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EU Disagrees on How to Force Karadzic Out By Johnathan Clayton
The issue has led to renewed U.S.-European tensions over policy in Bosnia, but Spring told a news conference: "The question of no agreement on how this is to be achieved must not be allowed to overshadow the fact we agree on the objectives." He added that all sides were agreed on the importance of holding elections in Bosnia as scheduled on September 14.
Diplomats said Britain and France failed to win support for the approach of international mediator Carl Bildt, who fears Karadzic's party could wreck the polls with a boycott if pushed to drop him -- an approach favoured by the U.S. and Germany. German Foreign Minister Klaus Kinkel insisted that the EU ministers should drop a key sentence from their final declaration which expressed "strong support for the efforts of those most closely involved."
The failure to agree a common approach on what to do about Karadzic opened up the most damaging split between the major powers since the Dayton peace accords were reached in November. The architect of the Dayton accords, Richard Holbrooke, was to return to the region from the United States this week to remind Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic of his obligation to help to deliver Karadzic to justice. The major powers in the five-nation Contact Group on Bosnia failed to agree in London last week on a united stand, with Washington pushing for tougher action and Britain and France urging caution.
Germany, which has few troops in the NATO-led force implementing the Dayton accords, has lined up behind the United
States.
French Foreign Minister Herve de Charette and British Foreign Secretary Malcolm Rifkind earlier stressed earlier that Karadzic must quit as leader of the Serb Democratic party (SDS). "All measures, including sanctions, should be considered," de Charette told reporters, while Rifkind said Britain "very strongly endorsed representations being made at the present time to get him to step down."
Neither would comment on what would happen to the election process if Karadzic, an indicted war criminal, remained free and involved with the SDS, which rules in Bosnian Serb territory. De Charette said Paris would be guided by the advice of Carl Bildt who wants to build on the progress he says he has already made in weakening Karadzic's influence on events. Bildt, also supported by London, takes a sharply different view of the situation from Robert Frowick, the U.S. ambassador charged with organising the polls on behalf of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).
Frowick said campaigning for the elections could not begin while Karadzic remained in political life, adding that he met Karadzic's deputies last week to press them to deal with the issue. |
BRUSSELS, July 15 (Reuters) - European Union foreign ministers failed to agree on Monday on a strategy for removing
Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic from political life if a U.S.-led diplomatic initiative failed. Irish Foreign Minister Dick Spring, who chaired the meeting, said there was total agreement on the need to sideline Karadzic, but no consensus on how this could be done.
Berserkistan, July 12 · Bosnia Mediator Likens Karadzic to Nazi’s Himmler
Berserkistan, July 12 · War Crimes Chief Slams Yugoslavia for Failure to Arrest Karadzic
Berserkistan, July 11 · Tribunal Issues Arrest Warrants for Karadzic, Mladic
Berserkistan, July 11 · Warrant Aims at Pair Who Ran Bosnian Serbs’ War Machine
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