December 30, 1995
Web posted at: 8:45 a.m. EST (1345 GMT)
From Correspondent Christiane Amanpour
BANJA LUKA, Bosnia-Herzegovina (CNN) -- It was dubbed the "heart of darkness" because of the Serb's wartime campaign of ethnic cleansing in northwest Bosnia. Now, Banja Luka, the biggest Bosnian Serb stronghold, may become a base for the peace enforcers.
On Friday, the IFOR commander, Admiral Leighton Smith, toured a weapons factory, and recieved gifts from Serb military officials. Three months ago, he was approving NATO airstrikes on Serb military targets.
Admiral Smith says he's pleased with the progress of the peace mission so far.
Peace implementation is said to be going well around Bosnia but in some cases the Serbs are using political pressure to try to win back what they lost at the negotiating table - control of some Sarajevo suburbs.
The peace deal calls for the city to be reunified under Bosnian federation control but senior Serb leaders are still holding out for separation. "I think the (city of) Mostar model to have ethnic municipalities will be the solution the future, or at least for a year or two," Bosnian Serb Vice President Nikola Koljevic said.
The Serbs are asking Admiral Smith to extend the handover deadline but Smith says that he has no political authority to do so. He says that he can extend deadlines for moving military equipment. "I can extend the time to clear minefields in some places but I do not have the authority to renegotiate the peace agreement," Smith says. (179K AIFF sound or 179K WAV sound)
Confusion erupted earlier this week when Admiral Smith told Serbs that he would reserve judgment on extending the deadline, triggering a swift complaint from Bosnian President Alija Izetbegovic. Insisting that Smith can only postpone the deadline by a matter of days, the Bosnian government accuses the Serbs of doing everything possible to defeat the Sarajevo deal, using skittish Serb civilians as pawns.
The Serbs insist that their people will never accept government control, that they will all leave if that happens. But some Serbs admit to wanting to stay. They say that they are confused and ill-informed about details of the peace deal.
A Serb member of the collective Bosnian presidency, Mirko Pejanovic, is calling on IFOR to immediately deploy foot patrols and U.N. civilian police to reassure Serbs in the suburbs.
Many believe that success in implementing peace in Sarajevo will be the key to success in the rest of Bosnia.
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