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========================================================= TODAY'S ISSUES==> TOPIC: MILITARY & ARMS Ref: C1QP2524 Date: 01/21/95 From: STEVE SCHULTZ (Leader) Time: 08:42pm \/To: ALL (Read 6 times) Subj: BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA UPDATE U.S. Secretary of State Warren Christopher sent a letter to Bosnian President Alija Izetbegovic on Thursday, stating that the U.S. must now talk directly to Bosnian Serbs despite a U.N. Security Council resolution barring such contacts. The letter states that as long as Bosnian Serbs abide by the cease-fire and promise to open roads out of Sarajevo, the "Contact Group" should hold direct talks. Bosnian Prime Minister Haris Silajdzic will visit Washington next week. He is expected to support legislation introduced in the Senate for the lifting of the arms embargo against Bosnia. At exchange of 49 prisoners from the Bosnian Government and the Bosnian Serbs occurred yesterday in Sarajevo. (Roger Cohen/N.Y.T.) ----------------------------------------------------------------- ----- B o s N e w s - Jan 22, 1995 ================================================================= ===== "It is not too far from the truth to say that I argued against Dole," Richard Holebrooke, Asst. Secretary of State "The latest message from the Clinton administration is, `Don't worry, we'll take care of you,' but they don't explain how... My message is: `A few years ago we might have believed you, but no longer," one Bosnian official CHICAGO TRIBUNE Copyright Chicago Tribune 1995 Saturday, January 21, 1995 New York Times News Service U.S. PLANS DIRECT CONTACT WITH BOSNIAN SERB LEADERS Secretary of State Warren Christopher has written to the Bosnian government to explain that U.S. officials must now talk directly to the Bosnian Serbs despite a UN Security Council resolution barring contacts. The letter, sent Thursday to President Alija Izetbegovic and made available to The New York Times, argues that the cease-fire signed at the beginning of January has created "a possible opportunity to renew the negotiations" with the Serbs, "which we should not allow to pass by." Christopher's appeal forms part of an attempt by the U.S. to persuade the Muslim-led Bosnian government to show flexibility over what was once a take-it-or-leave-it international peace plan for Bosnia-and to abandon its persistent efforts to persuade Washington to break the UN arms embargo on Bosnia. But officials said Prime Minister Haris Silajdzic would make clear on a visit to Washington next week that despite the pressing advice of the Clinton administration, he supports legislation introduced by the Senate majority leader, Bob Dole, calling for the U.S. to rearm Bosnian government troops. The pressure on the Bosnians has been applied by Christopher and by Assistant Secretary of State Richard Holbrooke during his visit to Sarajevo on Jan. 9. Two senior Bosnian officials said Holbrooke's main message had been that the Bosnian goverment would be wrong to support the Dole legislation, which would permit arms sales from May 1, the day the four-month cease-fire expires, until the peace plan has been accepted by the Serbs. "It is not too far from the truth to say that I argued against Dole," Holbrooke said Friday. This stand has irritated the Bosnian government, which has accepted the so-called "contact group" peace plan only to see foreign threats to compel the Serbs to do so evaporate into circuitous diplomacy. "The latest message from the Clinton administration is, `Don't worry, we'll take care of you,' but they don't explain how," said one Bosnian official. "My message is: `A few years ago we might have believed you, but no longer.' " PHOTO: Outgoing UN commander for Bosnia Lt. Gen. Sir Michael Rose bids farewell to Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic near Sarajevo on Friday. Rose will be replaced by British Gen. Rupert Smith. AP photo. Transmitted: 95-01-21 06:23:32 EST ============================================== TODAY'S ISSUES==> TOPIC: MILITARY & ARMS Ref: C1RQ3464 Date: 01/22/95 From: STEVE SCHULTZ (Leader) Time: 09:57pm \/To: ALL (Read 3 times) Subj: BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA UPDATE LT GEN Sir Michael Rose, British Army, will be replaced tomorrow by MAJ GEN Rupert Smith, British Army, as Commander of U.N. Protection Forces in Bosnia. Rose's greatest achievement may have been combining the U.N. and N.A.T.O. last February in an operation that pushed back Serbian artillery from Sarajevo. He also consolidated the peace between Muslims and Croats in central Bosnia. But the U.N. has had to shift from attempts to advance peace to avoiding a worse war, and the U.N./N.A.T.O. relationship has been greatly strained. Rose was often seen as aiding the Serbians, and the Bosnian Government and U.N. relations have been called poisonous. A turning point, according to aids, was last April, after a Serbian attack on Gorazde that killed a British officer, for which Rose accused the Bosnian Government of "folding its defenses." Since then, say aids, he felt the Bosnian Government was determined to bring in N.A.T.O. on a larger scale, and he made his mission avoiding that possibility. Adding to what some have said is a skewed view was a map of a bombed out I.C.R.C. vehicle on his office wall with the caption "Nice One, N.A.T.O."; his interpreter, MAJ Michael Stanley, a Briton of Serbian decent, took to criticizing pease prposals with plans for territorial division; and Viktor Andrev, a Russian serving as civil affairs adviser that exerted great influence, often reminded Rose that the use of force did not have a place in peacekeeping. Rose also held cool relations with the U.S., frequently clashing with U.S. Ambassador to Bosnia, Victor Jackovic. Despite a March 17 agreement to open roads from Sarajevo, they remained closed today as they did when Rose assumed command. He will be awarded a fourth star after returning to London, a rarity in the British Army. (Roger Cohen/N.Y.T.) ----------------------------------------------------------------- ----- B o s N e w s - Jan. 22, 1995 ================================================================= ===== * General Rose leavs Bosnia SARAJEVO, Bosnia and Herzegovina The United Nations commander in Bosnia, Lieutenant-General Sir Michael Rose, had his last meeting with separatist Serb leader Radovan Karadzic in the Serb stronghold of Pale outside the Bosnian capital. Rose helped to broker a Serb-Moslem ceasefire across Bosnia at the New Year but the deal was snagged by Serb reluctance to open supply routes into Sarajevo and by doubts that Bosnian government troops had withdrawn from a demilitarised zone near the Bosnian capital. Earlier Rose said goodbye to Bosnian President Alija Izetbegovic in Sarajevo, but no statement was immediately issued. Bosnian Prime Minister Haris Silajdzic said recently: "I can only say one thing -- it's better both for him and for Bosnia that he is leaving." UNRPOFOR commander-in-chief General Bertrand de Lapresle said on Saturday Rose had made an outstanding contribution to peacekeeping in Bosnia. He said that "in spite of the unwarranted criticism of the Bosnian government, the separatist Serbs and the