February 9, 1996
Web posted at: 7:20 p.m. EST (0020 GMT)
From International Correspondent Christiane Amanpour
SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herzegovina (CNN) -- Bosnian Serbs broke off relations Friday with international forces in Bosnia, marking the first time they have willingly violated the Dayton peace accord.
Leaders of the Bosnia peace implementation force (IFOR) are not taking the action lightly. A senior IFOR commander said the situation has the potential of turning bad. Others are adopting a "wait and see" attitude as the mission continues.
Bosnian Serb army chief Ratko Mladic severed ties with IFOR after the Bosnian government arrested two of his senior officers as war crimes suspects. Mladic, an indicted war criminal himself, is demanding their release.
Gen. John Shalikashvili , Chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the longer the disruption goes on, the more difficult it will be to implement peace.
"It is a matter of making sure that we get this situation fixed before it becomes a serious problem," he said. "Mechanisms exist to resolve issues through dialogue. The Serbs have absolutely no valid reason to walk away." (230K AIFF sound or 230K WAV sound)
Shalikashvili asked Bosnian President Alija Izetbegovic Friday to release Serbs against whom there is no evidence and to give good treatment to those under investigation.
Before this week's breakdown in communication, dialogue between IFOR and military leaders on all sides had been successful.
Others are optimistic that the standoff with Mladic is surmountable.
"The end game is peace in Bosnia," said IFOR Commander Adm. Leighton Smith. "This is a bump in the road ... in my mind, we'll get over this bump in the road, and we'll proceed."
Indeed, IFOR says it still has contacts with lower level Serb officials and is waiting to see just how much weight Mladic's orders will carry.
Mladic banned Serb civilians from traveling to Bosnian government territory, but around Sarajevo this is being ignored.
"The borders should be open," said one Serb civilian. "People should move around."
So far, people and vehicles are still traveling and the mayor of Sarajevo's Serb suburbs says freedom of movement will continue.
Mladic may be angry, but because he's an indicted war criminal, IFOR and other officials say his orders are irrelevant. Still, he does have power among the Bosnian Serbs, and military leaders would like to see that power diminished.
"The sooner he is taken away from any position of influence, the better," Shalikashvili said.
As a measure of its concern, the United States is sending Richard Holbrooke, the chief architect of the Dayton peace accord, to Sarajevo and other Balkan capitals this weekend to reinforce the treaty and to send a strong signal that the United States expects it to be fully implemented.
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