERBIAN GOVERNMENT'S DECISION TO CUT OFF SUPPLIES TO ITS ERSTWHILE ALLIES IN BOSNIA. AND HE ALSO BELIEVES THE BOSNIAN SERB MILITIA IS OVER-EXTENDED. THE BOSNIAN SERBS HAVE SEIZED 70 PERCENT OF THE COUNTRY, SAYS THE DIPLOMAT, AND THE QUESTION NOW IS CAN THEY HOLD IT. MOST ANALYSTS HERE BELIEVE A KEY FACTOR IN ANY NEW OFFENSIVE ACTION BY THE SARAJEVO GOVERNMENT WILL BE THE DEGREE OF COORDINATION BETWEEN THE LARGELY MUSLIM BOSNIAN ARMY AND THE CROAT MILITIA. THE TWO ALLIES RECORDED ONE NOTEWORTHY SUCCESS LATE LAST YEAR, CAPTURING THE TOWN OF KUPRES FROM SERB FORCES. THERE IS CONTINUED HAGGLING BETWEEN MUSLIM AND CROAT LEADERS ABOUT THE DIRECTION OF THEIR ONE-YEAR-OLD ALLIANCE, EMBODIED IN THE FEDERATION AGREEMENT SIGNED IN WASHINGTON. BUT WHILE POLITICAL TIES REMAIN STRAINED, SPOKESMEN FOR BOTH SIDES SAY MILITARY COOPERATION IS STEADILY INCREASING. ONE WESTERN DIPLOMAT HERE SAYS HE WOULD NOT BE AT ALL SURPRISED TO SEE ANOTHER COMBINED OFFENSIVE BY MUSLIM AND CROAT FORCES. AND HE SAYS THAT COULD WELL CREATE NEW REALITIES ON THE GROUND IN BOSNIA THAT COULD HAVE A SIGNIFICANT IMPACT ON THE PROSPECTS FOR A NEGOTIATED SETTLEMENT OF THE CONFLICT. (SIGNED) NEB/DBR/SKH/CF 06-Mar-95 11:07 AM EST (1607 UTC) NNNN Source: Voice of America ==================================================== DATE=3/10/95 TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT NUMBER=2-175323 TITLE= U-N/YUGO (L ONLY) BYLINE= DOUGLAS ROBERTS DATELINE= GENEVA CONTENT= VOICED AT: INTRO: U-N OFFICIALS SAY THEY HAD NO CHOICE BUT TO SUSPEND HUMANITARIAN AID DELIVERIES TO THE SERBS OF CROATIA AND THEIR ALLIES IN THE NORTHWEST BOSNIAN ENCLAVE OF BIHAC. SPOKESMEN FOR THE U-N HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR REFUGEES SAY THE SUSPENSION WILL REMAIN IN EFFECT UNTIL CROATIAN SERB FORCES LIFT THEIR BLOCKADE ON AID SHIPMENTS TO THOUSANDS OF MUSLIMS TRAPPED IN GOVERNMENT-HELD PARTS OF BIHAC. VOA'S DOUGLAS ROBERTS REPORTS FROM U-N-H-C-R HEADQUARTERS IN GENEVA. TEXT: U-N-H-C-R OFFICIALS HAVE BEEN WARNING FOR WEEKS THAT THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE IN BIHAC ARE FACING STARVATION BECAUSE OF THE CONTINUING BLOCKADE BY CROATIAN SERB FORCES. SPOKESWOMAN SYLVANA FOA SAYS ONLY FOUR AID CONVOYS HAVE BEEN ALLOWED INTO THE AREA IN THE PAST FEW WEEKS, DELIVERING LESS THAN TWENTY PERCENT OF THE FOOD REQUIRED FOR CIVILIANS TRAPPED IN GOVERNMENT-HELD PARTS OF THE ENCLAVE. HUMANITARIAN DELIVERIES HAVE BEEN FURTHER RESTRICTED BY CONTINUED FIGHTING AT THE NORTHERN END OF BIHAC BETWEEN BOSNIAN TROOPS AND MUSLIM REBELS LED BY FIKRET ABDIC, ALLIED WITH THE CROATIAN SERBS. MISS FOA SAYS THE DECISION TO CURTAIL AID SHIPMENTS TO THE CROATIAN SERBS AND MUSLIM REBELS WAS NOT TAKEN LIGHTLY. WE DO NOT NORMALLY PLACE CONDITIONS ON HUMANITARIAN DELIVERIES, SHE SAYS, BUT ADDS THAT THE SITUATION HAD BECOME INTOLERABLE. ///FOA ACT/// WE THINK MAYBE BY USING THEIR OWN TACTICS ON THEM, WE WILL SEND A VERY, VERY GOOD MESSAGE TO THE CROATIAN SERBS AND THE ABDIC FORCES THAT WE CAN NO LONGER SIMPLY GIVE THEM FOOD WHEN THEY BREAK THEIR PROMISES EVERY SINGLE TIME TO SAY THAT THE NEXT CONVOY IS GOING TO GET THROUGH. ///END ACT/// MISS FOA SAYS THE U-N-H-C-R USED THE SAME TACTIC AGAINST BOSNIAN SERB FORCES TWO YEARS AGO WHEN THEY BLOCKADED AID SHIPMENTS TO BESEIGED MUSLIM ENCLAVES IN THE EASTERN PART OF THE COUNTRY. THAT PROBLEM, SHE RECALLS, WAS RESOLVED WITHIN A WEEK. MISS FOA SAYS THE LATEST AID SUSPENSION WILL AFFECT ABOUT 110-THOUSAND PEOPLE IN TERRITORY CONTROLLED BY THE CROATIAN SERBS, AS WELL AS ABOUT 30 THOUSAND CIVILIANS LOYAL TO THE MUSLIM REBEL FORCE IN BOSNIA. THE U-N-H-C-R DECISION WAS CONVEYED IN A LETTER TO CROATIAN SERB LEADER MILAN MARTIC ON WEDNESDAY. SO FAR, THERE HAS BEEN NO RESPONSE. BUT U-N OFFICIALS SAY THEY HOPE TO RESUME NEGOTIATIONS WITH THE CROATIAN SERB LEADERSHIP EARLY NEXT WEEK. (SIGNED) NEB/DBR/MH/GPT 10-Mar-95 10:58 AM EST (1558 UTC) NNNN Source: Voice of America ================================================= DATE=3/9/95 TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT NUMBER=2-175291* TITLE=SLOVENIA DEFENSE MINISTER (L-ONLY) BYLINE=PHIL KURATA DATELINE=WASHINGTON CONTENT= VOICED AT: // RE-RUNNING WITH CORRECT CR NUMBER // INTRO: THE SLOVENIAN DEFENSE MINISTER JELKO KACIN IS IN WASHINGTON TO SIGN A MILITARY COOPERATION AGREEMENT WITH THE UNITED STATES. V-O-A CORRESPONDENT PHIL KURATA SPOKEN WITH MR. KACIN AND FILED THIS REPORT. TEXT: IN WASHINGTON, MR. KACIN SAID SLOVENIA'S DECISION TO SPLIT FROM THE FORMER YUGOSLAVIA IN 1991 AND BECOME INDEPENDENT WAS A CORRECT ONE. HE SAYS ALTHOUGH A TEN-DAY WAR WAS NEEDED FOR THE BREAKAWAY, SLOVENIA TODAY IS THRIVING UNDER POLITICAL PLURALISM, HUMAN RIGHTS AND A MARKET-BASED ECONOMY. SLOVENIA HAS JOINED NATO'S PARTNERSHIP FOR PEACE PROGRAM AND IS EAGER FOR FULL MEMBERSHIP IN THE NORTH ATLANTIC ALLIANCE. TODAY (FRIDAY), MR. KACIN AND U-S DEFENSE SECRETARY WILLIAM PERRY SIGN AN AGREEMENT TO STRENGTHEN MILITARY TIES. MR. KACIN SAYS IF SLOVENIA HAD OPTED TO REMAIN IN THE FORMER YUGOSLAVIA, IT WOULD TODAY BE EMBROILED IN THE BALKAN WARS. HE SAYS SLOVENIA'S SOUTHERN NEIGHBOR, CROATIA, COULD ERUPT IN FIGHTING IF CROATIAN PRESIDENT FRANJO TUDJMAN CARRIES THROUGH ON HIS THREAT TO EVICT THE U-N PEACEKEEPERS THERE AFTER MARCH. THE UNITED NATIONS HAS DEPLOYED PEACEKEEPERS AS A BUFFER BETWEEN CROATIAN GOVERNMENT FORCES AND REBEL CROATIAN SERBS WHO HAVE DECLARED THE BREAKAWAY REPUBLIC OF KRAJINA. PRESIDENT TUDJMAN SAYS THE U-N FORCES ARE PREVENTING HIM FROM CRUSHING THE REBELLION. MR. KACIN SAYS A FACE-SAVING WAY IS NEEDED FOR MR. TUDJMAN TO REVERSE HIS DECISION AND RETAIN THE U-N PRESENCE. THE SLOVENIAN DEFENSE MINISTER ALSO HAS PLEADED FOR A LIFTING OF THE U-N ARMS EMBARGO AGAINST THE FORMER YUGOSLAV REPUBLICS. HE SAYS SLOVENIA NEEDS WEAPONS TO IMPROVE ITS ABILITY TO DEFEND ITSELF. HE SAYS THE BOSNIAN GOVERNMENT ALSO IS UNFAIRLY DEPRIVED OF WEAPONS IN ITS FIGHT WITH THE BOSNIAN SERBS. THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITY SAYS THE ARMS EMBARGO IS NEEDED TO ENCOURAGE THE WARRING PARTIES TO NEGOTIATE. MR. KACIN SAYS THE BOSNIAN SERBS FAVOR THE ARMS EMBARGO BECAUSE THEY ARE SUPPLIED WITH WEAPONS FROM THE SERBIAN GOVERNMENT IN BELGRADE. THE SERBIAN GOVERNMENT DENIES THIS. MR. KACIN SAYS ARMING THE BOSNIAN GOVERNMENT WOULD HELP EQUALIZE THE FIGHT AND COULD ENCOURAGE PEACE TALKS. THE CLINTON ADMINISTRATION IS FOLLOWING THE WESTERN EUROPEAN LEAD AND REFUSING TO SHIP ARMS TO THE BOSNIAN GOVERNMENT. BUT SOME U-S LAWMAKERS FROM THE REPUBLICAN PARTY WOULD LIKE TO CHANGE THAT POLICY. (SIGNED) NEB/PK/LWM 09-Mar-95 8:35 PM EST (0135 UTC) NNNN Source: Voice of America ----------------------------------------------------------------- ------- B o s N e t - Mar. 10, 1995 ========================================== Perry and Dole on air strikes and embargo MANHATTAN, Kansas (9 Mart) Defense Secretary William Perry said Thursday he do not see the prospects of a near-term political solution in Bosnia. In a speech at Kansas State University he stressed that Washington should continue its policy of trying to limit the conflict and protect civilians in Bosnia. Perry said calls by some critics of Clinton administration policy in Bosnia for air strikes against Serb forces and a unilateral lifting of the arms embargo were dangerously flawed and could draw USA ground forces into the fighting. The secretary added that even if the USA were to lift the arms embargo the bulk of the arms commitment would likely come from the USA, which would have to transport supplies and train Bosnian soldiers. Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole sharply criticized Perry's speech and noted the administration had advocated a "lift and strike" strategy until Britain and France came out against it. Dole said other NATO countries supported lifting the embargo and would join in if the United States took the lead. He vowed to take up bipartisan legislation mandating a unilateral lifting of the embargo if no peace was reached in coming weeks. UN stays in Croatia??? Under pressure from the United States and other allies, Croatia is ready to allow UN troops to stay on its soil but is setting a high price, Western diplomatic sources said on Wednesday. The change of mood apparently came after a visit on Monday by USA Assistant Secretary of State Richard Holbrooke, who aimed to persuade Croatian president Tudjman to change his mind. In Washigton, State Department spokeswoman Christine Shelly insisted that talks between Croatian President Franjo Tudjman and Assistant Secretary of State Richard Holbrooke were not the failure. She gave no details, including whether or not Tudjman gave Holbrooke any indication he might reconsider Croatia's decision to force UN peacekeepers to leave the country. UN officials said Thursday they saw new signs of flexibility from both the Zagreb government and rebel Serbs in talks to cut a deal aimed at preventing the withdrawal of UN forces from Croatia. Kofi Annan, the undersecretary-general in charge of peacekeeping, told contributors to the UNPROFOR that "there are signs of flexibility" by the Croatian government but an agreement had still not been completed, according to participants. Bosnian Foreign Minister Irfan Ljubijankic said on Tuesday talks in Britain had made him more confident Croatia would not carry out its threat to eject UN peacekeepers, a step which would further unsettle the Balkans. "What I heard at my meetings today encouraged me that Croatia will agree to some kind of presence of international troops. It is not already agreed but I was told Holbrooke's visit was pretty encouraging," he said. The United Nations has rejected informal proposals to replace peace-keepers with unarmed UN monitors along Croatia's international border, UN officials say. There is also some recognition by the UN and the West that any future force will need a different mandate, name and perhaps additional functions such as patrolling the border to Bosnia and Yugoslavia and helping to regulate economic agreements between Croatia and the Krajina Serbs. In return for concessions, Tudjman wants the UNPROFOR to change its name, that troops be deployed along Croatia's international borders with Serbia and Bosnia in order to cut off the supply of arms to the Serbs. Joseph Kruzel, deputy assistant secretary of defense, told ABC Television this week Croatia was being warned that if UN peacekeepers are forced out "you will increase the risk of war and if there is war, we think you will lose. And if you lose, you are on your own because the West will have no sympathy." NATO to agree on pullout plan? BRUSSELS, Belgium (March 8) NATO sources said alliance's military authorities were pushing for the go ahead to "preposition" forces so as to be able to carry out swiftly an order to evacuate the UN mission in former Yugoslavia. One NATO source said that the NATO Council, the alliance's policy-making arm, was anxious not to send out the wrong signals while delicate diplomatic efforts were underway to try and head off a threatened new round of fighting. The council, made up of ambassadors from the alliance's 16 members, was briefed on the state of the pullout plan on Wednesday following computer trials in Germany a few weeks ago. Approval to move to the stage of on-the-ground preparations could now come as early as next week, one source said. Last month, the alliance allowed the military to begin building the communications structure which would be used in any NATO-led withdrawal of UNPROFOR forces. NATO sources also stress any pullout plan has to remain flexible enough so it can be adapted to conditions on the ground at the time of the operation, expected to be fraught with danger for some 40,000 troops, half of them American. The current plan focuses on pulling out UN peacekeepers from Bosnia if fighting flares when a shaky ceasefire expires at the end of April. Separatist Serbs blast Croatian-Bosnian war pact BELGRADE, Serbia (March 9) The separatist Bosnian Serb leadership has denounced a new Croatian-Bosnian government military alliance as a signal for a "final battle" enveloping Croatia and Bosnia. Momcilo Krajisnik, a top official in the breakaway Serb realm inside Bosnia said that this "final battle" can be expected "to be final and decisive, the final attack on the RS and the Republic of Serb Krajina (Serb-held areas in Croatia), for which we must be prepared and to which we must respond with all the means at our disposal." Meanwhile on Wednesday Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic scored an important victory over radical breakaway Serbs in Croatia. The parliament of the breakaway Krajina Serb region in Croatia voted 37-25 on Wednesday against holding a no-confidence vote against its prime minister, Borislav Mikelic, as demanded by its president, Milan Martic. Martic, originally a Milosevic disciple, has recently aligned the RSK more closely with the Bosnian Serbs and a joint military command was established two weeks ago. His failure to depose Mikelic might open a window of opportunity for fresh talks with Croatia to head off remewed fighting once UN soldiers start withdrawing. "It's a victory for Milosevic as Mikelic is Milosevic's man while Martic has turned to Pale," a Belgrade analyst said, referring to the separatist Bosnian Serbs' base town near Sarajevo. Aid workers held in Bosnia said in good health PARIS, France (March 9) A French parliamentarian visited five aid workers held by Bosnian Serbs near Sarajevo on Thursday and reported that they were in good health, the French Foreign Ministry said. Jean-Francois Deniau "managed to meet the members of the convoy of Pharmaciens sans Frontieres this afternoon and according to the information he sent...they are in good health," a Foreign Ministry spokesman said. ====================================================== DATE=3/12/95 TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT NUMBER=2-175400 TITLE=U-N CROATIA (L ONLY) BYLINE=SONJA PACE DATELINE=COPENHAGEN CONTENT= VOICED AT: INTRO: CROATIAN PRESIDENT FRANJO TUDJMAN SAYS HE