Software Vault: The Diamond Collection/The Diamond Collection (Software Vault)(Digital Impact).ISO/cdr14/yugonot2.zip/BOSN9502.TXT

Text File | 1995-01-21 | 64KB | 1,430 lines

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                        B o s N e w s  -  Jan. 14, 1995
Source: HINA

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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.

<Sources: Voice of America, Reuter, AP>



=======================================================

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."

    <TDAT> 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: <VOA, AP, REUTER, PA, WP)