international media, General Rose has steadfastly remained loyal to the principles of peacekeeping, applying relevant United Nations resolutions with vigour and impartiality." Rose will be promoted to full general on his return home. * Croatian Ministers in Mostar ZAGREB, Croatia Croatian Premier Nikica Valentic and his Foreign and Defence ministers, Mate Granic and Gojko Susak are to meet in Mostar on Saturday with the European Union administrator Hans Koschnick in an attempt to diffuse a row between the Bosnian Government and Croats. Koschnick, appointed by the EU to try to reconcile Mostar's Croat and Moslem population after a bitter war, accused the Croats of blocking his efforts to reunite the divided city, return refugees to their homes and rebuild trust. "If the Croats take the view that a unified city isn't needed, that there's a desire to remain separate... then the EU's mission has no point any more," he told the German news channel N-TV. The delegation, joined by Moslem-Croat federation president Kresimir Zubak, was expected to force the Bosnian Croats to toe the line and to stop endangering the fragile federation in Bosnia. EU spokesman Dragan Gasic said that "we expect our governments to put some pressure on Croatia, but Croatia will also have to talk with their kin in Bosnia." Analysts believe Zagreb's parting from Sarajevo inevitably brought it closer to Belgrade and say the two must have struck some sort of deal before Croatia recently decided to throw UN peacekeepers out of the country.op Zarko Puhovski, a Zagreb university professor said that "Zagreb's decision to kick out the UN troops is for me a signal that a deal with Belgrade was reached over Bosnia. The Washington agreement was functioning just because the Americans were throwing their weight behind it. But in practice it does not work and neither side ever meant it to work." ----------------------------------------------------------------- ----- B o s N e w s - Jan. 23, 1995 ======================================== CROATIA TAKING HIS CHANCES "If the U.N. forces go and Tudjman moves to take control of Krajina, the danger is that President Slobodan Milosevic of Yugoslavia would intervene on the side of the Croatian Serbs. Worse, that might force him to end his isolation of the Bosnian Serbs in order to reinforce and resupply Krajina from Bosnian Serb territory." BY JAMES L. GRAFF With the Croatian national anthem as his fanfare and the stern mien of a man making history, President Franjo Tudjman pre-empted the evening news last Thursday with a speech to his nation. The government, he announced, was ordering United Nations peacekeeping troops to leave Croatia by June 30 at the latest, three months after the expiration of the current mandate. He would thereby evict the Blue Helmet force that has effectively cordoned off the Krajina region of the country held by Serbs since Croatia's secessionist war ended in 1991. The ouster announcement followed a letter he sent earlier in the day to U.N. Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali in which he accused the U.N. Protection Force of being ''counterproductive to the peace process'' and promoting the Serb occupation of Croatian territory. Tudjman's aims are clear. He would like to see the reintegration into Croatia of the Serb-held areas, and he regards as an obstacle to that goal the 15,000 U.N. troops protecting areas of Croatia occupied by rebellious Serbs. The U.N., in the Zagreb view, has made little or no progress in disarming the Serb rebels who now control 27% of the country and has failed to prepare the way for the 400,000 Croats displaced by the 1991 war to return to their homes in occupied regions. But by forcing the UNPROFOR contingent out of Croatia, Tudjman may well be setting the stage for renewed fighting in Croatia; that could have spillover effects in neighboring Bosnia and even drag Belgrade into the resulting conflict in support of fellow Serbs. ''I am gravely concerned about the risk of renewed hostilities should United Nations peacekeepers be withdrawn,'' said Boutros-Ghali in response to Tudjman's fiat. Has the impatient Croatian leader overplayed his hand? An optimistic scenario is that his gambit is intended to concentrate the minds of the Krajina Serbs and force them into real negotiations. ''We believe in the peace process,'' says Croatian Foreign Minister Mate Granic. ''And we have no plans for a possible military intervention in the occupied territories.'' But if the U.N. forces go and Tudjman moves to take control of Krajina, the danger is that President Slobodan Milosevic of Yugoslavia would intervene on the side of the Croatian Serbs. Worse, that might force him to end his isolation of the Bosnian Serbs in order to reinforce and resupply Krajina from Bosnian Serb territory. ''If UNPROFOR is withdrawn from Croatia,'' warned U.N. envoy Yasushi Akashi last week, ''I think that incidents or accidents may lead to a major escalation of fighting.'' Akashi also cautioned that the recent truce in Bosnia could be undermined if ''anything unsettling'' happens in Croatia. That would be calamitous at a time when a precarious cease-fire that took effect on New Year's Day still holds. Last week in Sarajevo outgoing UNPROFOR Bosnian commander Lieut. General Michael Rose chaired a 10-hour negotiating session that assured open roads into the city and maintenance of a demilitarized zone south of it. ''It is a major step forward,'' said Rose, ''a demonstration by all sides ((of how)) to make real progress down the path of peace.'' But Rose, who is due to be replaced Jan. 24, must still keep his fingers crossed. Bosnian Serbs and the Bosnian government continued to argue over whether the roads can be used by commercial trucks, which the Serbs contend could smuggle arms, or just by international-aid vehicles. Beyond that, the question of an overall settlement looks as vexing as ever. Representatives of the U.S., Russia, Britain, Germany and France, who authored the so-called Contact Group peace plan for Bosnia, met with Bosnian government officials and Bosnian Serb leaders last week, but betrayed no evidence of progress. British diplomat William Ehrman insisted that the big powers ''stick to the Contact Group plan,'' which calls for the Bosnian Serbs to reduce their holdings from the current two-thirds to just under half of Bosnian territory. The Bosnian Serbs rejected that plan in August, both because of the particulars of the proposed divisions and the lack of a constitutional arrangement that would allow them strong administrative ties with Serbia proper. While the Bosnian Serbs are willing to discuss the plan as a starting point, the Bosnian government continues to insist that it stand as offered to and rejected by the Serbs before. Watching such maneuvers makes more understandable, at least, Tudjman's determination to act unilaterally rather than rely on the international community to broker a just settlement. His termination of the current U.N. mandate, a Croatian foreign affairs official suggests, is an attempt to focus the international community's attention on that problem. Tudjman would welcome U.N. troops deployed along Croatia's borders to Serbia and Bosnia, where they would ensure the territorial integrity