WILL ALLOW U-N PEACEKEEPING TROOPS TO REMAIN IN HIS COUNTRY EVEN AFTER THEIR MANDATE EXPIRES AT THE END OF THIS MONTH. AT A JOINT NEWS CONFERENCE WITH U-S VICE PRESIDENT AL GORE IN COPENHAGEN, MR. TUDJMAN SAID HIS COUNTRY NOW WANTS A SCALED-DOWN U-N PRESENCE WITH A REDEFINED MANDATE. SONJA PACE REPORTS FROM COPENHAGEN. TEXT: MR. TUDJMAN SAID HIS GOVERNMENT SEEKS A NEW MANDATE FOR INTERNATIONAL PEACEKEEPERS TO POSITION TROOPS ALONG CROATIA'S BORDERS WITH NEIGHBORING SERBIA AND BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINIA. //TUDJMAN ACT// CROATIA WILL SEEK AN INTERNATIONAL PRESENCE IN CROATIA THAT WILL CONTROL THE INTERNATIONAL BORDERS BETWEEN THE REPUBLIC OF CROATIA AND THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF YUGOSLAVIA, SERBIA AND MONTENEGRO, AND BETWEEN THE CROATIA AND THE REPUBLIC OF BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINIA, AT SUCH PLACES WHERE PRINCIPAL BORDER CROSSINGS ARE NOT NOW CONTROLLED BY AUTHORITIES OF THE REPUBLIC OF CROATIA. //END ACT// PRESIDENT TUDJMAN SAID A FORCE OF ABOUT FIVE THOUSAND PEACEKEEPERS SHOULD BE ENOUGH TO DO TO THE JOB. UNTIL NOW, A 12-THOUSAND-MEMBER U-N FORCE HAS ONLY SERVED AS A BUFFER BETWEEN GOVERNMENT TROOPS AND THE AREA CONTROLLED BY REBEL CROATIAN SERBS. PRESIDENT TUDJMAN HAS SAID THE U-N PRESENCE ONLY HELPED CEMENT REBEL CONTROL OVER OCCUPIED AREAS. AND HE HAD INSISTED ON NOT RENEWING THE CURRENT U-N MANDATE WHEN IT EXPIRES MARCH 31ST. U-S VICE PRESIDENT AL GORE WELCOMED PRESIDENT TUDJMAN'S DECISION TO ALLOW A CONTINUED U-N PRESENCE. //GORE ACT// I WOULD LIKE TO SAY THIS IS VERY GOOD NEWS. I CONSIDER THIS A MAJOR STEP AWAY FROM WAR AND TOWARDS PEACE. //END ACT// MR. GORE PROMISED AN AMERICAN-LED EFFORT IN THE SECURITY COUNCIL TO REDEFINE THE U-N MISSION IN CROATIA. //GORE ACT// WE ARE GOING TO BEND EVERY EFFORT TO SECURE THIS NEW ARRANGEMENT AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE AND HOPEFULLY BY THE END OF MARCH. WHAT THE ANNOUNCEMENT TODAY MEANS IS THAT IN THE EVENT THAT TASK SHOULD NOT BE COMPLETED BY THAT DATE, ON AN INTERIM BASIS THE PRESENCE WILL CONTINUE AS WE ACTIVELY SEEK TO COMPLETE THE NEGOTIATIONS FOR THE NEW ARRANGEMENT. // END ACT// THE DEAL FOLLOWS MAJOR DIPLOMATIC EFFORTS TO KEEP A U-N PRESENCE IN CROATIA. THE POSSIBLE WITHDRAWAL OF THE PEACEKEEPERS THE END OF THIS MONTH HEIGHTENED FEARS OF RENEWED FIGHTING BETWEEN CROATIAN GOVERNMENT FORCES AND REBEL SERBS. AND THERE WAS CONCERN THAT IT COULD RE-IGNITE THE CONFLICT IN NEIGHBORING BOSNIA, WHERE A SHAKY CEASE-FIRE IS DUE TO EXPIRE MAY FIRST. THE AGREEMENT WAS ANNOUNCED AT A JOINT NEWS CONFERENCE IN COPENHAGEN, WHERE MR. GORE AND MR. TUDJMAN WERE ATTENDING THE U-N WORLD SUMMIT FOR SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT. (SIGNED) NEB/LTJ-T/BG 12-Mar-95 1:51 PM EST (1851 UTC) NNNN Source: Voice of America =================================================== DATE=3/15/95 TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT NUMBER=2-175579 TITLE=U-S / BOSNIA FEDERATION (L-O) BYLINE=DAVID GOLLUST DATELINE=STATE DEPARTMENT CONTENT= VOICED AT: INTRO: U-S SECRETARY OF STATE WARREN CHRISTOPHER (TODAY/THURSDAY) LEADS WASHINGTON CEREMONIES MARKING THE FIRST ANNIVERSARY OF THE AGREEMENT CREATING A FEDERATION OF BOSNIAN CROATS AND MUSLIMS. AS V-O-A'S DAVID GOLLUST REPORTS, THE CLINTON ADMINISTRATION IS SEEKING TO REINFORCE THE TROUBLED FEDERATION AMID GROWING CONCERN ABOUT A POSSIBLE BREAKDOWN OF THE BOSNIAN CEASE-FIRE. TEXT: CLINTON ADMINISTRATION OFFICIALS FREELY CONCEDE THAT THE CONFEDERATION -- CREATED UNDER AN AGREEMENT SIGNED AT WASHINGTON'S BLAIR HOUSE A YEAR AGO -- HAS NOT TAKEN SHAPE AS FULLY OR RAPIDLY AS HAD BEEN HOPED. AND THEY ARE MAKING A MAJOR EVENT OUT OF THE ANNIVERSARY CEREMONY WITH THE HOPE OF INJECTING NEW LIFE INTO -- AND GENERATING ADDITIONAL FINANCIAL SUPPORT FOR -- THE UNION OF BOSNIAN CROATS AND MUSLIMS. SECRETARY OF STATE WARREN CHRISTOPHER WILL LEAD THE STATE DEPARTMENT OBSERVANCE AND WILL BE JOINED BY A LONG LIST OF FOREIGN OFFICIALS AND DIPLOMATS, INCLUDING CROATIAN PRESIDENT FRANJO TUDJMAN AND THE PRESIDENT OF THE FEDERATION, KRESIMIR ZUBAK. THE CEREMONIES WILL INCLUDE THE FOUNDING OF A NEW ORGANIZATION LED BY THE UNITED STATES AND THE EUROPEAN UNION THAT IS TO GENERATE FINANCIAL SUPPORT FOR THE FEDERATION AND ITS INSTITUTIONS. A SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL WHO BRIEFED REPORTERS HERE SAID THE MEETING REFLECTS A NEW DIPLOMATIC PUSH BY THE UNITED STATES IN BOSNIA, WHERE, AS HE PUT IT: "THE CLOUDS OF WAR ARE CLEARLY DARKENING." THIS FOLLOWS THE SUCCESSFUL U-S-LED EFFORT TO DEFUSE THE CRISIS IN CROATIA SPAWNED BY MR. TUDJMAN'S DEMAND -- WITHDRAWN LAST WEEK-- THAT U-N PEACEKEEPING FORCES BEGIN LEAVING THE COUNTRY. THE SENIOR U-S OFFICIAL SAID THE SUCCESS OF THE FEDERATION IN BOSNIA IS FUNDAMENTAL FOR HOPES TO EXTEND THE FALTERING BOSNIAN CEASE-FIRE -- DUE TO EXPIRE MAY FIRST -- AND TO EVENTUALLY PROD THE SERBS INTO ACCEPTING AN OVERALL SETTLEMENT ALONG THE LINES PROPOSED BY THE FIVE-NATION CONTACT GROUP. IF THE FEDERATION DOES NOT HOLD TOGETHER -- THE OFFICIAL SAID -- IT IS, AS HE PUT IT "ALL OVER" FOR THE MUSLIMS AND THE CROATS IN BOSNIA. THE ONLY WAY TO DEAL WITH THE SERBS WHO CONTROL MOST OF THE COUNTRY, HE WENT ON, IS TO SHOW SOLIDARITY AND OPPOSITION TO THEIR BEHAVIOR. HE ALSO SAID THERE WOULD BE "NO HOPE" FOR AN INDEPENDENT AND VIABLE BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA IF THE SHAKY UNION OF MUSLIMS AND CROATS COLLAPSED INTO RENEWED INTER-COMMUNAL FIGHTING LIKE THAT WHICH OCCURRED IN 1993. (SIGNED) NEB / DAG / BD/BG 15-Mar-95 5:05 PM EST (2205 UTC) NNNN Source: Voice of America =================================================== TODAY'S ISSUES==> TOPIC: MILITARY & ARMS Ref: C3LL1215 Date: 03/17/95 From: STEVE SCHULTZ (Leader) Time: 05:20pm \/To: ALL (Read 12 times) Subj: MACEDONIA WANTS CHANGE IN U.N. STATUS Macedonia is demanding that U.N. peacekeeping forces in the country be made independent of U.N. forces in the former Yugoslavia. Foreign Minister Stevi Crvenkovski said that Macedonia is seeking a new U.N. mandate with a "separate military, logistical and administrative structure under a special representative" for the 1,100 peacekeepers in the country. Macedonia wants an independent operation not linked to other countries. (A.F.P., Stefan Krause, OMRI, Inc.) =================================================== TODAY'S ISSUES==> TOPIC: MILITARY & ARMS Ref: C3LL2576 Date: 03/17/95 From: STEVE SCHULTZ (Leader) Time: 05:42pm \/To: ALL (Read 10 times) Subj: BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA UPDATE GEN Vlado Santic, a Bosnian Croat officer, has been missing since March 8. Bosnian Croats have accused elements of the Bosnian Government of kidnapping Santic. A Government official said that he was most likely killed after a brawl erupted at a private party in the Bihac region. (Reuters/N.Y.T.) OMRI DAILY DIGEST No. 55, 17 March 1995 CROATIAN AND MUSLIM LEADERS GATHER IN WASHINGTON. Meetings took place on 16 March to mark the first anniversary of the U.S.