A 'Most Crucial' Test of the Dayton Agreement
SARAJEVO, May 1 (Reuters) — Recent violence between Bosnian refugees trying to return home and rival ethnic groups blocking their way constitute a new threat to the Dayton peace process, U.N. and NATO spokesmen said on Wednesday. "We are now perhaps in one of the most critical periods of the peace process since the signing of the Dayton agreement," Mans Nyberg, spokesman for the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees told reporters in Sarajevo. "Clearly there is a real struggle taking place at the moment over the status and future of freedom of movement," added NATO spokesman Major Simon Haselock. "Freedom of movement is a crucial plank in the peace agreement worked out for Bosnia-Herzegovina."Two Muslims were killed and as many as 10 others wounded on Monday when Bosnian Serbs blocked their attempt to visit the graves of relatives east of Doboj. Some casualties occurred when the Muslims wandered into a minefield but at least one of the dead is believed to have been killed by small arms fire from the Serb side. Bosnian Federation Prime Minister Hasan Muratovic and his Serb counterpart Momcilo Krajisnik were meeting international mediator Carl Bildt in Sarajevo on Wednesday to discuss the incident and freedom of movement.
More than 2,000,000 Displaced by War
More than two million people displaced from their homes by Bosnia's 43-month war have a right under the Dayton peace accord to return to their places of origin. But virtually none have been able to go home across the boundary line between Bosnia's Muslim-Croat federation and its Serb entity, an administrative demarcation which is now functioning more like a border. At stake is whether Bosnia is recreated as a multi-ethnic democracy as Dayton envisioned or is partitioned, at least de facto, into ethnic mini-states.Carl Bildt, the man responsible for implementing the civilian side of the Dayton accord, has called for Bosnian Serb authorities to conduct an immediate criminal investigation into Monday's deaths outside Doboj. "He's insisting on a specific criminal investigation for people who'll be held responsible... the investigation should not be a whitewash. It will be monitored by the (U.N.) international police," Bildt spokesman Colum Murphy said.
Sceptics recalled the last U.N.-Serb murder investigation, which considered the death of Bosnia's Deputy Prime Minister Hakija Turajlic. He was shot dead at point-blank range by Serb gunmen while in a U.N. vehicle in 1993. That inquiry exonerated the United Nations from any responsibility and failed to bring any of the perpetrators to justice even though they carried out the killing in plain view of U.N. officers. "The outcome (of the Turajlic investigation) was nothing less than scandalous," Murphy said. "But we think we can move things forward. A speedy investigation has been promised... you can hold us accountable."
May 1 · Serbs Block Hundreds of Muslim Refugees
Apr 30 · Two Muslim Refugees Dead, 10 Injured
Apr 29 · 600 Muslim Refugees Try to Return Home
Apr 20 · Violence Expected as Refugees Return Home
Apr 20 · In 9 of 10 Cases, Authorities Blocking Refugee Return
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