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Marginalize Karadzic, West Will Tell Milosevic at Geneva
U.S. officials said Christopher would press Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic to use his influence to oust Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic and military commander Ratko Mladic, as he promised under last year's peace agreement. Karadzic and Mladic are both wanted by the U.N. war crimes tribunal in The Hague and they have embarrassed the West with their continued presence.
Milosevic told U.S. envoy John Kornblum in Belgrade last week that he would show in Geneva that Karadzic, his former protege, was on the way out. But U.S. State Department spokesman Nicholas Burns said that this would not be enough, saying that Washington "did not receive assurances that we find convincing from Milosevic."
Karadzic, who led the Serbs through more than three years of war as a nationalist favouring Bosnia's ethnic partition, has already fought off a challenge from moderates. Western powers see him as a major threat to peace with the elections now looming, although diplomats say there is a willingness to leave aside the issue of a war crimes trial for now -- as long as they can strip him of his power.
Bosnia's Muslim-led government says the conditions for holding free and fair elections have not yet been met and insists that both Karadzic and Mladic must face justice. "That has to be done if we want to have elections," Bosnian President Alija Izetbegovic said on arrival in Geneva.
Washington has raised the possibility that crippling U.N. sanctions could be reimposed on Serbia if Milosevic fails to deliver on his promises. The problem has become urgent because the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), which is overseeing the elections, must decide by June 14 if the right conditions exist for the vote to go ahead.
There are still problems with freedom of movement and the return of hundreds of thousands of refugees but the head of the OSCE in Bosnia said progress had been made. Robert Frowick told reporters in Geneva it was still possible to hold the elections but he hoped Karadzic would be removed from power. "As long as he's around, it would be unhelpful for the elections," he said.
Christopher, who arrived in Geneva on Saturday, will meet Milosevic, Izetbegovic and Croatian President Franjo Tudjman. He also plans talks with military commanders of the NATO-led peace force in Bosnia and international coordinator Carl Bildt. Senior officials from Russia, France, Germany, France and Britain will attend the talks.
While the military side of last November's Dayton peace deal has gone well under the 60,000-strong NATO force, attempts to rebuild government and civil structures have faltered badly. NATO is unwilling to risk launching a "manhunt" for Karadzic and Mladic, hence the reliance on pressure from Serbia.
The new Bosnia is to be a loose union, with a Bosnian Serb entity and a Muslim-Croat federation. The federation, vital to the success of the plan, is shaky and marked by mutual mistrust between the former enemies. Washington and its allies have agreed they will begin withdrawing the NATO force at the end of the year but know they may have to leave troops there much longer unless they can build a country with a legitimate government, through the elections.
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GENEVA, June 2 (Reuters) - The United States and its allies meet Balkan leaders on Sunday to try to keep Bosnia's fragile peace process on track, but few signs have emerged that they can achieve their aim of crushing the hardline Serb leadership. The Geneva meeting, bringing together U.S. Secretary of State Warren Christopher and European officials with the presidents of Bosnia, Serbia and Croatia, will try to ensure that post-war elections in Bosnia are held as planned in September.
Berserkistan, June 1 · Tomorrow’s Geneva Summit: Assuring Bosnia’s Elections
Berserkistan, May 31 · Warren Christopher to Intervene at Talks in Geneva
Berserkistan, May 31 · US: Cost Cost of Capturing Karadzic, Mladic Too Great
Berserkistan, May 30 · EU Administrator Sets Mostar Elections for June 30
U.S. State Department Policy on Bosnia
Warren Christopher Biography
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