-sponsored CroatianMuslim federation in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Vecernji list on 17 March said that Presidents Franjo Tudjman and Bill Clinton held a private discussion for about an hour before Tudjman went on to New York to talk with UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros Ghali. Both meetings presumably focused on the future of international peacekeeping operations in Croatia. Bosnian Croat leader and federal President Kresimir Zubak was the only original signatory present in Washington, although Bosnian President Alija Izetbegovic took part via a video hookup while visiting Bonn. From there, he told reporters that there will be no extension of the current cease-fire unless the Serbs accept the Contact Group's peace plan, since the present arrangement only freezes Serbian conquests. In Washington, Bosnian and federal Vice President Ejup Ganic called on Clinton to pressure Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic to recognize his government's sovereignty over Bosnia and Herzegovina. -- Patrick Moore, OMRI, Inc. SANTIC AFFAIR CASTS SHADOW OVER FESTIVITIES. While the VOA's broadcasts in Serbo-Croatian on 17 March stress the positive aspects of the federation, the BBC's emphasize its problems. One commentator called it "an anti-Serbian political idea" that has achieved nothing except to stop the 1993 Croatian-Muslim war. The BBC discussed at length the tensions stemming from the kidnapping in the Bihac pocket on 8 March of the Bosnian Croat commander there, General Vlado Santic. The Muslims have admitted that their military police were last seen with him after a drinking session but deny knowing where he is now. One theory holds that he has been killed in a settling of old scores, while another suggests it is the work of rogue Muslims who have never wanted peace with the Croats. The BBC and Nasa Borba both quote Bosnian Croat representatives as saying they are "freezing" official contacts with the Muslims until the affair is cleared up. -- Patrick Moore, OMRI, Inc. DIFFERING AGENDAS IN THE FORMER YUGOSLAVIA? Nasa Borba on 17 March, reporting on apparent differences of strategies among the five countries of the Contact Group, says Russia is interested primarily in shoring up its status as a great power. Britain and France, the paper continues, wants to prevent conflict; but fears of an alleged American or German preponderance in the post-1989 world have long been evident in their policies in the former Yugoslavia. Those policies often seem aimed at shoring up the Serbs and blocking the Croats and Muslims, who are perceived in London and Paris as clients of Bonn or Washington. The article adds that in reality, the U.S.'s "special relationship" in Europe is now with Germany, not Britain. The Frankfurter Allge-meine Zeitung picks up the theme, noting that Washington and Bonn are in the forefront of efforts to bolster the Croatian-Muslim alliance. That federation "is the cornerstone on which the Contact Group's peace plan rests, not the other way around," the German daily comments. -- Patrick Moore, OMRI, Inc. ----------------------------------------------------------------- ------- B o s N e t - Mar. 17, 1995 ========================================== Source AP, VOA ``The federation is the way to build Bosnia-Herzegovina from the inside,'' said Ejup Ganic, the Bosnian vice president, who is also the vice president of the Bosno-Croat federation. ``... We have succeeded in building the federation house from the roof -- we have built less on the ground.'' Ganic complained that the Croat side had just imposed punitive taxes on all goods going crossing through territory into Bosnian gov't controlled areas. And the two parties failed to integrate their armies, police forces and administrative structures. Croatian President Franjo Tudjman said the federation was ``the only way in which the Croat and Muslim national entities in Bosnia can preserve their national existence and live in peace and cooperation.'' US Secretary of State Warren Christopher said the federation challenges ``a dangerous myth, that people of different communities cannot live together.'' The federation ``one of the best arguments for peace, and one of the best arguments for hope.'' He said the United States would be contributing $30 million to the federation this year. Christopher later met with Tudjman, Ganic and Zubak, the federation's president. Assistant Secretary of State Richard Holbrooke commented about the tensions between the two parties: ``That kind of division is tragic, because the only beneficiaries are the Serbs ... We have said many times: if the Bosnian Croats and Muslims fight each other again then it's all over... We are going back to Bosnia, where the clouds of war are darkening,'' he said. Source AP According to the U.N. spokesman Maj. Herve Gourmelon, a British patrol came under ``deliberate and sustained''machine-gun and cannon fire from nationalist Bosnian Serb positions near Gorazde, in eastern Bosnia Wednesday. No one was hurt. A U.N. Quick Reaction Forces team was also dispatched to the scene, where it came under fire as well. They were able to escape only under the cover of darkness, U.N. spokesperson Gary Coward said. And U.N. engineering team also was fired on in the southwest Wednesday, Coward said. No injuries were reported. U.N. aid officials have warned of looming starvation and widespread malnutrition in the northwestern Bihac area. The Croatia's Krajina Serbs along with Bosnian Serbs and their allies refuse to let aid convoys in. The last convoy reached Bihac on Feb. 28. Fighting and sniping increased in and around Sarajevo. Nationalist Bosnian Serbs closed a civilian route in and out of the city, Mt. Igman mountain road within range of Serb guns is now the only land route out of Sarajevo. Nationalist Bosnian Serb authorities also have been blocking aid convoys from reaching Sarajevo. The humanitarian airlift to the city was suspended Sunday after bullets hit a plane carrying Yasushi Akashi. ``It is really to be expected that the war will continue and we are ready for that,'' Gen. Rasim Delic, commander of Bosnian Army troops, told the Sarajevo daily Oslobodjenje Thursday. ``We are putting on hold all talks and negotiations with the Muslim side until we get information on what happened to Maj. Gen. Vlado Santic,'' said Ivan Bender, speaker of the self-proclaimed Bosnian Croat parliament. He explicitly blamed Gen. Dudakovic, who is ``is directly responsible for the fate of our general.'' The Bosnian Croats HVO militia's Gen. Tihomir Blaskic, claimed that the Bosnian commander ``assaulted Gen. Santic the night the latter disappeared.'' He speculated that Santic was arrested on orders from Dudakovic. Gen. Dudakovic, who commands Bosnian Army forces fighting nationalist Serbs in the Bihac area, said Wednesday he had arrested some of his military police in connection with Santic's disappearance. He called the abduction ``a criminal act'' that should not