of Croatia rather than protect rebel Serbs. There is at this point, however, scant evidence that his high-stakes gamble will pay off in a new mandate of that sort. His bold grasp for change could instead lead to more war. Copyright 1995 Time Inc. All rights reserved. Reported by Alexandra Stiglmayer/Zagreb Transmitted: 95-01-19 09:58:24 EST ----------------------------------------------------------------- ----- B o s N e w s - Jan. 23, 1995 =============================== A BOSNIAN IN BRITAIN. Janaury 23-28 1995. The British media produced only news from AFP, Reuters and AP with no particular comments on the situation in Bosnia. Only THE TIMES dedicated a whole page to Bosnia on Monday the 16th of January. Michael Evans ('General prepares to hand over Bosnia baton') describes General Smith who is taking over the command of UNPROFOR form General Rose: he "has the same advantages as General Rose. Although he has not served in the SAS, he comes ffrom another tough military background in the Parachute Regiment. He is tall, quietly spoken with a piercing gaze, and has an independent, sharp military mind." We also find out that although General Smith was 'one of the key strategic thinkers in the alied victory in the Gulf War' he was the least known of the British commanders in the Gulf. 'After his success in the Gulf War, he won the DSO for his cool command under fire.' Evans delves into the life story of General Smith, his education and stresses his commitments to the military ideal: 'his professionalism, lively humaour and critical attitude to military dogma quickly brought him to the attention of senior officers... he won the Queen's Gallantry medal for pulling his fellow officer free without regard to his own safety and smothering the flames on his body.' The same page in THE TIMES brought an article from Joel Brand ('Rose considered showing airstrike plans to Serbs') in Zagreb rather justifying General Rose's wish for 'co-operation in the spirit of the cessation of hostilites.' This article is a good example of the way British media have a tendency of presenting the conflict in Bosnia. General Rose is the embodiment of the good and the righteous UNPROFOR who in the spirit of fairness, is neutral and thus is in conflict with NATO, the biased organisation which seeks every opportunity to attack the 'poor people of Pale.' Perhaps, one should also say that THE TIMES is the paper of the Conservative, ruling, Party which is far more irritated by, rather than sympathetic to, the Bosnian cause. On 07 January 1995, BBC2, started a two-part series produced by General McKenzie on the UN and Humanitarian Intervention. It was an appaling attempt by General McKenzie to appeal to the British public for his innocence in the Bosnian conflicts. It was accompanied by General's views on the UN in Somalia. This series was directed in a 'soap opera' style and, to a viewer with some knowledge on Bosnia, held no credibility. It was a pity that the BBC did not engage in a programme that would explain to the British public the extent of damage General McKenzie's words: "all the sides are guilty" had on the Western policies on Bosnia. ******************************************************** Date: Mon, 23 Jan 1995 17:51:02 GMT KOSCHNIK TO LEAVE MOSTAR? Hans Koschnik, former mayor of Bremen and current EU-appointed mayor of Mostar, told Deutsche Welle on 22 January that he regards obstruction by local Croats as the main problem in implementing the terms of the Croat-Muslim federation in Mostar. He also warned that he would give up his mandate if things do not improve. Koschnik recently held meetings with top officials of the Republic of Croatia, including the prime, defense, and foreign ministers, in apparent preparation for meetings with Croatian and Muslim representatives from Bosnia and Herzegovina. He appears to have met with the Zagreb Croats first to shore up their support in his dealings with the Herzegovinian Croats. Hina added that the Croatian government delegation also held talks with the Mostar Croats, all of whom "firmly supported the Bosnian federation," according to Foreign Minister Mate Granic. Prime Minister Nikica Valentic added that the Zagreb delegation helped bring things "one step closer to a solution," Vecernji list reports on 23 January. But he could not accept Koschnik's assertion that the local Croats were the main problem. -- Patrick Moore, OMRI, Inc. YET ANOTHER SHIFT IN US BOSNIAN POLICY. The New York Times and the Los Angeles Times on 23 January report on the latest in a series of flipflops in Washington's policy toward Bosnia and Herzegovina, namely, the decision to end the policy of no direct talks with the Bosnian Serbs and to send a US envoy to Pale. Ambassador Victor Jackovich, who favors a policy of pressure and sanctions against Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic and his followers, was recalled to Washington on 18 January, while his deputy went to Pale for talks the next day. US Contact Group negotiator Charles Thomas beat the same path to Karadzic's headquarters on 22 January, where he held talks that he called "very constructive." US Secretary of State Warren Christopher had earlier announced the change in policy to the Bosnian government in a letter saying the decision was contingent on the Serbs' opening roads into Sarajevo. They have promised several times to open the routes, but these still remain closed. -- Patrick Moore, OMRI, Inc. OTHER BOSNIAN NEWS. International media reported on 20 January that the first Serbian-Muslim prisoner exchange took place under the terms of the current cease-fire. The Los Angeles Times on 22 January noted that the exchange of 100 people is the first time one of the provisions of the current cease-fire has been honored. Meanwhile, in the Bihac pocket, fighting again intensified over the weekend after a brief lull, while AFP reported from Tuzla that a controversial Serbian liaison officer has left the airfield there. The BBC on 23 January ran an interview with the UN commander in Bosnia, General Sir Michael Rose, whose tour of duty is about to end. Rose defended his and the UN's records, noting that they are required to be impartial while "not being indifferent" to the situation of the Bosnian government, which is a member of the UN. He nonetheless repeatedly warned against the "siren voices calling us to war." -- Patrick Moore, OMRI, Inc. POLITICAL TRIALS IN SANDZAK. The independent Monitor reported on 20 January that since December, "almost the entire leadership of the Party of Democratic Action for Montenegro (SDA)--20 youngsters from Cetinje and the legislator Acim Visnjic"--have been sentenced to long prison terms. The newspaper claims that these are political trials of "foes of the current system" and quotes the lawyer of the ethnic Muslim SDA as saying the prisoners have been physically and psychologically tortured. The sentenced SDA members have been accused of separatist activity, while the 20 ethnic Montenegrin youngsters from Cetinje were sentenced to a total of 17 years in prison for slandering Montenegrin President Momir Bulatovic. Of the 20, six have also been charged with obstructing a parliament session. Visnjic, a member of the extreme nationalist Serbian Radical Party, was sentenced to five months for publicly "slandering the state and the president of the Republic of Montenegro."