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Holbrooke Urges Milosevic to Surrender Radovan Karadzic
‘I cannot tell you we made any progress today and I will not characterize the talks except to say that they were inconclusive and in progress’
Holbrooke was sent to the region by President Clinton, who is eager to see Radovan Karadzic, who has been charged with war crimes during Bosnia’s 3½-year war, removed from office.
On the second stop of his Balkan tour, Holbrooke met for four hours with Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic, the region’s most powerful politician. "I cannot tell you we made any progress today and I will not characterize the talks except to say that they were inconclusive and in progress," said Holbrooke. He said the talks would continue Thursday.
Milosevic has abandoned Karadzic, his former ally, in an effort to placate the international community. He is the only regional leader strong enough to have Karadzic arrested and delivered to the U.N. war crimes tribunal. But the Serbian president seems unlikely to act because he fears a backlash by nationalists in Serbia -- as well as the damaging testimony Karadzic could deliver about Milosevic’s role in the Bosnian war.
For now, the international community seems ready to settle for Karadzic’s removal from political office. The Bosnian peace accord, drafted in Dayton, Ohio, bans war crimes suspects from political office. "Our goal is to implement completely and fully the Dayton agreement," Holbrooke said as he arrived at the Belgrade airport. "Bosnian Serbs are not in compliance." Because Milosevic signed the accord on behalf of the Bosnian Serbs, "we want to talk with President Milosevic about what can be done to keep the peace process moving," he said.
He would not say whether NATO had changed its stance on capturing war crimes suspects -- NATO officials have said troops will detain suspects they come across but will not search them out. Holbrooke also refused to elaborate on suggestions -- leaked by foreign diplomats here -- that he may threaten Milosevic with economic sanctions if Karadzic refuses to leave the political stage.
"I can’t say," he told The Associated Press at the Sarajevo airport. "We don’t know what will happen."
Bosnian President Alija Izetbegovic said he told Holbrooke in a meeting that the peace agreement was a military success but a political failure. Izetbegovic said there is neither freedom of movement nor freedom of the press in Bosnian Serb territory -- about half of Bosnia -- and that the "key issue" was the removal of Karadzic from power.
Karadzic and his military commander, Gen. Ratko Mladic, have been indicted on charges of genocide and crimes against humanity by the war crimes tribunal in The Hague, Netherlands. Strong international pressure has forced Karadzic to relegate some of his presidential duties to a hawkish aide. But he continues to resist efforts to have him replaced as president of his ruling Serbian Democratic Party, despite threats that the party will be banned from Sept. 14 elections.
The Dayton peace plan bars any suspects sought by the U.N. war crimes tribunal from public office. |
BELGRADE, Yugoslavia, July 17 (AP) - Saying he has "the full backing of NATO" for his mission, U.S. envoy Richard Holbrooke met with the most powerful man in the Balkans today in an attempt to unseat the Bosnian Serb leader.
Richard Holbrooke, an investment banker who served as U.S. envoy last year and into early this year, returned to public life at Clinton’s request after efforts to sideline Karadzic stalled. He began his Balkan tour Tuesday with a trip to Sarajevo, the Bosnian capital. Before leaving Sarajevo today, he said that "we got the full backing of NATO" for efforts to end "serious non-compliance by the Bosnian Serbs."
Berserkistan, July 16 · Holbrooke in Bosnia to Seek Karadzic’s Removal
Berserkistan, July 16 · Holbrooke Pulls No Punches Responding to Serb Threats
Berserkistan, July 16 · Holbrooke, ‘Kissinger of the Balkans,’ Returns to Bosnia
Berserkistan, July 16 · Izetbegovic Warns Holbrooke of Bosnian Election Boycott
Berserkistan, July 15 · EU Disagrees on How to Force Karadzic from Public Office
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