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G7 Nations Discussing Karadzic Sanctions Today
By Nicholas Doughty
Foreign ministers from the United States, Russia, France, Germany, Britain, Italy, Japan and Canada will discuss possible new steps to force Karadzic from power at a meeting on the margins of the Group of Seven (G7) summit in Lyon, diplomatic sources said.
Despite intense pressure from the international communtiy and from Serbia, Karadzic has refused to quit, except under certain conditions that the major powers say are unacceptable. With Bosnia's first post-war elections due on September 14, the United States and its partners want him removed and sent for trial at the U.N. war crimes tribunal in The Hague.
The foreign ministers, at a dinner with peace coordinator Carl Bildt and U.N. Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali, will consider whether they should reimpose sanctions or withhold reconstruction aid to punish the Bosnian Serbs. "Sanctions are being considered," said one European diplomat. "If the judgment is that we're not making any progress, then there could be pressure for renewed sanctions," said another.
Recent international gatherings in Florence and Geneva have called for Karadzic's removal but he has clung to power so far, defying and embarrassing the Western powers.
There has been talk before of reimposing sanctions lifted after last year's peace deal, but diplomats said that impatience was now growing and that Bildt in particular was pressing for a tough line from the Lyon summit. The United States has made clear it wants Karadzic ousted by a July 1 deadline.
Diplomats said there was some understanding for Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic, who had promised to oust his former protege in Bosnia. The threat of sanctions would be more likely to be directed at the Bosnian Serbs than at Belgrade.
"He (Milosevic) has made real efforts but it's not easy," said one envoy. "We want to keep the pressure on him but we want to keep him engaged." As a result, the foreign ministers could agree that sanctions should be reimposed only on the Bosnian Serb entity known as Republika Srpska -- while also leaving open the possibility of action on Serbia later, to keep the pressure on.
Such measures would require the approval of the U.N. Security Council, although Bildt could simply recommend that all sanctions be reimposed on the Bosnian Serbs and on the rump Yugoslav state, which comprises Serbia and Montenegro.
A manhunt for Karadzic by the NATO-led peace force in Bosnia has been ruled out because of concerns about casualties and the effect it would have on the fragile peace. Western diplomats said they were waiting to see what line Russian Foreign Minister Yevgeny Primakov would take at Friday's dinner. Moscow has shown more sympathy for the Serbs during the Yugoslav conflict and may block efforts to take further action, at a sensitive time in the Russian presidential elections. |
LYON, France, June 28 (Reuters) - Major powers will consider threatening the Bosnian Serbs with renewed sanctions when they meet on Friday to discuss the continued defiance of hardline Serb leader Radovan Karadzic.
Berserkistan, June 28 · Bosnian Serbs Told to ‘Break from False Leaders’
Berserkistan, June 27 · Bildt Refuses Karadzic Face-Saving Pleas
Berserkistan, June 26 · Karadzic Threatens to Bring Down Serbia
Berserkistan, June 26 · Karadzic is Still a Hero to Many Serbs
Berserkistan, June 26 · Klickovic Tries to Cut a Deal for Karadzic’s Departure
Berserkistan, June 26 · Bosnian Serbs in Crisis Over Serb Decree on Karadzic
The Indictment Against Radovan Karadzic and Gen. Ratko Mladic War Crimes Tribunal
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