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U.S.: Bosnian Elections Likely by September
By Kurt Schork
SARAJEVO, May 23 (Reuters) — Free and fair elections are likely to be held on schedule in Bosnia, despite obstacles posed by hardline Bosnian Serbs, U.S. diplomat John Kornblum said on Thursday. Speaking to reporters in Sarajevo during a tour of capitals in the former Yugoslavia, the U.S. Assistant Secretary of State sounded an upbeat note on the prospects for implementation of the Dayton peace agreement, which ended Bosnia's 43-month war.
"The Dayton agreement does not say that we have to have a perfectly functioning democracy in place (in order to hold elections)," Kornblum said. "The elections are to be held, if you look very carefully at the Dayton agreement, when the conditions for the holding of free and fair elections have been achieved. And I think there is every prospect those conditions will have been achieved."
Under Dayton, elections should be held across Bosnia not later than mid-September if a number of conditions, including freedom of movement, free media and the rights of refugees to return to their homes, are met. "The elections are the starting point for the (democratic) process and not the end-point," Kornblum said. "Under those criteria I think it's very realistic to expect that we can hold free and fair elections."
Kornblum's comments were the most optimistic forecast heard for some time. Most diplomats have voiced scepticism free and fair elections could be held while hardline Bosnian Serbs and Croats still hold sway in their respective areas of the country. Kornblum's visit to the region was sparked by the success last weekend of a manoeuvre by Bosnian Serb President Radovan Karadzic in defying international mediator Carl Bildt and sacking his moderate prime minister.
Kornblum said he met Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic in Belgrade for four hours on Wednesday and discussed the futures of Karadzic and his commander Ratko Mladic, both twice indicted war criminals. Kornblum said he told Milosevic, patron of the Bosnian Serbs, that Washington expected both men removed from power and handed over to the Hague war crime's tribunal.
Asked about the U.S. programme to equip and train the Bosnian Army to make it competitive with other regional forces, Kornblum said two criteria had to be met by the Bosnian government before the assistance could begin. The first was that a unified defense law be signed merging Bosnia's Muslim and Croat armies into a single force. Kornblum said the law had been agreed and was due to be adopted by the parliament of the Muslim-Croat federation by May 31st.
The second condition was that "foreign forces" be expelled from Bosnia. The U.S. was concerned at the alleged presence of Iranians in Bosnia and has demanded they leave before a programme to equip and train the joint army starts. American sources said on Thursday that the U.S. government was "close to a decision" on equip and train. Speaking of the decision, Kornblum said: "I can't tell you when that decision will be made but I think the process is moving ahead positively."
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Berserkistan, May 23 · Rights Group: Postpone Bosnia's Elections
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