Voice of America, 7 January 1996

From: "Ioannis V. Bousnakis" <ivb19@nfi.com>

Voice of America Directory

CONTENTS

[01] BOSNIA/KARADZIC (L ONLY) BY DAVID FOLEY (PALE)

INTRO: THE LEADER OF THE BOSNIAN SERBS, RADOVAN KARADZIC, HAS CALLED FOR THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY TO CHANGE THE DAYTON AGREEMENT TO ALLOW SERBS TO LIVE UNDER THEIR OWN AUTHORITIES IN SARAJEVO. HE SAYS IF THE PLAN IS NOT CHANGED SERB AREAS COULD BE BURNED OR THE CITY COULD BECOME A EUROPEAN BEIRUT. DAVID FOLEY REPORTS FROM BOSNIAN-SERB HEADQUARTERS AT PALE.

TEXT: /// ACT - GUNFIRE, FADES UNDER ///

GUNFIRE ECHOES ACROSS BOSNIAN-SERB HEADQUARTERS AT PALE AS THE ORTHODOX SERBS CELEBRATE CHRISTMAS DAY. SPEAKING OUTSIDE THE CHURCH OF THE HOLY TRINITY, BOSNIAN-SERB LEADER RADOVAN KARADZIC SAID SERBS LIVING IN SARAJEVO WILL NOT LIVE UNDER A MUSLIM GOVERNMENT. HE CALLED FOR CHANGES TO THE DAYTON AGREEMENT.

WHAT IS NECESSARY IS THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY TO RE-THINK IN THE FRAMEWORK OF THE DAYTON AGREEMENT TO GIVE TO THE SERBS WHAT THEY DESERVE AND WHAT THEY HAVE THE RIGHT TO ACCORDING TO THE INTERNATIONAL COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS. THAT MEANS THEIR OWN AUTHORITIES AND THEIR OWN SUBURBS.

MR. KARADZIC, WHO HAS BEEN INDICTED FOR WAR CRIMES, SAYS IF NO CHANGES ARE MADE THE SERBS IN SARAJEVO WILL EITHER LEAVE OR FIGHT.

ALMOST 150-THOUSAND SERBS WOULD LEAVE THEIR HOMES. I DO HOPE THEY WOULD NOT BURN THEM DOWN, BECAUSE THEY ARE VERY, VERY ANGRY. THEY HAVE BEEN BETRAYED BY THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY. THE OTHER OPTION IS IF THEY STAY DOWN THERE THEY WOULD FIGHT.

HE WARNS IF THE SERBS IN SARAJEVO FIGHT, THE BOSNIAN CAPITAL WILL BECOME A EUROPEAN BEIRUT, HE INSISTS IF THIS PROBLEM IS SOLVED THE COUNTRY WILL HAVE A VERY LONG PEACE.

THE ONLY SOLUTION IS FOR THE SERBS, AND FOR THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY, TO HAVE SERBS IN SARAJEVO -- BUT COMPLETELY AUTONOMOUS FROM MUSLIM GOVERNMENT.

INTERNATIONAL LEADERS HAVE RECENTLY REJECTED SERB DEMANDS FOR CHANGES TO THE DAYTON PEACE PLAN, AND THERE IS LITTLE CHANCE THIS LATEST CALL BY MR. KARADZIC WILL BE HEEDED. (SIGNED)

NEB/DF/DW/RAE
07-Jan-96 8:49 AM EST (1349 UTC)
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Source: Voice of America

[02] BOSNIA / SOLDIER (L-ONLY) BY DAVID FOLEY/ (SARAJEVO)

INTRO: BRITISH SOLDIERS IN NORTHERN BOSNIA HAVE RETURNED FIRE AFTER COMING UNDER ATTACK, AND A FRENCH SOLDIER HAS BEEN WOUNDED IN SARAJEVO BY AN EXPLOSION. IN SOUTHERN BOSNIA, ETHNIC TENSIONS BETWEEN CROATS AND MUSLIMS HAVE FLARED AGAIN AFTER AN OVERNIGHT CALM. DAVID FOLEY REPORTS FROM SARAJEVO.

