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Bosnian Parliament Said Ready to Pass Army Integration Law
By Jovan Kovacic
The law, which the United States has urged the federation to adopt, is a cornerstone of the Dayton peace accord because it would integrate the Muslim-led Bosnian government and Croat armies into a single military force within three years.
Endless objections have delayed its passage, with each side blaming the other, despite recent pledges of cooperation by Muslim and Croat leaders in Washington and Geneva. "This time it is going through. There will some details left to work out until the elections, but in essence the law will be adopted," the diplomat said.
The sticking point has been that the mainly-Muslim government wants a wholly integrated army whereas the Croats want two distinct forces in a nominally united force with separate chains of command, observers said. The United States wants the federation army trained and equipped to a satisfactory level before the December deadline for the departure of 60,000 NATO peacekeepers in Bosnia.
The bickering has also held up an American "equip and train" programme to give the Muslim-Croat federation military parity with the Bosnian Serbs. James Pardew, head of the "equip and train" programme, arrived in Sarajevo for talks with Bosnian President Alija Izetbegovic and Federation President Kresimir Zubak.
He urged the two factions to paper over their differences: "We must move on. The security of the people of Bosnia is at stake here and time is running out." Muslims and Croats still distrust each other despite being
forced into federation by U.S. diplomacy in 1994 after fighting
a bitter 10-month war.
The parliament session coincided with a blow dealt by the Balkan factions to the international community by failing in Oslo to agree on an arms reduction deal. A June 11 deadline for sweeping arms cuts in the Balkans, set in November's Dayton accord, passed without implementation. The arms cuts pact has a major role in the U.S. train and equip programme since it sets the ceiling levels of arms each side can have.
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SARAJEVO, June 12 (Reuters) - Bosnia's Muslim-Croat federation parliament was poised to adopt on Thursday a defence
law to integrate and train a joint Muslim-Croat army to counter-balance Serb power. "The deal has been struck, most of the work is finished, the law will be adopted tomorrow," a diplomat said on condition of anonymity late on Wednesday.
Berserkistan, June 10 · Muslims, Croats Urged to Align for U.S. Military Assistance
Berserkistan, June 8 · U.S. Envoy Attempts to Resolve Bosnia’s Train and Equip Plan
Berserkistan, June 6 · Ethnic Tensions Blocking Bosnian-Croat Army
Berserkistan, June 5 · Bitter Debate Over Army Tests Muslim-Croat Federation
Berserkistan, May 31 · US Firm Contracted to Train Bosnia’s Army
Berserkistan, May 15 · Bosnian Soldiers to Turkey On NATO Training Program
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