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Bosnian Serb Recognition Derails Yugoslav Arms Talk
VIENNA, Austria, June 5(AP) -- Bosnian Serb insistence on more recognition for their self-proclaimed state is blocking agreement on measures to reduce arms in the former Yugoslavia, diplomats said Wednesday. Delegations from Croatia, Bosnia and the new Yugoslavia -- Serbia and Montenegro -- were expected to talk into the night to try to meet a midnight Thursday (4 p.m. PDT Wednesday) deadline.
The Dayton peace agreement for Bosnia set June 6 as the date for agreement on reducing weaponry. The Bosnian Serb advantage in artillery, tanks and other equipment inherited from the Yugoslav army helped Serb forces gain control of 70 percent of Bosnia after war erupted in 1992. The aim of the talks is to cut Yugoslav and Bosnian Serb weapons stocks and also reduce Croatian arms. Five types of weapon are to be limited: tanks, artillery over 75mm, armored combat vehicles, combat aircraft and attack helicopters.
The poorly armed Muslim-Croat federation in Bosnia, which is to receive up to $98.4 million worth of U.S.-made guns, tanks, armored vehicles and helicopters this year, will not have to make cuts under the accord, diplomats say. "At the moment, there is no consensus on the most important issues, and there is a strong possibility that no agreement will be reached by the deadline," Darko Bekic, head of the Croatian delegation, told the Zagreb newspaper Vjesnik on Wednesday.
"At least one delegation is obviously opposed to reaching an agreement," he said, apparently referring to the Bosnian Serbs.
Although diplomats say the talks are mired on a number of points, the chief sticking point is Bosnian Serb insistence on being designated as a "party" to the eventual accord. The Muslim-led Bosnian government insists the Serbs should be an "entity," as they are designated in the Dayton peace accord, which designated two entities -- Serb, and Muslim-Croat -- as part of a united Bosnia. Muslims and Croats hold 51 percent of Bosnia and the Serbs have 49 percent.
Another stumbling block is Yugoslavia’s reluctance to agree to inspections that must accompany any agreement. Yugoslavia argues that such inspections cannot take place while it is suspended from the Organization of Security and Cooperation in Europe, the body that will oversee any agreement.
A 1990 treaty limiting conventional arms across Europe resulted in destruction of tens of thousands of weapons. But it applied only to NATO and Warsaw Pact nations. Then-united Yugoslavia was neutral, and thus not included.
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Berserkistan, June 5 · Bosnia, Croatia, Yugoslavia Close to Arms Deal
OSCE in Bosnia
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