-- Fabian Schmidt, OMRI, Inc. ALBANIA TO HOLD MILITARY EXERCISES WITH U.S. As part of its attempts to prepare for NATO membership, Albania will hold joint military exercises with the United States from 26-29 January. The naval search-and-rescue exercise, code named "Sarex '95," will involve the US Sixth fleet warship Ponce and six Albanian naval vessels, 600 infantry, and aircraft. "This is Albania's first step in the integration towards NATO," Reuters reports Albanian Defense Minister Safet Zhugali as saying on 20 January. Albanian already provides port and airfield facilities to NATO and the WEU. -- Michael Mihalka, OMRI, Inc. ----------------------------------------------------------------- ----- B o s N e w s - Jan. 23, 1995 ======================================== * Prospects of Peace in Bosnia? SARAJEVO, Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnian Prime Minister Haris Silajdzic poured cold water on any prospect of new negotiations unless the separatist Serbs reversed their refusal to accept a "contact group" map requiring them to surrender territory. "We accepted this plan although it was unjust by all standards and we still wait for the Serbs to accept a plan that rewards them," Silajzdic said. Meanwhile Charles Thomas, a U.S. envoy of the five-nation Big Power "contact group," had a two-hour meeting with separatist Bosnian Serb chief Radovan Karadzic in their headquarters at Pale outside Sarajevo. He expressed confidence after talks that a recent series of separate consultations with each side would help revive negotiations on a peace settlement. Bosnia's government has expressed disappointment at the contact group's apparent retreat and ruled out new negotiations unless the Serbs publicly endorse the map. Haris Silajdzic said that "the contact group has to set a deadline for acceptance. Otherwise we will talk about this plan forever and that's all in the Serbs favor. They seek the status quo -- a 'seize and freeze` situation forever." * Frontlines, Bosnia and Herzegovina FRONTLINES, Bosnia and Herzegovina Zegar and Vedro Polje near Bihac were fiercely attacked with tank and mortar fire by Serbs from Croatia's occupied territories, Bosnian Serbs and forces loyal to Fikret Abdic. The general alert was sounded in Livno late on Saturday evening. Serbs launched fresh artillery attacks on the greater Livno area. It was also reported that yesterday Serb forces fired some 40 artillery shells on the region, causing extensive material damage. Bosnian Serb forces also attacked the Teslic-Komusani front on Sunday morning. Small arms and sniper fire were reported. * UNPROFOR -- Croatia ZAGREB, Croatia Croatian President Franjo Tudjman showed no sign of backing down from his decision to eject the U.N. peacekeeping force from his country, a move which the Krajina Serbs say could ignite renewed fighting. In an interview with the German news weekly Der Spiegel he said "The Krajina Serbs and the Belgrade (Serbian) leadership know we are capable of liberating our land by force of arms. The whole world is behind us in this question." He added that his government wanted the U.N. force out and his army stood ready to recover by force the third of Croatia's territory controlled by Serbs. Milan Martic, president of the self-styled republic of Serb Krajina, said in an interview with the Belgrade daily "Borba" that "a decision to deny hospitality to UNPROFOR cannot be solely Croatia's." Should the international community... support Tudjman's decision, it would be the only party to be blamed for a new war." US Under Secretary of Defence, Walter B. Slocombe briefly visited Zagreb today while en route to Sarajevo on a fact finding mission to access the military situation in Bosnia- Herzegovina and Croatia. Under Secretary Slocombe met with President Tudjman and Croatian Defence Minister Gojko Susak. Following his meetings in Zagreb and Sarajevo, Under Secretary Slocombe will visit Skopje, Rome and Bruxelles. * Rose is levaing Bosnia today SARAJEVO, Bosnia and Herzegovina UN Commander for B-H, General Sir Michael Rose is expected to leave Sarajevo today. He is en route to Zagreb after having completed his one year mandate. General Rose is to be replaced by British General Rupert Smith who is expected to take up his post in Sarajevo on Wednesday after talks with UN Secretary General Boutros Ghali. Boutros Ghali is to meet today in Geneva with his Special Envoy for former Yugoslavia, Yasushi Akashi, peace mediator Thorvald Stoltenberg and UNPROFOR commanders. They are to discuss the Croatian issue. * Bosnian Government forces freed UNPROFOR at Tuzla airport (VOA) DATE=1/23/95 TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT TITLE= BOSNIA/TUZLA (S ONLY) BYLINE= DANIEL YOVICH DATELINE= SARAJEVO INTRO: BOSNIAN GOVERNMENT FORCES HAVE FREED ABOUT ONE THOUSAND UNITED NATIONS PEACEKEEPERS WHOM THEY HAD KEPT UNDER VIRTUAL HOUSE ARREST IN NORTHEASTERN BOSNIA. BOSNIAN GOVERNMENT FORCES DETAINED THE U-N TROOPS AFTER U-N COMMANDERS PLACED A BOSNIAN SERB LIAISON OFFICER AT THE TUZLA AIRPORT WITHOUT APPROVAL OF THE MUSLIM-DOMINATED BOSNIAN GOVERNMENT. DANIEL YOVICH REPORTS FROM SARAJEVO. TEXT: MORE THAN ONE THOUSAND U-N PEACEKEEPERS DETAINED AT THE TUZLA AIRPORT BY BOSNIAN GOVERNMENT FORCES HAVE BEEN FREED. BOSNIAN GOVERNMENT TROOPS ENDED THE 13 DAY DETENTION OF SWEDISH, NORWEGIAN, DUTCH AND DANISH SOLDIERS AT THE U-N BASE -- LOCATED ABOUT 120 KILOMETERS NORTHEAST OF SARAJEVO --AFTER U-N MILITARY COMMANDERS PULLED OUT A BOSNIAN SERB LIAISON OFFICER THEY STATIONED AT THE TUZLA AIRFIELD WITHOUT BOSNIAN GOVERNMENT APPROVAL. BOSNIAN PRESIDENT ALIJA IZETBEGOVIC HAS DEMANDED THE REOPENING OF THE AIRFIELD FOR HUMANITARIAN FLIGHTS BY FEBRUARY FIRST. BUT THE AIRPORT WILLNOT REOPEN BECAUSE OF THE RELEASE OF THE U-N TROOPS. A U-N COMMANDER, GENERAL GUNNAR RIDDERSTADT, SAYS THE BOSNIAN SERBS FORCES IN THE REGION HAVE STILL NOT CONSENTED TO THE RESUMPTION OF FLIGHT OPERATIONS. INSTEAD, GENERAL RIDDERSTADT SAYS A COMPROMISE WAS REACHED BY THE REMOVAL OF THE BOSNIAN SERB OFFICER. AS A RESULT, HE SAYS THE U-N TROOPS WILL RESUME PEACEKEEPING OPERATIONS IN NORTHEAST BOSNIA THAT HAD BEEN HALTED SINCE JANUARY 10TH. (SIGNED) 23-Jan-95 7:48 AM EST (1248 UTC) Source: Voice of America ============================================ GENERAL ROSE LEAVES UN'S BOSNIAN COMMAND. International media reported on 23 January that General Sir Michael Rose left Sarajevo for Zagreb at the end of his tour of duty and that he will be replaced by his British compatriot Lieutenant-General Rupert Smith, who won fame in the Gulf War. Rose chalked up one last achievement before leaving, persuading the Serbs and Muslims to sign yet another extensive accord. This would reopen supply routes to Sarajevo for all charities and civilians and free 600 prisoners by 1 February. Although this involved getting the Serbs to remake promises they have already broken repeatedly, Rose was pleased with the agreement. Reuters quoted him as saying that "it is all pointing to the fact that both sides see this opportunity as a very real opportunity for peace... [so that they could] return their people to proper normalized living as any