In Washington, Clinton and Christopher
Urge Preservation of Bosnian FederationWASHINGTON (Reuters) — President Clinton and Secretary of State Warren Christopher Tuesday prodded Croat and Muslim leaders to resolve nagging differences as they opened talks expected to agree on a crucial law integrating Bosnia's competing armies. The U.S.-hosted talks — which included a short meeting with Clinton at the White House — are the latest attempt to keep alive the problem-plagued Croat-Muslim federation created under the Dayton peace accords.
The 1995 U.S.-brokered accords are considered crucial to Bosnia's future.
"We can ensure compliance with many aspects of the peace agreement but you must ensure genuine cooperation," Christopher told the leaders during an initial plenary session at the government guest residence known as Blair House.
"We can only help the federation if it has working federal institutions with which foreign governments and investors can do business ... You will prosper only if you inspire confidence in your future," he warned. As one example, Christopher said it was "essential" that the leaders approve and implement a new federation defense law to unite the armed forces of the Muslim and Croat communities.
"Only when those forces are integrated can the international community begin helping to train and equip them," he said, referring to a multi-million dollar program that is now on hold. Christopher said it was important that the day-long talks achieve concrete results.
U.S. officials said they were reasonably confident there would be agreement on the defense law. But officials had been predicting that for several weeks.
Later, senior Croat and Muslim leaders met at the White House with Clinton, Christopher and Vice President Al Gore. There, Clinton pressed them again on the defense law and also on the importance of holding elections this year and on observing human rights, U.S. officials said.
"It's a day where we hope to use the influence of the United States and the European Union, (the international community's) high representative's office to try to move them (Croat and Muslim leaders) toward compromise and agreements," State Department spokesman Nicholas Burns told reporters.
Commitments to integrate Muslim and Croat entities in the Federation have been made before but have foundered on the private nationalist agendas of politicians on both sides and resistance of local ethnic gangsters who profit from division. Croats and Muslims fought a bitter war in 1993 in Bosnia and old wounds are far from healed.
The federation is one of the entities that comprise the new Bosnia under the Dayton peace agreement. The other is the Serb republic. The United States initiated the federation in 1994 as a way to end conflict between those two Bosnian factions and to isolate the militarily-dominant Serbs.
One focus of Tuesday's meeting is plans for elections, including nationwide polls in Bosnia expected by Sept 15 and their precursor, polls in the divided Bosnian city of Mostar. Croatia and the European Union support holding the Mostar elections on May 31. Muslims want a delay. Burns refused to divulge the U.S. preference.
The Mostar elections are seen as a key step to reintegration and a test of the fairness of polling in Bosnia before the nationwide elections. They were thrown in doubt after political parties based on the city's Muslim east bank failed to register by a Friday deadline in a protest of voting rules they say penalize non-Croats displaced from Mostar by war.
Muslims argue the voting rules will effectively legitimize the loss of their homes and asked for a delay to reconsider the EU election proposals. In addition to Christopher, participants at Tuesday's talks included Federation President Kresimir Zubak, Federation Vice President Ejup Ganic, Bosnia's prime minster and foreign minister and Michael Steiner, deputy to Carl Bildt, the international community's high representative for Bosnia.
Berserkistan May 14 · U.S. Attempts to Salvage Bosnian Federation
Berserkistan May 9 · Silajdzic: Ethnic Purity will Disintegrate Bosnia
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