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BOSNEWS digest 424 -- 07/10/95
From: Nermin Zukic <n6zukic@sms.business.uwo.ca>
DEVELOPMENTS ON THE DIPLOMATIC FRONT AND ON THE GROUND IN THE BALKANS:
President Clinton announced October 5 that Bosnia, Croatia, and Serbia had
agreed to a country-wide cease-fire for Bosnia. The cease-fire would begin
on October 10 only if gas and electricity supplies to Sarajevo are resumed.
If these conditions are not met by October 10, the cease-fire will be
delayed until they are. The provisions of the agreement call for a complet=
e
halt to all offensive military activity, including sniper fire. It also
calls for free passage for non-military and UNPROFOR traffic between Saraje=
vo
and Gorazde, and Belgrade and Gorazde. Free passage between Sarajevo and
Bihac, or between Sarajevo and government-held territory in central Bosnia =
is
not guaranteed. The agreement also calls for Bosnia, Croatia, and Serbia t=
o
participate in peace talks in the United States around October 25. The
cease-fire will last for 60 days or until peace negotiations conclude,
whichever is longer.
Many observers expect the Bosnian Army and Serbian forces to push for furth=
er
territorial gains in the next few days before the cease-fire is scheduled t=
o
take effect. U.N. officials reported that frontlines across Bosnia were
relatively quiet, but that Serbian forces were poised to recapture the town
of Kljuc in western Bosnia. After liberating Kljuc last month, the Bosnian
Army uncovered mass graves apparently containing the remains of hundreds of
Muslims and Croats massacred by Serbian forces early in the war. U.N. and
Bosnian officials are concerned that the fall of Kljuc to Serbian forces
would prevent future examination of the graves. The Bosnian government
reported gains in fighting near Trnovo and Konjic to the south of Sarajevo.
In other diplomatic news, the Croatian government and Serbian forces
occupying eastern Slavonia agreed on October 3 to vague guidelines for
further negotiations on the region's future. The guidelines call for a
"transition period" for restoring Croatian sovereignty and control over the
region. During this period=97which Croatian government officials claim wou=
ld
be no longer than one year=97the U.N. Security Council would administer the
region. International forces would be stationed in eastern Slavonia to
maintain peace and enforce a final settlement. Croatia warned that a final
settlement must be reached by November 30. Zagreb has pledged to liberate
the territory by force if it is not peaceably reincorporated into Croatia b=
y
then.
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