European country should do." Die Welt noted on 21 January, however, that Rose will not be missed by Bosnian government officials and quoted Vice President Ejup Ganic as saying that "when General Rose goes, nobody will shed a tear or even shake his hand in farewell." Politika reports from London on 24 January that Smith can be expected to continue Rose's policies, which are widely believed in the Balkans to be those of a pro-Serb British Foreign Office. -- Patrick Moore, OMRI, Inc. US CONTINUES TALKS WITH BOSNIAN SERBS. Reuters reported on 24 January that special envoy Charles Thomas held a second round of talks the previous day with Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic at Pale before going on to meet with Ganic and Bosnian Croat leader Kresimir Zubak. The Washington Post on 24 January quotes Assistant Secretary of State Richard Holbrooke, who inaugurated the policy of direct talks with Pale last month, as saying that Thomas talked with the Serbs without the Contact Group allies present because none of them could come. He added that the Bosnian government approved of the visit, although the Sarajevo authorities have publicly complained about Washington's new policy toward the Serbs. The newspaper points out that Germany opposed the unilateral mission and suggests that American domestic politics may lie behind the Clinton administration's friendly stance toward the Serbs. -Patrick Moore, OMRI, Inc. SERBS SHELL VELIKA KLADUSA AREA. AFP reported on 23 January that Krajina Serbs fired more than 200 artillery or mortar shells around Velika Kladusa in the Bihac pocket. Meanwhile in Tuzla, Reuters said that the Bosnian army lifted its blockade of the UN facilities at the airport after a Serb liaison officer was taken out by helicopter. The Bosnian authorities argued that the man had no proper business there and that he was suspected of having committed war crimes. Finally, the UN Security Council voted to prolong economic and political sanctions imposed on the Bosnian Serbs a year before, saying that the conditions that prompted the move in the first place still obtain. -- Patrick Moore, OMRI, Inc. SERBIAN UPDATE. "No to Beta" is how the state-sanctioned Borba of 24 January headlines its report on the decision by the state-controlled daily Vecernje Novosti to stop using the services of the independent news agency Beta. In other media-related developments, on 22 January over 100 independent journalists, employees of the daily Borba prior to its take-over by the regime of Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic, issued a statement dubbing the recent actions of the regime "despotic." The journalists on 19 January were involved with registering and launching a new independent daily, Nasa Borba. Sale of Nasa Borba has been delayed, ostensibly due to a newsprint shortage. The independent journalists, however, speculate the want of paper may be due more to the government's continuing harassment of the free press, and Nasa Borba in particular, than because of a genuine shortage. Finally, on 22 January the BBC reported on mass protests in Belgrade the previous day over cuts in electricity, a commodity which some analysts as well as opposition party leaders in Serbia allege is being consciously rationed by the Milosevic regime so as to export supplies to neighboring countries. -Stan Markotich, OMRI, Inc. EU ACCORD WITH CROATIA DEPENDS ON ITS PEACE STANCE. The decision to start negotiations for an economic accord between the EU and Croatia depends on Zagreb's stance on the peace process in the former Yugoslavia, EU foreign ministers said at a meeting in Brussels on January 23. AFP reports that the ministers asked the European Commission to prepare proposals on the accord for a meeting next month. The decision on whether to proceed will then be made in March. The EU foreign ministers expressed concern about Croatia's decision not to renew the UN mandate for peacekeepers on its territory and asked Zagreb to reconsider its decision. -- Michael Mihalka, OMRI, Inc. KOSOVAR POLITICIAN CALLS FOR SUMMONING PARLIAMENT. The leader of the Parliamentary Party of Kosovo, Bajram Kosumi, called in an interview with the Albanian-language service of Deutsche Welle on 22 January for an early meeting of parliament, which was elected in May 1992 but has still to meet. The old communist-era parliament continued its work in Macedonia until December 1993 when its mandate ended. Police prevented the new parliament from meeting and then expelled the legislators to Kosovo in December 1994. Kosumi said that there are no clear concepts on how the current deadlock in Kosovo can be ended. He also mentioned "misunderstandings" between the exile government in Stuttgart and the Coordinating Council of Albanian Political Parties in former Yugoslavia, a political structure which is functioning in the role of a parliament. He added that a new government should be elected and said that the current one is not able to organize functioning shadow-state structures in Kosovo from exile. -- Fabian Schmidt, OMRI, Inc. =========================================== TODAY'S ISSUES==> TOPIC: MILITARY & ARMS Ref: C1TQ0916 Date: 01/24/95 From: STEVE SCHULTZ (Leader) Time: 09:15pm \/To: ALL (Read 16 times) Subj: BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA UPDATE The U.S. is sending GEN Frederick M. Franks Jr., U.S. Army (Ret.) to Bosnia shortly to assist the Muslim-Croat federation in integrating its armed forces. Franks, 58, who lost his right leg in combat in the Vietnam War, was Commander of VII Corps in the Persian Gulf War, and recently retired after serving as Director of the Army's Training and Doctrine Command, Norfolk, VA. Another retired U.S. Army officer, GEN John Galvin, spent a period of time last year attempting an integration as well, but was unable to overcome the mutual mistrust in the federation. Although serving in different respects, Franks will be "reunited" with MAJ GEN Rupert Smith, British Army, who arrives in Sarajevo tomorrow to become Commander of the U.N. Protection Force in Bosnia. Smith, 51, was commander of the British Army's 1st Armored Division, which fought with VII Corps in the Persian Gulf War. The two developed a deep mutual respect, and have kept in contact as friends ever since. The Bosnian Government and Bosnian Serbs have reached an outline agreement to open roads from Sarajevo on February 1. The siege of U.N. peacekeepers in Tuzla has ended. A Bosnian Serb liaison officer was sent to the airfield in Tuzla as an observer over a week ago, and Bosnian Government troops confined peacekeepers to their barracks in response. The Serb officer left Tuzla by helicopter Saturday, and the siege ended. U.S. Ambassador to Bosnia Victor Jackovich remains in Washington, D.C., after being recalled for consultations last Wednesday. Jackovich says he will remain in the post until his term ends in May, 1996, but it is rumored that he has been offered ambassadorship elsewhere. (Roger Cohen/N.Y.T.) ----------------------------------------------------------------- ----- B o s N e w s - Jan. 24, 1995 ======================================== SARAJEVO, Bosnia and Herzegovina Lieutenant-General Sir Michael Rose on Monday announced that supply routes were being opened