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Bosnian Serbs Reject Brcko Arbitration By Mark Heinrich
The 1995 Dayton peace treaty on Bosnia left competing Muslim and Serb claims to the strategic northern strip of land to be resolved by arbitration within one year.
Carl Bildt, the international High Representative overseeing the implementation of Dayton's civilian aspects, was told by letter at the weekend that the Serbs would recognise no arbitrator's decision as things now stood.
"(Therefore) the Serb Republic could not take part in this arbitration," he told a news conference, adding: "Nobody can see exactly where this dangerous issue is going to go." The corridor, about five km (three miles) wide, forms the economic and military umbilical cord between Serb-controlled lands in eastern and northern Bosnia. It also connects the north to Serbia. The Serbs want to widen the corridor to shore up the most vulnerable part of their separatist entity.
Bosnia's Muslim-led central government wants the entire Brcko area, which had a Muslim majority before the 1992-95 war, to be reincorporated in its territory. Three arbitrators -- one designated by the Serbs, one by the Muslims and one acceptable to both -- must decide the matter. But the two designated arbitrators failed to agree on the identity of the third by Sunday's deadline.
"The procedure under Dayton is that if there is such a failure the International Court of Justice has the authority to appoint the third arbitrator. So (Bildt) is in touch at the moment with the International Court," said Murphy. Serb political leader Radovan Karadzic, who accepted the U.S.-brokered Dayton treaty only under duress and has since defied most of its provisions, said a few weeks ago his side could not tolerate a loss of Brcko. "The Serb leadership told us that if this thing was not solved, Brcko could well be a 'casus belli'," said Murphy. "You only have to look at the map to see how strategically important Brcko is to both the Serb republic and (Muslim-Croat) federation.
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SARAJEVO, July 15 (Reuters) - Bosnian Serb authorities have served notice they will not accept international arbitration on the future of the Serb-held Brcko corridor under current conditions, mediators said on Monday.
Colum Murphy, Bildt's spokesman, said the two sides' inability to agree on the extent of the territory to be covered
by arbitration lay at the core of Serb objections. "The High Representative has received a letter from Dr Vitomir Popovic, the Bosnian Serbs' designated arbitrator, in substance complaining that a number of conditions have not been met," Murphy said.
Berserkistan, May 22 · Serbs in Brcko Contradict Karadzic
Berserkistan, May 17 · Muslims Cross Peacefully into Brcko
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