affect Bosno-Croat relationship. ``This act was undertaken by enemies of the ... federation,'' said lawmaker Mirsad Ceman. The president of the federation, Bosnian Croat leader Kresimir Zubak, also hinted last week that Serbs could have been behind Santic's abduction. ``They know our phone number, they know how to get in touch with us,'' said Ast. Secretary of State R. Holbrooke, whose attempts to lure nationalist Bosinan Serbs to accept the Contact Group's peace arrangement were unsuccesfull. Holbrooke said the Clinton administration would select a retired senior American military officer to advise them. ``We want peace soon but we are also ready to fight,'' Alija Izetbegovic, Bosnian president said after meeting with officials in Bonn, Germany. ----------------------------------------------------------------- ------- B o s N e t - Mar. 17, 1995 ========================================== SERBS STEP UP SHELLING, MURDER IN SARAJEVO. Serb nationalists increased sniping attacks in Sarajevo, and bombarded the capital over the weekend despite a NATO "ultimatum" that is supposed to ban heavy-weapons attacks on the city. NATO took no action except to increase surveillance flights over Bosnia. Six people were killed and more than a dozen wounded, including a 49-yearold woman cut down by sniper fire and a 66-year-old man killed in a mortar explosion. Tram service again was shut, after Serbs repeatedly fired at packed streetcars. The UN reported that two girls, 9 and 11, were shot to death in the Serboccupied Grbavica district. A Bosnian minister expressed deep condolences at the girls' death and promised an investigation; shortly after, a Bosnian soldier was detained for questioning. Although Serb shelling and sniping has murdered over 10,000 residents of Sarajevo, including more than 1,500 Bosnian children; and although Serbs have been constantly shooting at unarmed civilians in Sarajevo for three years of war, Serb nationalist leader Karadzic expressed outrage at the sniping deaths on Serb-occupied territory, and closed the "Blue Road" out of Sarajevo in retaliation. However, Karadzic has not expressed regret for the murder of thousands of unarmed Sarajevans; in fact, he has boasted that Sarajevans -- the city's residents, not the Bosnian army -- would be so decimated that they would "no longer count the dead, but count the living." Sarajevo's airport, meanwhile, has again been closed to aid flights due to repeated Serb shooting at planes there. Gunfire hit a Red Cross plane Saturday and the plane carrying a top UN official Sunday; there was more shooting Monday. With the airport shut and Blue Roads closed, basic food supplies such as cooking oil and sugar have disappeared from city markets, and other prices are soaring. AP reports that 1 lb. of coffee now costs more than half the average monthly salary in Sarajevo. CONVOY ATTACK. Bosnian Serbs fired 19 mortar bombs at a UN humanitarian- aid convoy in north Bosnia, forcing the UN to close a main aid route, Reuters reports. The trucks were on a road near Ribnica, linking central Bosnia with the refugee-packed city of Tuzla. In another assault, Bosnian Serbs stopped a French armored vehicle and kidnaped a Bosnian woman working for the UN as a translator. The UN soldiers did nothing to protect her. The UN also reports that Serbs are refusing to allow fuel deliveries for UN soldiers in Sarajevo and three besieged eastern enclaves. This is hampering their abilities to mount anti-sniper patrols and monitor "cease-fire" violations. =============================================== DATE=3/19/95 TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT NUMBER=2-175717 TITLE=SARAJVO FIGHTING (S ONLY) BYLINE=DANIEL YOVICH DATELINE=SARAJEVO CONTENT= VOICED AT: INTRO: U-N TROOPS OPENED FIRE ON BOSNIAN SERB SOLDIERS NEAR THE SARAJEVO AIRPORT AFTER AN ATTACK ON A U-N CARGO PLANE. U-N OFFICIALS SAY IT WAS AN APPROPRIATE MILITARY RESPONSE TO CONTINUE ATTACKS ON AIRCRAFT AT THE U-N CONTROLLED AIRFIELD. DANIEL YOVICH REPORTS FROM SARAJEVO. TEXT: UNITED NATIONS PEACEKEEPERS HAVE RETALIATED WITH AUTOMATIC CANNONFIRE, TARGETING A BOSNIAN SERB MOTOR POSITION BELIEVED TO HAVE FIRED ON A U-N CARGO PLANE. U-N PROTECTION FORCE SPOKESMAN, LIEUTENANT COLONEL GARY COWARD, SAYS FRENCH SOLDIERS FIRED 10 20-MILLIMETER ROUNDS FROM AN ARMORED PERSONNEL CARRIER AFTER THE CREW SAW BOSNIAN SERBS SOLDIERS FIRE ONE MORTAR ROUND THAT LANDED ABOUT 50 METERS FROM THE U-N PLANE. NO U-N PERSONNEL WERE INJURED IN THE INCIDENT. COLONEL COWARD SAYS NO DAMAGE ASSESSMENT OF THE BOSNIA SERB POSITION IS AVAILABLE. THE MORTAR ATTACK IS THE LATEST IN A SERIES OF CEASE-FIRE VIOLATIONS THAT HAS U-N OFFICIALS WORRIED. NATO WAR PLANES HAVE BEEN PATROLLING THE SKIES OVER SARAJEVO IN RESPONSE TO A RAPIDLY DETERIORATING SITUATION. COLONEL COWARD SAYS THE U-N MILITARY RETALIATION IS MEANT TO SEND A MESSAGE TO THE BOSNIAN SERB ARMY COMMANDERS. FURTHER FORCE IS NOT BEING RULED OUT, HE SAYS, IF AGGRESSIVE ACTS CONTINUE. (SIGNED) NEB/DY/CB-T/BG 19-Mar-95 1:45 PM EST (1845 UTC) NNNN Source: Voice of America ======================================================== Sun, 19 Mar 1995 19:24:51 -0800 TIME RUNNING OUT TO DEVELOP PERMANENT PEACE PLAN New York Times WASHINGTON -- Having reduced the risk of war in Croatia by persuading it not to expel U.N. peacekeepers, President Clinton's foreign-policy team is now seeking to prevent stepped-up fighting in Bosnia, but many officials predict a major outbreak of hostilities with the arrival of spring weather. With a four-month cease-fire due to expire at the end of April, Clinton's foreign-policy advisers acknowledge that there is almost no chance of getting Bosnia's Muslim-dominated government and the country's rebel Serbs to agree to a peace plan by then. ''The clouds of war are darkening,'' said Assistant Secretary of State Richard Holbrooke, the administration's point man on Bosnia. ''The four-month period, the cease-fire, is running out. The incidents are increasing.'' After receiving arms from abroad this winter despite an international embargo, the government appears eager to attack Serbian lines to regain some of the 70 percent of Bosnia's territory held by the Serbs. For their part, the Bosnian Serbs, helped by Croatian Serbs, have mounted an offensive against the Muslim pocket of Bihac in northwestern Bosnia, where the cease-fire never took hold. All but abandoning hope that the warring factions would resolve their differences soon, Secretary of State Warren Christopher proposed a new stopgap policy last week that angered the Bosnian government: extending the fraying cease-fire beyond its April 30 expiration. CRITICISM FROM BOSNIANS Bosnian leaders immediately criticized the Christopher proposal, arguing that it would make it easier for the Serbs to solidify their control of the territory they had seized. In an interview, Vice President Ejup Ganic of Bosnia said his country had originally insisted on a cease-fire of no more than four months for just this reason. He also contended that