 |
Serb Women in Banja Luka Hold 2 Diplomats Hostage
Protests began yesterday at OSCE office by women
"The situation at this moment is stable and the representatives of the OSCE continue their dialogue," Van Vliet said. She would not identify the diplomats. But an OSCE interpreter identified them as Swiss diplomat Ronald Drayer, who heads the OSCE elections operations, and Romanian diplomat Constantin Ghirda, deputy director of OSCE’s office in Banja Luka, the largest Serb-held city in Bosnia. An OSCE source confirmed their identities.
Van Vliet said Bosnian Serb police had visited the men and they are not bound. They are being given food, she added. However, they cannot leave the building because that would involve running a phalanx of some 50 angry women, she said.
Robert Frowick, the American who heads the OSCE mission to Bosnia, was en route to Banja Luka for talks. Officials of the OSCE and the NATO-led peace force described the situation as "calm" and said local police had the matter under control. The force was patrolling the area, said spokesman Col. Max Marriner.
The women, who said they represent the Association of Parents of POWs, crowded about the entrance of the OSCE building, bearing placards in English. "Freedom for everybody, including POWs!" one sign said. None of the women would identify themselves. Scenes of the siege were broadcast Monday night on Belgrade television in which the women appeared to have Molotov cocktails. But a spokeswoman for the group told reporters they were bottles of tea and liquor to keep the women warm through the night.
The women claim that some 1,400 Bosnian Serbs from this region are either missing or still held captive by their Muslim or Croat foes. The international Red Cross says that all but about 10 prisoners still held on suspicion of having committed war crimes have been released by all three sides in Bosnia in compliance with the Dayton peace accord. However, all three sides are thought to be holding prisoners at sites not declared to the Red Cross.
The OSCE is supposed to oversee elections that the Dayton agreement stipulates be held by Sept. 14 provided the OSCE -- a security and human rights organization comprising 52 nations -- declares conditions appropriate. |
BANJA LUKA, June 18 (AP) - Bosnian Serb women demanding information about missing relatives held two European diplomats captive Tuesday in the local headquarters of the organization overseeing Bosnian elections. The women took control of the building Monday and refused to allow the two men to leave, said Joanne Van Vliet, spokeswoman for the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.
Berserkistan, June 17 · Serb Women Protest War Missing, Prisoners
Berserkistan, May 29 · Just How Moderate is Banja Luka?
Berserkistan, May 24 · John Major Tours Banja Luka
Berserkistan, May 13 · Bosnian Serbs in Banja Luka Fear War Will Return
Berserkistan, May 10 · Bildt Wins Commitment from Moderate Serbs in Banja Luka
Berserkistan May 5 · Banja Luka Moderates Seen as Serb Successors
Banja Luka Facts, Tales, Legends and Friends.
Berserkistan is a world news service of Michael Linder Productions, Inc.
©1995-1996, All Rights Reserved