TEXT: A BRITISH ARMORED VEHICLE ON PATROL IN NORTHWEST BOSNIA, AROUND THE TOWN OF SANSKI MOST, CAME UNDER ATTACK FROM A BUNKER NEAR THE CONFRONTATION LINE BETWEEN SERB AND MUSLIM FORCES. THE SOLDIERS SHOT 62 ROUNDS BACK AT THE BUNKER, AND NATO OFFICIALS SAY THERE WERE NO CASUALTIES AMONG THE BRITISH SOLDIERS. OFFICIALS SAY IT IS NOT CLEAR WHOSE BUNKER OPENED FIRE ON THE BRITISH OR IF THE BUNKER WAS DESTROYED.

IN SARAJEVO, A FRENCH SOLDIER ON FOOT PATROL IN A BOSNIAN GOVERNMENT-HELD SUBURB OF THE CITY WAS INJURED BY AN EXPLOSION. THE PATROL WAS IN THE PROCESS OF CHECKING FRONT-LINE AREAS EVACUATED BY THE TWO WARRING SIDES.

NATO OFFICIALS SAYS THE SOLDIER SUFFERED A BROKEN ANKLE WHEN HE STEPPED ON EITHER A MINE OR AN UNEXPLODED SHELL, AND HIS INJURIES ARE NOT LIFE-THREATENING. HE IS THE SEVENTH NATO SOLDIER WOUNDED IN BOSNIA SINCE THE MISSION TO ENFORCE THE DAYTON PEACE AGREEMENT BEGAN MORE THAN TWO WEEKS AGO. SIX SOLDIERS HAVE BEEN WOUNDED BY EXPLOSIONS AND ONE ITALIAN SOLDIER WAS SHOT IN THE ARM. MEANWHILE, ETHNIC VIOLENCE FLARED AGAIN IN THE SOUTHERN BOSNIAN CITY OF MOSTAR ON SATURDAY. ONLY HOURS AFTER NATO MADE A SHOW OF FORCE TO CALM TENSIONS IN THE ETHNICALLY-DIVIDED CITY A CROAT POLICEMAN WAS SHOT TO DEATH. THE SHOOTING ENDED AN OVERNIGHT PEACE WHICH WAS ENFORCED BY SPANISH NATO TROOPS THAT DEPLOYED TO KEEP THE TWO SIDES APART.

THE LATEST SHOOTING INCIDENT FOLLOWS A WEEK OF VIOLENCE, INCLUDING THE KILLING OF A MUSLIM YOUTH BY A CROAT POLICEMAN, THE WOUNDING OF TWO MUSLIM POLICEMAN BY MACHINE-GUN FIRE FROM CROAT POSITIONS AND THE STONING OF CROAT CARS BY MUSLIM YOUTHS.

THE CROAT AND MUSLIM RESIDENTS OF THE CITY FOUGHT A BITTER WAR IN 1993 AND UNDER AN AMERICAN-BROKERED PEACE AGREEMENT THE CITY HAS BEEN UNDER PARTIAL EUROPEAN UNION CONTROL SINCE 1994. THE TWO SIDES STOPPED FIGHTING EACH OTHER LARGELY TO JOIN FORCES AGAINST THE BOSNIAN SERBS, AND THE SO-CALLED MUSLIM-CROAT FEDERATION EXISTS ALMOST EXCLUSIVELY ON PAPER. NATO AND EUROPEAN UNION OFFICIALS HAVE WARNED THE ONGOING VIOLENCE COULD DESTABILIZE THE FEDERATION AND RISKS WRECKING THE DAYTON PEACE AGREEMENT. (SIGNED)

NEB/DF/CB/SKH
06-Jan-96 7:00 PM EST (0000 UTC)
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Source: Voice of America

[03] BOSNIA ROAD / PART ONE BY WAYNE COREY (TASZAR AIR BASE)

INTRO: THE 20-THOUSAND U-S TROOPS GOING TO BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA ARE BEING SLOWLY, BUT STEADILY, DEPLOYED THERE FROM A STAGING AREA IN SOUTHERN HUNGARY. THE STAGING AREA IS TASZAR AIR BASE AND THE NEARBY TOWN OF KAPOSVAR. FROM TASZAR, WAYNE COREY REPORTS ABOUT THE CONTINUING MOVEMENT OF U-S FORCES TO BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA.