his government had never received the quid pro quo that was promised it for accepting the cease-fire. The United States, Britain, France, Germany, and Russia -- the so-called ''contact group'' countries -- were supposed to exert pressure on Bosnia's Serbs to accept a peace plan that would reduce their holdings to 49 percent of Bosnia's land. Last week, Ganic and other Bosnian leaders called for ending the cease-fire, lifting the international arms embargo against Bosnia and having the North Atlantic Treaty Organization make good on its threats to bomb Bosnian Serbian positions when the Serbs flouted the organization's warnings. NO SETTLEMENT SOON U.S. officials acknowledge they see no settlement soon. The Clinton administration has failed to persuade the Bosnian Serbs to accept a peace plan put forward by the United States, Russia and Europe. Similarly, it has failed to persuade President Slobodan Milosevic of Serbia, the dominant figure in the former Yugoslavia, to grant formal recognition to Bosnia and its borders, a move that would undermine the claims and spirit of the Bosnian Serbs. =============================================== OMRI DAILY DIGEST No. 56, 20 March 1995 MUSLIMS SEND CONDOLENCES FOR DEATH OF CROATIAN GENERAL. AFP reported on 19 March that Bosnian Vice President Ejup Ganic sent formal condolences to Federal President and Bosnian Croat leader Kresimir Zubak for the apparent murder of Bosnian Croat General Vlado Santic in the Bihac area on 8 March. The telegram said that "the two of us have been confronted with almost insoluble problems before, but we have managed to solve them successfully." The murky Santic affair has strained Croatian-Muslim relations in recent days, but Slobodna Dalmacija on 18 March quoted Zubak as saying that "for all that we are doing, we need patience, tolerance, and consideration." Bosnian authorities on 15 March arrested three Muslim military policemen in connection with the disappearance of Santic. Nasa Borba on 20 March quotes Bihac Muslim rebels as saying that government soldiers killed Santic and threw his body in the River Una, but Vjesnik reports that "there is no information about his fate." -Patrick Moore, OMRI, Inc. BOSNIAN SERBS STEP UP PRESSURE ON UN. International media reported on 19 March that Bosnian Serb forces fired a mortar shell in the direction of a French air transport at Sarajevo airport and that French UNPROFOR positions returned fire. Serb snipers fired on city streets, and gunners hit the Bosnian government's sole supply road along Mt. Igman. In the meantime, a Russian UN observer was arrested by Serbs at a checkpoint outside Sarajevo. A UN spokesman said it was "likely" that the Serbs were "stepping up an organized campaign of harassment." He added that the UN "may use force to neutralize" any position firing on UN aircraft in the future. The Serb reaction to these statements is not known. -Patrick Moore, OMRI, Inc. TUDJMAN HOLDS HIS GROUND REGARDING UNPROFOR. Croatian President Franjo Tudjman told CNN on 18 March that Zagreb has not changed its position in agreeing to a new international presence in Croatia. He maintained that Croatia was firm in saying that UNPROFOR had to go and that the primary task of a new international body under a different mandate would be supervising Croatia's borders. He added that he remained optimistic that both Belgrade and Knin would come round to a negotiated settlement to Zagreb's liking. But The New York Times on 20 March reported that "messy" discussions are under way in UN circles about the composition and mandate of the new force. Croatia wants it to "control" its borders with Serbia and Bosnia, but the most likely mandate on offer will be for the small force to "monitor" its frontiers. -- Patrick Moore, OMRI, Inc. BELGRADE DIPLOMACY. Nasa Borba on 20 March reported that EU officials have rejected Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic's condition that sanctions against the rump Yugoslavia be lifted before Belgrade agrees to participate in a summit on the situation throughout the former Yugoslavia. Milosevic, following meetings with Greek Foreign Minister Karolos Papoulias, called on the EU on 17 March to help lift sanctions. He noted that since the EU was the architect of the embargo, "it would be fair if an initiative to lift the sanctions were to come from [that organization]," AFP reported. Finally, Nasa Borba on 18-19 March reported that rump Yugoslavia Foreign Minister Vladislav Jovanovic met with Pope John Paul II on 17 March. -- Stan Markotich, OMRI, Inc. ======================================================= TODAY'S ISSUES==> TOPIC: MILITARY & ARMS Ref: C3QL1022 Date: 03/21/95 From: STEVE SCHULTZ (Leader) Time: 05:17pm \/To: ALL (Read 1 times) Subj: BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA UPDATE The Bosnian Government began an offensive yesterday, breaking a cease-fire six weeks before it was scheduled to expire. Fighting was most intense near Tuzla, with 500 detonations reported in the Mount Majevica area as 1,000 Bosnian Army troops tried to take a Serbian communication tower. Serbs responded by shelling Tuzla, with at least 12 shells hitting the town and one hitting the main barracks of the Bosnian Army's II Corps. Serbs also shelled the Government held airbase to the west. Government troops were also reported advancing from Travnik toward Mount Vlasic, north of Tuzla. Serbs responded with an artillery attack on Travnik. Three people were killed and nine wounded over the weekend in Sarajevo by sniper fire. (Roger Cohen/N.Y.T.) =========================================== DATE=3/19/95 TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT NUMBER=2-175714 TITLE=SARAJEVO/RUSSIAN (S ONLY) BYLINE=DANIEL YOVICH DATELINE=SARAJEVO CONTENT= VOICED AT: INTRO: BOSNIAN SERB SOLDIERS HAVE ARRESTED A U-N MILITARY OBSERVER SOUTH OF SARAJEVO. U-N OFFICIALS SAY THE ARREST IS PART OF AN INCREASING PATTERN OF HARASSMENT AGAINST U-N PERSONNEL. DANIEL YOVICH REPORTS FROM SARAJEVO. TEXT: UNITED NATIONS OFFICIALS SAY THEY ARE OUTRAGED OVER THE ARREST OF A U-N MILITARY OBSERVER. MAJOR ALEXEI NIKOLENKOF, AGE 32, IS BEING HELD BY BOSIAN SERB FORCES AT A MILITARY PRISON SOUTH OF SARAJEVO. MAJOR NIKOLENKOF IS ONE OF NINE RUSSIAN MEMBERS OF THE OVER SIX- HUNDRED-STRONG U-N MILITARY OBSERVER UNIT ASSIGNED TO THE FORMER YUGOSLAVIA. LIKE THE OTHER MILITARY OBSERVERS, MAJOR NIKOLENKOF ENJOYS DIPLOMATIC IMMUNITY AS A PART OF HIS DUTIES. IT IS THIS FACT, SAYS U-N PROTECTION FORCE SPOKESMAN ALEXANDER IVANKO, THAT HAS ANGERED U-N OFFICIALS. UNLIKE THE SOLDIERS OF THE U-N PROTECTION FORCE, MILITARY OBSERVERS ARE UNARMED. A STRONGLY WORDED LETTER OF PROTEST HAS BEEN SENT TO BOSNIAN SERB ARMY HEADQUARTERS. MR. IVANKO SAYS THE BOSNIAN-SERBS HAVE FAILED TO REPLY AND A U-N NEGOTIATING TEAM HAS BEEN SENT TO THE SERB JAIL TO TRY AND WIN MAJOR NIKOLENKOF'S RELEASE. ALSO IN THE BOSNIAN CAPITAL, AT LEAST TWO MEN ARE DEAD AND THREE CIVILIANS WOUNDED IN SEPARATE SNIPER INCIDENTS THIS WEEKEND. MR. IVANKO SAYS