into Sarajevo. The accord would open supply roads, called "blue routes', in and out of the city on February 1 for all international relief agencies, four Bosnian charities and civilian traffic. The UN considered the opening of the roads as key to a four-month ceasefire agreement. The separatist Serb official in charge of prisoner swaps, Dragan Bulajic, said the two sides also agreed to free a total of 600 prisoners by February 1, Bosnian Serb news agency SRNA reported. In the Serb stronghold of Pale, near Sarajevo, USA peace mediator Charles Thomas, a member of the five-nation "contact group," said his a second day of talks with Serb leader Radovan Karadzic had been intensive. Asked about prospects for a resumption of peace negotiations, he said: "I don't like to make predictions. That's what we are working on and we are always hopeful." He later met Bosnian vice-president Ejup Ganic and Moslem-Croat federation president Kresimir Zubak in Sarajevo. ZAGREB, Croatia President Franjo Tudjman met today with Bosnian President Alija Izetbegovic and Bosnian Federation President Kresimir Zubak. The meeting took place behind closed doors and a statement is expected later in the day. SARAJEVO, Bosnia and Herzegovina Mediators from the five-nation "contact group" launched a new peace effort in Bosnia Tuesday, encouraged by the opening of a land route into besieged Sarajevo. The new peace effort came in the form of two meetings, one in Sarajevo and one in Zagreb, the capital of neighboring Croatia. In Sarajevo, envoys from the five nations that drew up an international peace plan for Bosnia met Tuesday with Bosnian government officials. On Monday, the U.S. envoy, Charles Thomas, tried to persuade the spearatist Serb leader, Radovan Karadzic, to accept the peace plan. After repeatedly rejecting the plan, Karadzic now says he is ready to accept it as a basis for further negotiations. The Bosnian But in an interview in Milan's Il Giornale newspaper leader of separatist Bosnian Serbs Radovan Karadzic said "we occupy more territory than we think it is fair to hold...We should be entitled to at least 64 percent, but we could make do with less." He added that he had no intention of violating a truce in place since January 1 but again demanded international recognition of his self-proclaimed "Bosnian Serb Republic." Diplomats said changes sought by the separatist Serbs included a handover of three Bosnian-Moslem enclaves -- Gorazde, Srebrenica and Zepa-- and the division of Sarajevo into "twin cities." They also wanted a widening of the Brcko corridor in northeast Bosnia which forms an umbilical cord between Serbia and Serb-held territory in east and northwest Bosnia. This wish list includes access to the Adriatic Sea, under which neighbouring Croatia would swap its Prevlaka peninsula for territory east of Dubrovnik to get the city out of separatist Bosnian Serb artillery range. The USA official said Washington supported none of these demands. He siad that "the Serbs are now prepared to use the contact group map as the map on which they would propose modifications or swaps." What would the Serbs give the government in return? "Basically nothing. They say they had 32 percent of the population but it lived in the countryside and owned 64 percent of the land and therefore they need more land than their population would justify," the official said. "At the same time they want an equal share of industrial facilities, hydro-electric plants, power plants and so on." The official denied reports that the map -- originally a NATO-backed unnegotiable deal but now described as a "basis for new negotiations" -- had been blurred to appease the Serbs. Envoys from the "contact-group" had considered setting a deadline for Serb acceptance of the map but were divided on how to enforce it. WASHINGTON, United States According to White House spokesperson Mike McCurry, the United States has not changed its policy on Bosnia and Herzegovina in spite of engaging in direct talks with Bosnian Serbs. Mr McCurry added that the Contact Group ministers agreed last December to increase diplomatic efforts in order to end the fighting in B-H. Another State Department spokesperson Christine Shelly rejected an account in The New York Times that Thomas' trip marked a sharp policy shift that drew objections from the USA ambassador, Victor Jackovich, and conflicted with a UN resolution requiring the Serbs to accept the peace plan prior to any political talks. Jackovich has been recalled to Washington, but Ms. Shelly said the purpose was to make preparations for a visit later in the week by Bosnian Prime Minister Haris Silajdzic. She said Jackovich probably would return to Sarajevo. Secretary of State Warren Christopher wrote the government last week, saying USA officials would pursue contacts with the Serbs. Ms. Shelly declined to say whether Christopher had assured Bosnian President Alija Izetbegovic in the letter that the United States would hold talks with the Serbs only if they opened roads to Sarajevo. However, the spokeswoman said opening the roads was a USA priority. FRONTLINES, Bosnia and Herzegovina UN military observers yesterday reported fresh attacks by Abdic's forces and Serbs from Croatia's UNPAs on Bosnian Army positions south-east of Velika Kladusa. Garry Coward, the UN spokesman in Sarajevo, said the UN observers registered 279 artillery explosions and 179 bursts of small arms fire in 10 hours on Monday around Velika Kladusa. Conflicts were reported in the Bihac area, with the villages of Vedro Polje, Klokoc and Zegar being the hardest hit. Coward said there was more gunfire along confrontation lines west of the Bihac town "safe area" in the south of the mainly Moslem enclave, calling it "quite an active day." He also reported four other cease-fire violations throughout Bosnia, two of them in Sarajevo and Ribnica, near the main road between Sarajevo and Tuzla in the northeast. Cease-fire violations were reported overnight by HVO forces on the Orasje-Bosanski Samac front. Small arms fire from Lepnica and Batkusa targeted the eastern and western sections of the battlefront. SARAJEVO, Bosnia and Herzegovina General Rupert Smith will assume his post today as UNPROFOR commander for Bosnia-Herzegovina, replacing General Michael Rose. Upon departure General Michael Rose spoke with journalists, evaluating the continuation of humanitarian aid for civilians and the creation of conditions for peace talks as the most important success of his mandate. MOSTAR, Bosnia and Herzegovina The Major of "West" Mostar, Mijo Brajkovic, has warned that unilateral statements made by EU officials in Mostar in which they blame the Croatian side exclusively for the deteriorating situation in Mostar could cause dissatisfaction with the EU administration among the civilian population. He added that the diplomatic capabilities of the European Union are in question and that it is not the Croatian side which is halting the peace process. GENEVA, Switzerland UN chief to discuss Yugoslavia with aides UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali will meet his top political and military aides for former Yugoslavia on Tuesday to discuss the future of operations there. Attending the meeting will be UN mediator Thorvald Stoltenberg