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Peacekeepers may seek out Bosnian war-crime suspects
September 24, 1997
Web posted at: 12:06 p.m. EDT (1206 GMT)
NEW YORK (CNN) -- NATO-led peacekeeping troops in Bosnia may soon seek out suspected war criminals in the region, including former Bosnian Serb president Radovan Karadzic, CNN has learned.
The policy would mark a more aggressive approach in the handling of alleged war criminals, something the United States has sought.
The Clinton administration also is trying to build its case for a sustained role by international peacekeepers in Bosnia beyond next summer's planned pullout. The 8,500 U.S. troops in the region are part of the 31,000-strong NATO force.
Currently, NATO peacekeepers are authorized to capture suspected war criminals only if they encounter them in the course of normal patrols and if the apprehension can be done safely. Peace forces are not allowed to pursue suspects, conduct manhunts or arrest suspects in situations that might lead to casualties.
NATO and the United States repeatedly have said that the arrests of accused war criminals is not and will not become a mission for the international Stabilization Force in Bosnia, or SFOR. They say making arrests is a job for police, not the military.
But the United States has pushed for creation of an international police force that could pursue alleged war criminals, arguing that the suspects threaten the region's fragile peace. However, no international consensus on the special force has been reached.
Meanwhile, Karadzic, the most prominent former leader indicted on wartime charges, remains free to engage in a power struggle with Biljana Plavsic, who succeeded him as president. An international war crimes tribunal at The Hague wants to try Karadzic and others for atrocities committed during Bosnia's 3 1/2-year civil war.
Wary of another Somalia
A senior Clinton administration official told CNN that the proposed policy to capture war-criminal suspects could take affect after Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. John Shalikashvili retires later this month.
The source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Shalikashvili and other top military brass have been hesitant to go after suspected war criminals, because of the failed U.N. peacekeeping mission in Somalia to capture faction leader Gen. Mohamed Farrah Aidid.
In October 1993, Aidid's militia shot down two U.S. helicopters, killing 18 Army rangers and prompting outcries in the United States to withdraw the multinational force. The United Nations completed its withdrawal in March 1995, leaving Somalia to the warring factions.
The NATO peacekeepers who are trying to stabilize the former Yugoslavia are scheduled to withdraw in June 1998.
Observers fear if war-criminal suspects remain at large, they could split the region geographically and politically, leaving the Dayton peace accord in jeopardy after the peacekeepers leave.
U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, who is in New York to attend a meeting of the U.N. General Assembly, is to meet Wednesday with ministers of the Contact Group, which deals with Bosnian issues.
Albright said Tuesday she hoped to use the meeting to "touch base and move forward" with peace efforts, especially now that the local Bosnian elections are over.
From State Department Correspondent Steve Hurst.
Related stories:
- Next test for Bosnia: Enforcing election results - September 15, 1997
- Heavy turnout, few problems in Bosnia balloting - September 13, 1997
- NATO: Coup attempt against Bosnian leader thwarted - September 9, 1997
- Bosnian hard-liners stage defiant rally - September 8, 1997
Related sites:
Note: Pages will open in a new browser window
- NATO - official site
- Operations IFOR & SFOR provides information relating to NATO's role in bringing peace in the Former Yugoslavia
- OSCE: Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina - providing information about the OSCE's activities, particularly as they relate to the elections scheduled for September 14, and to assist refugees to vote
- Croatia/Bosnia-Herzegovina - from CARE
- BosniaLINK - the official Department of Defense information system about U.S. military activities in Operation JOINT GUARD, the NATO peacekeeping mission in Bosnia
External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.
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