BOSNIAN GOVERNMENT AND BOSNIAN SERB FORCES ALSO EXCHANGED SPORADIC MORTAR FIRE ON THE OUTSKIRTS OF THE CITY. (SIGNED) NEB/DY/LTJ-T/BG 19-Mar-95 10:49 AM EST (1549 UTC) NNNN Source: Voice of America ----------------------------------------------------------------- ------- B o s N e t - Mar. 21, 1995 ========================================== ZAGREB, Croatia--3/21/95 HEAVY FIGHTING: "The situation is serious and I would even say critical," says U.N. special envoy Yasushi Akashi. By DEAN E. MURPHY, Times Staff Writer The faltering truce in Bosnia-Herzegovina teetered near collapse Monday when heavy fighting broke out in central and northeastern Bosnia, killing and injuring dozens and dashing hopes that spring will bring a permanent thaw in the protracted civil war. Officials with the U.N. Protection Force said early morning fighting in and around the towns of Travnik and Tuzla was the worst since the two sides launched a four-month cease-fire on Jan. 1 as part of a peace initiative by former President Jimmy Carter. The battles came after more than a week of increasingly deadly flare-ups in Sarajevo, the Bosnian capital, including sniper fire that ripped a hole in an airplane carrying the U.N. special envoy to the former Yugoslav federation. Three people were killed in sniper attacks over the weekend, and at least a dozen have been gunned down since the cease-fire began. "We are seriously concerned about the status of the cessation of hostilities agreement," U.N. spokesman Christopher Gunnes said. "We are at the point where we are asking: 'When can you say something is really dead?' " The rugged, mountainous combat on Monday let up only when snowfall made it impossible to fight, a U.N. military official in Tuzla said. The official said both sides are expected to remain locked in their positions until the bad weather passes in a day or two. Although U.N. spokesmen said restrictions on peacekeepers' movements made it impossible to assign blame for the fighting, U.N. sources said it was clear that Bosnian government forces had been the aggressors. The Bosnian army began the offensive before dawn, attacking vital communication towers on Bosnian Serb-held peaks above Tuzla and Travnik, the sources said. Bosnian Serb news reports said the Bosnian Serb army had come under attack on Mt. Vlasic, northwest of Travnik, and on Mt. Majevica, northeast of Tuzla. The reports said the Bosnian Serbs were prepared for the assaults and had held off the government forces in hand-to- hand combat. Military analysts said Bosnian government control of the two mountaintops would knock out vital communication links for Bosnian Serbs and lay the groundwork for a broader government offensive to recapture some of the 70% of territory controlled by the rebel Serbs. The peak above Tuzla would also provide Muslim-led forces with a strategic vantage point to fire upon the Posavina corridor, the main supply route across northern Bosnia for Bosnian Serbs. Although the renewed fighting took some U.N. officials by surprise, it was the timing of the offensive--not that it occurred--that appeared to catch them off guard. Just last week, U.N. special envoy Yasushi Akashi, who spent two days in Sarajevo trying unsuccessfully to bolster the truce, predicted renewed warfare if diplomatic efforts should fail. "The situation is serious and I would even say critical," Akashi said at the Sarajevo airport, where his plane had been hit by machine-gun fire. "Unless we do something in the next two or three weeks, a further degradation and resumption of fighting is feared." The commander of the Bosnian army was also quoted in Sarajevo's leading daily newspaper last week as saying, "It is realistic to expect the war to continue." Gen. Rasim Delic told the Oslobodjenje newspaper that he had made good use of the cease-fire to train and better organize his troops, which he said number about 200,000. "The probability the war will continue is greater than the possibility there will be a just [negotiated] solution for Bosnia," he was quoted by the newspaper as saying. The situation in Sarajevo has grown so tense in recent weeks that the United Nations suspended all humanitarian relief flights into the city on March 11 and this weekend grounded military flights as well, after Bosnian Serbs fired on five aircraft landing at the airport in recent days. At the same time, Bosnian Serb troops surrounding Sarajevo closed the only civilian supply roads into the city after two young Bosnian Serb girls were killed by Bosnian army snipers. Sarajevo radio on Monday warned residents to prepare for artillery attacks on the city at any time. "We don't take any comfort in finding our worst fears and predictions coming true," said Michael Williams, Akashi's spokesman in Zagreb, the Croatian capital. U.N. officials said Monday that at least 60 artillery and mortar shells exploded near Travnik in the morning and between 400 and 500 detonations were recorded in the Tuzla area by midafternoon. The officials described the attacks as a coordinated assault by the Bosnian government, although they said most of the 1,000-mile front remained peaceful. The Bosnian Serbs retaliated by unloading on Tuzla. At least a dozen mortar shells fell on the government-controlled enclave, with one of them striking the Bosnian army barracks near the town center. Casualty reports varied, with the number of dead in the barracks alone possibly as high as 30. A U.N. spokesman said at least 150 people were being treated at the Tuzla hospital for shrapnel and bullet wounds. "The thing about the enclaves is that they are easy targets," U.N. spokesman Gunnes said. "It is like beating up on a small kid." Los Angeles Times 03/21/95 02:02 ----------------------------------------------------------------- ------- B o s N e t - Mar. 21, 1995 ========================================== FRONTLINES, Bosnia and Herzegovina 19 March Rebel Moslems backed by Serb forces from neighbouring Croatia battled Bosnian government troops east of Velika Kladusa on Saturday in what local media described as heavy fighting. UN peacekeepers reported at least 370 mortar and artillery rounds landing in the area. "Abdic and the rebel Croatian Serbs were responsible for offensive actions in the Velika Kladusa region yesterday and may have made some gains east of the town" UN spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Gary Coward said. 20 March Peacekeepers reported intense fighting around Government-held Tuzla in northeast Bosnia where government troops attacked Serbs on a wide front. Sarajevo radio said the separatist Serbs retaliated with an artillery attack on Tuzla, killing 19 and wounding dozens. The UN confirmed one shell had landed in the city's Bosnian army barracks, but officials were unsure of the death toll. A UN duty officer in Tuzla told Reuters by telephone there had been more than 500 detonations in the Majevica hills outside Stolice on Monday morning. Other UN officials said they had monitored more than 2,000 Bosnian troops