and Boutros-Ghali's special representative in the former Yugoslavia Yasushi Akashi. From the military command, French Lieutenant-General Bertrand de Lapresle, chief of the UNPROFOR, will be present together with his designated successor, French Lieutenant-General Bernard Janvier who takes over on March 1. Also at the meeting will be Michael Rose, former UNPROFOR commander in Bosnia and his successor, Major-General Rupert Smith. Diplomats said the discussion was likely to focus on the situation in Bosnia and the fragile ceasefire in operation since the New Year. It was also likely to cover the future of Serb-held areas of Croatia. KARLOVAC, Croatia Following a press conference in Karlovac yesterday, UNPROFOR officials announced that the Adriatic Oil Pipeline which passes through Sector West could be reopened within six days. Croatian experts met this morning with local Serb representatives in Petrinja regarding the reopening of the Adriatic Oil Pipeline running through UNPA Sector North. Talks are focusing on the inspection of the pipeline equipment in Hrastovica and Prekopa near Glina, in Satornja near Topusko, in Vrginmost, Vojnic and Krnjak. ============================================================= TODAY'S ISSUES==> TOPIC: MILITARY & ARMS Ref: C1VR1569 Date: 01/26/95 From: STEVE SCHULTZ (Leader) Time: 10:26pm \/To: ALL (Read 1 times) Subj: BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA UPDATE Bosnian Vice President Ejup Ganic agreed Tuesday that the peace plan put forward by the "Contact Group", originally as not subject to change, could serve as a "basis for negotiations" with Bosnian Serbs, who had said that accepting that language was a condition for renewing talks. Ganic also repeated that the plan must be signed before any changes are made. (A.P./N.Y.T.) ====================================================== TODAY'S ISSUES==> TOPIC: MILITARY & ARMS Ref: C1VR3084 Date: 01/26/95 From: STEVE SCHULTZ (Leader) Time: 10:51pm \/To: ALL (Read 0 times) Subj: BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA UPDATE Members of the "Contact Group" broke off their mission to Bosnia yesterday, accusing the Bosnian Serbs of blocking the way to restarting talks after they failed to persuade them to give explicit backing to a peace plan. Fighting intensified yesterday near Velika Kladusa. (Reuters/N.Y.T.) ============================================== OMRI DAILY DIGEST No. 19, Part I and II, 26 January 1995 (recompiled for BosNews) ============================================== CONTACT GROUP WON'T TAKE SERBS' 'NO' FOR AN ANSWER. Reuters reports on 26 January that the U.S., British, and French diplomats from the international Contact Group have reversed plans to leave Bosnia and are staying on for more talks. They originally wanted to leave after the Serbs refused again to accept the current peace plan as the basis for a settlement. The German and Russian representatives have left for previous engagements, and it is unclear whether their governments agreed to continue the talks. The Serbs appear willing to talk with an open agenda but balk at the idea of first "accepting" the plan, although the Contact Group has assured them that nothing is binding until a final settlement is signed. Bosnian President Alija Izetbegovic, however, wants a deadline imposed on the Serbs to accept the project. He says the Serbs should have two months to say "yes," plus an additional month for final talks, the Los Angeles Times reports. That would mean a deadline of around 1 May, when the current cease-fire is slated to expire. The Frankfurter Rundschau nonetheless says the Contact Group's negotiations have reached "a dead-end street." - Patrick Moore OTHER BOSNIAN NEWS. The BBC reported on 25 January that Bosnian government negotiators are boycotting a meeting slated for 26 January to discuss implementing the cease-fire agreement. They are protesting a lack of progress toward implementing the pact's provisions, but UN spokesmen charged that the Muslims' action will hold up progress even more. Meanwhile in Bihac, news agencies note further heavy shelling of government positions by Krajina Serbs and forces loyal to local kingpin Fikret Abdic. Hina on 24 January reported that Serbs are continuing to expel Croats and Muslims from the Banja Luka area and have arrested 21 mainly elderly Croats near Livno and apparently taken them to the Kamenica detention camp. Finally, dpa on 26 January reports on the plight of seriously ill children in Sarajevo who cannot be evacuated for treatment because of a lack of money. - Patrick Moore CROATIA AND BOSNIA CALL FOR US MEDIATION. AFP reports on 26 January that the Zagreb and Sarajevo governments have asked Washington to set up a three-way meeting to discuss problems in implementing the CroatianMuslim federation. Elsewhere, Reuters and Croatian media announce that the newly repaired Adria pipeline connecting the Croatian coast with Central Europe is slated to start pumping oil again. Hungary and the Czech Republic are expected to be the big beneficiaries of the reopening, which is the result of last month's Croatian-Serbian economic agreement. Croatia will profit mainly from transit fees. Hina reports that Milorad Pupovac has announced that a new ethnic Serbian party in Croatia, the Independent Serbian Party (SSS), will be founded on 29 January. Pupovac is a professor and a prominent figure among those Serbs living in areas under Croatian government control. The SSS is the latest in a series of his efforts to establish strong Serbian representation in what most Serbs regard as a repressive atmosphere. - Patrick Moore ------ The OMRI Daily Digest offers the latest news from the former Soviet Union and East-Central and Southeastern Europe. It is published Monday through Friday by the Open Media Research Institute. The Daily Digest is distributed electronically via the OMRI-L list. To subscribe, send "SUBSCRIBE OMRI-L YourFirstName YourLastName" (without the quotation marks and inserting your name where shown) to LISTSERV@UBVM.CC.BUFFALO.EDU No subject line or other text should be included. The publication can also be obtained for a fee in printed form by fax and postal mail. Please direct inquiries to: Editor, Daily Digest, OMRI, Na Strzi 63, 14062 Prague 4, Czech Republic or send e-mail to: omripub@omri.cz Telephone: (42 2) 6114 2114 Fax: (42 2) 426 396 ------ ----------------------------------------------------------------- ----- B o s N e w s - Jan. 26, 1995 ======================================== FRONTLINES, Bosnia and Herzegovina Six shells, fired by separatist Bosnian Serbs, hit the Bihac town "safe area" in northwestern Bosnia on Thursday. UN said that one civilian was injured. Paul Risley, Un spokesperson said that "between 4 and 6 am (0300 and 0500 GMT) there were six shells reported impacting within the town of Bihac, within the 'safe area'." This was the first attack on the UN-declared "safe area" of Bihac town since the weekend before last, when seven civilians were killed by Serb shells. Risley said more shells were fired from what were believed to be Serb positions in Serb-occupied parts of Croatia into the area of Coralici in the middle of the Bihac enclave. The shelling followed a day of heavy fighting both around Bihac