INTRO: U-S MILITARY VEHICLES ARE CONSTANTLY ON THE ROADS AROUND TASZAR, BUT THE AMERICAN PRESENCE IN SOUTHWESTERN HUNGARY IS DISCREET.

TASZAR AIRFIELD IS ABOUT EIGHT-KILOMETERS EAST OF THE TOWN OF KAPOSVAR. THERE IS ONLY A SMALL SIGN ON THE MAIN ROAD INDICATING THE WAY TO THE MILITARY STAGING AREA. EXCEPT FOR A MILITARY PRESS INFORMATION CENTER AT THE ENTRANCE TO THE AIR BASE, NO AMERICAN FORCES ARE VISIBLE.

A MILITARY ESCORT IS REQUIRED TO TRAVEL FAR INTO THE BASE BEFORE REACHING THE U-S MILITARY TENT VILLAGE, WHICH IS THE MAIN HUB OF ACTIVITY ASIDE FROM THE AIR STRIP. THE MILITARY CALLS THE TENT VILLAGE A LIFE-SUPPORT AREA.

THE TENTS SHELTER SOME OF THE 17-HUNDRED U-S SOLDIERS ASSIGNED TO THE STAGING AREA, AND HUNDREDS OF OTHER SOLDIERS WHO ARE HERE WITH THEIR UNITS FOR A FEW DAYS BEFORE HEADING SOUTH TO BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA.

WHILE U-S MILITARY PLANES LAND AND TAKE-OFF FROM THE AIRFIELD, WORK CONTINUES IN BITTERLY-COLD WEATHER TO COMPLETELY DEVELOP THE STAGING AREA WEEKS AFTER THE AMERICANS FIRST ARRIVED.

NEW ARMY COTS ARE PILED IN THE CORNER OF ONE TENT. OUTSIDE SOLDIERS DRESSED AGAINST THE COLD WALKED CAREFULLY ON THE ICY ROADS AS THEY WENT ABOUT THEIR WORK. INSIDE THE LARGER TENTS THERE IS ROOM FOR ABOUT 200 SOLDIERS, THE SMALLER TENTS CAN ACCOMMODATE ABOUT 14. THE TENTS ALL HAVE WOODEN FLOORS, ELECTRIC LIGHTS, AND KEROSENE HEATERS. THE TEMPERATURE OUTSIDE IS BELOW FREEZING, BUT THE TEMPERATURE INSIDE IS ABOUT 25-DEGREES CELSIUS.

SOLDIERS ON THEIR WAY TO BOSNIA REFLECT A MIXTURE OF FEELINGS ABOUT THEIR ASSIGNMENTS. FEW APPEAR THRILLED ABOUT IT, SOME SAY THEY ARE JUST DOING THEIR JOB. OTHERS QUESTION WHY THEY HAVE TO GO TO BOSNIA.

THIRTY-FIVE-HUNDERED U-S TROOPS HAVE BEEN DEPLOYED TO NORTHEASTERN BOSNIA SO FAR. ACCORDING TO U-S ARMY CAPTAIN MARK DARDEN THE DEPLOYMENT SHOULD BE COMPLETED BY NEXT MONTH.

WE WANT TO GET OUR SOLDIERS IN SAFELY, AND THAT IS HOW WE ARE GOING, AS OPPOSED TO SAYING 'OKAY, BY SUCH AND SUCH DATE WE HAVE TO ALL BE THERE'. WE WOULD LIKE TO HAVE ALL SOLDIERS IN WITHIN THE NEXT SIX WEEKS, HOWEVER WE ARE MAKING SURE IT IS DONE SAFELY AND NOT TO A TIME-TABLE.

CAPTAIN DARDEN PRAISES THE COOPERATION OF THE HUNGARIAN MILITARY IN ALLOWING THE U-S ARMY TO USE TASZAR AIRFIELD. THE HUNGARIAN GOVERNMENT OFFERED THE FACILITY AS A WAY TO HELP PROMOTE PEACE IN BOSNIA AND TO ADVANCE ITS TIES WITH NATO.