moving into the area on Sunday night and had confirmed reports of at least 25 casualties among government soldiers this morning. "It would seem that the Bosnian army are taking some form of offensive action in that area but our freedom of movement is very limited and so is our information," Coward said. One Bosnian target appeared to be a Serb television transmitter at Stolice. "We assess the tower to be fairly important to the Serbs because it handles their east-west communications," said a UN source. Heavy shelling was reported along with infantry battles with half a dozen towns under attack including Priboj, Jablanica and Lukavica. UN sources said about 90 detonations were heard in a short space of time near Travnik early in the morning. Serb forces, bulwarked by strong concrete defences, have repulsed repeated government attempts to take Vlasic during the war. The separatist Serb army said Bosnian forces in Travnik in central Bosnia, west of Tuzla, attacked Serb positions around Mount Vlasic using infantry and artillery. Gary Coward said that both fronts quietened in the afternoon. "The weather is terrible and visibility is reported down to 100 metres (yards) because of snow." Snipers claimed another six victims in the Bosnian capital Sarajevo on Monday, four of them civilians, a UN spokesman said. Among the casualties were a 54-year-old woman hit in the forearm in the western suburb of Dobrinja and five males, all of whom were wounded in nearby Stup. The UN had cancelled all flights into Sarajevo on Monday, apparrently bowing to the will of separatist Serbs who have attacked five aircraft landing at the city's airport over the past nine days. Condolences over Santic death SARAJEVO, Bosnia and Herzegovina (March 19) Sarajevo television reported on Sunday that Ejup Ganic, a member of the Bosnian presidency, had written to the president of Bosnia's Moslem-Croat federation, Kresimir Zubak, expressing sorrow over the death of General Vlado Santic, a Bosnian Croat. "The two of us have so far encountered almost insoluble problems for which we have always found a successful solution. I believe that after this loss we can press ahead with our joint efforts as we have planned and successfully agreed. Justice will reach those who are responsible for General Santic's death," the television quoted Ganic as saying. Three military police from the Bosnian government force in the northwest Bosnian enclave were detained last Wednesday on suspicion of murdering Santic. Despite Santic's death, relations between Moslems and Croats in the Bihac enclave had been cordial. Moslem, Serb prisoners exchanged in Sarajevo SARAJEVO, Bosnia and Herzegovina (March 20) Four prisoners, two Serbs and two Moslems, were released among a 28-strong group of prisoners exchanged under the auspices of the International Committee for the Red Cross. In three of the four cases armed United Nations peacekeepers were blamed for doing nothing to prevent them. The seizing of Namik Berberovic, a Moslem journalist working for Bosnian government television, by separatist Serbs at a checkpoint close to Sarajevo's airport while travelling in a UN armoured personnel carrier sparked off the others. Bosnian police then took into custody Svetlana Boskovic, a Serb UN employee, as she entered the city from the Serb-held part of Sarajevo where she lived. Two further tit for tat arrests took place, one each by the Bosnian police and the separatist Serbs. Both civilians, were taken while ostensibly under the protection of UN peacekeepers. The twenty-four others exchanged on Monday -- 12 each from the Bosnian government and separatist Serb factions -- had been long-term prisoners of war. Separatist Serbs seize weapons SARAJEVO, Bosnia and Herzegovina (March 21) Separatist Serb forces have taken one 20mm anti-aircraft canon, spare 20mm barrel and one 105mm gun, one 76mm gun and one 120mm mortar from a depot "guarded" by the UN near Sarajevo on Monday and Tuesday. "The separtist Serbs withdrew the weapons on Monday and last night from the Lukavica barracks collection site," said UN spokesman Major Herve Gourmelon. The Lukavica weapons depot, located at a Serb barracks southeast of Sarajevo, is guarded by about 30 French peacekeepers. UN sources say their troops offered no resistance to the seizure. The UN's Bosnia Command in Sarajevo only became aware of the first incidents on Monday about 12 hours after they happened and still could not say for certain on Tuesday whether a protest had been lodged with separatist Serb authorities. Bosnian Prime Minister: Bosnians have little choice but war ZAGREB, Croatia (March 21) Bosnian Prime Minister Haris Silajdzic visiting the Croatian capital, said the Bosnian government had wearied of honouring a ceasefire that it believes only freezes separatist Serb conquests because the Big Powers shrank from using military muscle to enforce their latest peace initiative. "It looks like the Contact Group have run out of ideas and initiatives. All they tell us now is don't start fighting." Asked whether he meant seeking to reverse the tide of the war, he responded: "Yes. If the international community does not stop it, we will, even if takes a lot of years. Unfortunately it will take a lot of innocent lives too." Silajdzic said he hoped the ceasefire was not dead but that it could not survive if there is no justice. "The international community is helping the Serbs keep territory by insisting on the status quo and on negotiations forever. It promotes the law of force rather than the force of law." Silajdzic said Bosnia would seek to have the peace map adopted by the UN Security Council as international law. But he conceded these proposals were unlikely to to be acceptable to the Powers or make a difference on the ground in Bosnia. UN responds to attack of separatist Serb SARAJEVO, Bosnia and Herzegovina (March 20) French UN troops blasted the Serb mortar position with 10 rounds of cannon fire after a shell exploded 50 metres (yards) from the C-130 Hercules as it came into land on Sunday. NATO planes later roared over the city. UN spokesman Alexander Ivanko said he did not know if the French return fire succeeded in eliminating the Serb mortar position but he added: "It is no longer there." The mortar attack at the airport was followed by shooting and shelling between government forces in the nearby Sarajevo suburb of Hrasnica and Serb troops in Ilidza and Vojkovici. UN under fire in Croatia ZAGREB, Croatia (20 Mar) A senior UN peacekeeping officer, Major-General Rostislav Kotil, and his party came under heavy fire from Croat-controlled territory 300 metres away on Sunday. Kotil's party withdrew safely when the firing stopped. The area has become volatile following a recent advance by Croat troops against Bosnian Serbs along the Bosnian side of the border with Croatia north of the town of Livno. "It's obvious that from these new positions the Croats can now shell Knin," a source said, referring to the rebel Krajina Serb base town some 30 km north.