Pledges Are Expected to Fall Short of Goal
SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herzegovina (AP) — The top civilian official planning Bosnia’s reconstruction urged potential donors Wednesday to dig deep into their pockets. Bosnian President Alija Izetbegovic appealed especially to Islamic countries to provide money and arms once the NATO-led peace force leaves.All the former warring parties were told they could attend a two-day donors’ conference in Brussels this week, now that the Bosnian Serbs have met the last international conditions concerning prisoners of war. But the Bosnian Serbs’ self-styled premier, Rajko Kasagic, said the Serbs would boycott the meeting starting Friday unless they are allowed to attend as a separate delegation rather than as part of the Bosnian delegation.
Carl Bildt, who is in charge of implementing civilian aspects of the Bosnian peace agreement, said the expected pledges fell short of the $1.2 billion needed for urgent projects in Bosnia this year. He said Wednesday that he had written to the prime ministers of about 60 donor countries, “saying that whatever they had planned to pledge, they should consider whether they can pledge somewhat more.”
Only One Firm Offer in Wednesday Meet
Seventeen potential donors from the Islamic world met in Sarajevo on Wednesday, but the only concrete pledge there was $50 million for economic reconstruction announced by Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Velayati. Opening the one-day session of the Organization of Islamic Conference, Izetbegovic appealed for money and arms once the NATO-led force implementing peace leaves Bosnia. “The help we expect from Islamic countries in equipping our army and the economic help for reconstruction are one of the strongest elements in building a stable peace in this part of the world,” he said.Bildt urged Islamic countries to make “a substantial contribution” to Bosnia’s reconstruction, saying he had told them privately how much he expected. But he said the entire world must also contribute. “It’s a global task that makes it necessary for all the global actors to fully do whatever they can,” he said. Donors have pledged more than $600 million toward this year’s $1.8-billion target. If the entire amount isn’t raised, Bildt warned, important reconstruction projects such as the power grid and telecommunications that he deemed “absolutely essential for the election campaign” would be delayed. Multiparty elections, which the international community sees as crucial to establishing political stability and restoring peace to Bosnia, are expected in the fall.
Turmoil Around Karadzic Blamed for Delays
Bildt said the political turmoil around Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic might have accounted for the delay in adhering to the peace accord’s requirements on prisoners of war. Having missed the accord’s Jan. 19 deadline to release all war captives, the three factions were given until midnight last Friday to free all POWs or gather them in a central place under international supervision. The Muslim-led government and Bosnian Croats met the new deadline, but the Bosnian Serbs did not until Tuesday. Bildt had threatened to exclude the former warring parties from the Brussels conference if the POW issue were not resolved.The international community refuses to deal with Karadzic, one of 57 indicted war criminals whom the peace deal proscribes from holding power. But Bildt said Karadzic was “extremely keen not to be sidelined. “We are very keen to have him sidelined, and that is, of course, the essence of the political battle that goes on,” he said.
Bosnian Serbs to Boycott Aid Meeting
U.S. Presses Ahead with Aid to Bosnia
The World Bank
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