HUNGARY IS A MEMBER OF NATO'S PARTNERSHIP FOR PEACE PROGRAM AND WOULD LIKE TO BECOME A FULL NATO MEMBER. (SIGNED)

NEB/RAE
07-Jan-96 2:06 PM EST (1906 UTC)
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Source: Voice of America

[04] BOSNIA ROAD / PART TWO BY WAYNE COREY (KAPOSVAR)

INTRO: THE TOWN OF KAPOSVAR IN SOUTHWESTERN HUNGARY IS BENEFITING ECONOMICALLY FROM THE CREATION OF A U-S MILITARY STAGING AREA IN THE TOWN AND THE NEARBY TASZAR AIR BASE. WHILE SOME PEOPLE IN KAPOSVAR HAVE FOUND TEMPORARY JOBS, THE AMERICAN MILITARY PRESENCE COULD LEAD TO A GREATER INFUSION OF MONEY SOON. V-O-A'S WAYNE COREY REPORTS FROM KAPOSVAR.

TEXT: KAPOSVAR IS A POOR, BUT PLEASANT, TOWN OF ABOUT 80-THOUSAND PEOPLE SURROUNDED BY THE FROZEN AND FORBIDDING WINTER LANDSCAPE OF SOUTHERN HUNGARY.

U-S ARMY CAPTAIN MARK DARDEN EXPLAINS WHY THIS TOWN AND THE AIR BASE LESS THAN 10-KILOMETERS AWAY WERE CHOSEN AS THE SITE OF A U-S MILITARY STAGING AREA FOR TROOPS BEING DEPLOYED TO BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA.

WE ARE NOW ONLY, GIVEN AIR TRANSPORTATION, AN HOUR AWAY [FROM] TUZLA. AND IF YOU PUT VEHICLES ON THE ROAD IT ONLY TAKES ABOUT FOUR TO FIVE HOURS FROM HERE TO ZUPANJA TO CROSS OVER THE RIVER AND GET DOWN FURTHER INTO BOSNIA.

THE AMERICAN MILITARY PRESENCE HAS HELPED UNEMPLOYED AND UNDER-EMPLOYED HUNGARIAN WORKERS TO GET GOOD-PAYING JOBS, AT LEAST TEMPORARILY. BUT THOSE JOBS ARE MAINLY AT THE AIR BASE, FEW AMERICAN SOLDIERS ARE BEING PERMITTED TO COME INTO KAPOSVAR. ONCE ALL 20-THOUSAND U-S TROOPS DESTINED FOR BOSNIA ARRIVE THERE, THE PACE OF WORK AT THE STAGING AREA MAY BE RELAXED, AND OFF-DUTY SOLDIERS MAY BE ALLOWED A NIGHT ON THE TOWN.

BUT THERE IS NOT YET A GREAT DEAL TO OFFER THEM. THERE IS A BODY FITNESS CENTER IN THE HEART OF KAPOSVAR THAT MAY ATTRACT SOME SOLDIERS. THERE ARE ALSO COFFEE SHOPS AND RESTAURANTS THAT SERVE ONLY HUNGARIAN FOOD.

THE BEST RESTAURANT IN TOWN IS PROBABLY IN THE HOTEL KAPOS. RESTAURANT MANAGER MAIER FRANZ SAYS HE THINKS AMERICAN SOLDIERS WOULD LIKE THE FOOD HE OFFERS AND HE IS READY TO WELCOME THEM.

AS EVERYWHERE WHERE SOLDIERS ARE LIVING, THEY HAVE TO CALCULATE THERE WILL BE TROUBLES. BUT I HOPE ALL THE SOLDIERS HERE ARE WELL EDUCATED AND BASICALLY TRAINED, BEING IN MY COUNTRY, AND WILL TRY TO STAY AS CIVILIZED PEOPLE.

SOUTHERN HUNGARY HAS SEEN SOLDIERS FROM OTHER COUNTRIES BEFORE, TURKS AND SOVIET FORCES AMONG OTHERS. BUT MR. FRANZ SAYS LOCAL PEOPLE DO NOT FEAR THE AMERICANS WILL OUT-STAY THEIR WELCOME.

I THINK THEY DO NOT THINK ABOUT THE PAST AS LONG AS THERE ARE NO RUSSIAN SOLDIERS HERE.

THE AMERICAN MILITARY STAGING AREA WILL REMAIN HERE DURING THE YEAR U-S TROOPS OPERATE AS PART OF THE NATO-LED PEACE FORCE IN BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA. (SIGNED)

NEB/RAE
07-Jan-96 3:08 PM EST (2008 UTC)
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Source: Voice of America