in the south of the enclave, and the town of Velika Kladusa in the north, where 316 detonations were recorded on Wednesday. UN -- Bosnia Pullout GENEVA, Switzerland UN Secretary Boutros-Ghali said Wednesday that plans are being drawn up to withdraw the 32,000 peacekeepers in Bosnia and Croatia. Boutros-Ghali discussed the options at a meeting Tuesday with top civilian and military advisors, including the former UNPROFOR commander in Bosnia, Lt. Gen. Michael Rose, and his successor, Lt. Gen. Rupert Smith. "There is consensus that the withdrawal from Croatia will be a disaster," he told a news conference. He added "Bosnia is a landlocked country and we need the Croatian coast, the airport of Split and the troops in Croatia to sustain the presence of the troops in Bosnia." He said the new contingency plans would be ready in several weeks and that the NATO military alliance would feature strongly in any eventual withdrawal. Boutros-Ghali said he hoped a negotiated settlement could be found before the end of March that would enable the peacekeepers to stay. US Will Cut Contribution to UN WASHINGTON, USA The influential Republican head of the House Appropriations Committee, Bob livingston, said Wednesday the USA contribution to the UN peacekeeping operations will be one of the first targets for savings. The State Department strongly protests the move, which it charges will "harm American interests," by either stopping USA contributions to peacekeeping altogether or forcing the United States to stop its support of other UN resolutions. The move against USA contributions to the UN peacekeeping effort is one of the new Republican majority's goals for the first 100 days of the congressional session. The Republican "Contract with America" holds that USA contributions should not be more than 25 percent of the total cost of UN peacekeeping operations. Under the present formula, Washington will contribute about $1 billion this year to the UN's $3.6 billion peacekeeping budget. UN Ambassador Madeleine Albright told a closed hearing of the House of Representatives International Relations Committee last week that this could wipe out almost all remaining UN peacekeeping funds. -------- BosNews and BosNet-B are computer mailing lists/forums run by volunteers. Its goals are to present and distribute information relevant to the events affecting various aspects of life in/about the Republic of Bosnia-Hercegovina. BosNews/BosNet-B materials are distributed free of charge to the subscribers for educational, informative, research and/or participative purposes. The source of the original article is indicated and proper credit given, when and where applicable. Original materials such as research studies, opinions, and similar periodically published on BosNews/BosNet-B (ONASA - Oslobodjenje Sarajevo News Agency newswire, for example), should also contain the appropriate credit and source when further distributed. Opinions expressed/published on BosNews/BosNet-B do NOT necessarily always reflect the views of (all of the members of) Editorial Board, and/or moderators. Zeljko Bodulovic <ZelB@dwe.csiro.au> Davor Wagner <DWagner@mailbox.syr.edu> Nermin Zukic <N6Zukic@sms.business.uwo.ca> --------- ======================================= TUDJMAN CONFIDENT OF NO WAR WITH SERBIA . . . Croatian President Franjo Tudjman, in an unusually blunt and informal interview with Der Spiegel on 23 January, says he feels that Serbia is unable or unwilling to risk a new war with his country. Tudjman, who recently decided not to renew UNPROFOR's mandate, says the West will back his efforts to "liberate" Croatian territory, especially in view of the fact that "the Western world is willing to tolerate Yeltsin's settling accounts with the Chechens." Tudjman has no regrets about UNPROFOR's departure because its role has been "counterproductive." Turning to one of his favorite themes--namely, the age-old demarcation lines between civilizations in the Balkans--the president argues that it is in Europe's interest to prevent the establishment of a purely Muslim state in the region. He also notes that the Croatian-Muslim federation ensures Bosnia will not become a bastion of fundamentalism. Referring to the frontier between Roman Catholicism and eastern Orthodoxy, Tudjman stresses that old divisions need not stand in the way of new peace and prosperity, as Germany and France proved after World War II. -- Patrick Moore, OMRI, Inc. . . . BUT MILOSEVIC SUGGESTS OTHERWISE. The BBC on 25 January, however, quotes a statement by Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic warning that the departure of UNPROFOR from Croatia could have "unforeseeable consequences." The Serbian media and politicians from Krajina and Pale have expressed similar fears since the Croats announced their decision. Some Serbian sources have even suggested that Croatia is itching for a fight. But Zagreb has stressed it wants a peaceful solution to what it calls "the reintegration of the occupied territories." It even argues that UNPROFOR's departure will "give a fresh and strong impetus to the negotiating process," Hina quotes Foreign Minister Mate Granic as saying on 24 January. Granic is slated to go to Belgrade in mid-February for talks on normalizing relations between Croatia and rump Yugoslavia, The Washington Post noted on 24 January. Meanwhile, Hina reports that Croatia's Defense and National Security Council backed the decision to end UNPROFOR's mandate, although it adds that "Croatia is willing to consider the participation of the international community in monitoring the process of peaceful reintegration." -- Patrick Moore, OMRI, Inc. CONTACT GROUP WOOS PALE. The Los Angeles Times on 25 January reports that diplomats from the five-country negotiating team "rushed to rebel [Serb] headquarters" but "there were no immediate reports of success in their attempts to persuade the Serbs to accept a peace plan for divvying up Bosnian territory." Negotiations continued the same day on the terms for reopening the "blue routes" to Sarajevo. One Bosnian official doubted that the Serbs would observe their pledges to open the roads, adding "we already have 10,000 signatures and not a single agreement has been obeyed. Does the world have amnesia?" Reuters, meanwhile, quoted Vice President Ejup Ganic as stressing that the Serbs must accept the current peace plan before talks can begin. But the report noted that the Serbs "are shy of the word 'acceptance.'" -- Patrick Moore, OMRI, Inc. TUDJMAN AND IZETBEGOVIC MEET IN ZAGREB. Vjesnik on 25 January reports that the Croatia and Bosnian presidents met the previous day to discuss developments in their respective republics and problems regarding the setting up of the Croatian-Muslim federation in Bosnia. Vecernji on 25 January reported on the concrete issues facing the federation in Mostar, which just marked six months under EU administration. Interviews with the respective mayors of the Croatian and Muslim halves of the city illustrate the differences in positions: the Croatian mayor calls for political issues to be settled at the top level before progress can be made in the city, but his Muslim counterpart feels that Mostar should be a "pilot project for the federation." -- Patrick Moore, OMRI, Inc.