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Karadzic Blamed for Opposition Bomb Attacks
In Open Letter Read on Serb Television,
Socialist Leader Calls for Resignation
BELGRADE, May 6 (Reuters) — Bosnian Serb opposition politicians allied with neighboring Serbia said on Monday separatist Serb leader Radovan Karadzic was to blame for bomb attacks and sabotage against their activists, state media said. Dragutin Ilic, head of the Bosnian Serb socialist party, issued a open letter to Karadzic warning him about "constant and systematic obstruction of the work and public activities of the (socialists) and frequent bomb attacks on its activists," the Yugoslav news agency Tanjug reported.

Ilic's party enjoys the backing of Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic and his Socialist ruling party, which has used state media to portray Karadzic as a corrupt war profiteer. The Bosnian Serb "president," who has been indicted by the U.N. war crimes tribunal in The Hague, ran foul of Milosevic during the 3½-year Bosnian war after rejecting international peace plans.

In his letter, Ilic recounted numerous bombing attacks on members of the Socialist Party of Republika Srpska (SPRS) over the past nine months and blamed Karadzic. "You will find it hard to convince anyone that all this is not taking place without your knowledge and approval, although, given everything that has been attending the work of your party, even that would not be wholly impossible," the letter said. Ilic accused Karadzic of issuing instructions to his party as well as to Bosnian Serb authorities to work against the socialists before post-war elections are held in the autumn.

Time for Karadzic to Come Down From His 'High Perch'
The letter, which was read on Serbian state television news, said it was time for Karadzic to come down from his "high perch" and to start listening to the people. "The people will tell you that you must not endanger the hard-won and still fragile peace, that you must not set your people at odds with the world, and especially not at each others' throats. They will also tell you that you may no longer abuse its plight and test their patience."

Karadzic is obliged to step down under the terms of the Dayton peace accord but he has clung to power, preventing his prime minister from attending a reconstruction aid conference in Brussels.

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