January 14, 1996
Web posted at: 5:00 p.m. EST (2200 GMT)
MOSTAR, Bosnia-Herzegovina (CNN) -- The day after U.S. President Bill Clinton's visit to former Yugoslavia, international efforts turned Sunday to reinforcing the shaky Muslim-Croat alliance at the heart of the Bosnian peace plan. Meanwhile, NATO said it had not yet received any requests from the U.N. war crimes tribunal or other organizations to help escort investigators checking new allegations of mass graves in Bosnia.
"We made a commitment that within two weeks there would be concrete progress" (toward peace in Mostar.)
-- Muhamed Sacirbey, Bosnian foreign minister
Speaking after German-led talks in Mostar, Bosnian Foreign Minister Muhamed Sacirbey said the Muslim and Croat communities have pledged to unite the ethnically divided city, the weak link in the federation and one which has jeopardized the entire Bosnian peace process.
"We made a commitment that within two weeks there would be concrete progress ... to return refugees to their homes and make sure that Mostar is one city with freedom of movement for all, human rights and democracy for all," Sacirbey said.
Croatian Foreign Minister Mate Granic, who was also present, gave Croatia's support to the federation but set a number of preconditions. Among them were restoration of full freedom of movement in Mostar, now divided into Croat and Muslim sectors, and the establishment of a single police force for the whole city.
The success of the peace plan depends on the Bosnian Croats and Muslims working together in their half of the country to counter-balance the other half, the Bosnian Serb Republic. But a series of killings between Muslims and Croats in Mostar since the New Year has strained their alliance. Sunday's talks were led by German Foreign Minister Klaus Kinkel. Germany led European Union recognition of Croatia when it broke from Yugoslavia in 1991.
NATO's commander in Bosnia, Adm. Leighton Smith, also visited Mostar briefly on Sunday to back the federation. But he said civilians, not his Bosnian peace Implementation Force (IFOR), must take the lead in solving Mostar's law and order problems. (85K AIFF sound or 85K WAV sound)
Kinkel said that the European Union and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe would arbitrate in the event that the 14-day deadline was not respected. He blamed local Croats for the Mostar trouble, which erupted when Croat police fatally shot a Moslem youth at New Year. "Clearly forces on the Croatian side, who want to disrupt the federation, are at work," he said.
A NATO spokesman said that if IFOR had the time and resources, it would provide security for any parties wishing to investigate new reports of mass graves in Ljubija, in northwestern Bosnia. The reports said Bosnian Serbs may have hidden up to 8,000 bodies in mine shafts. This is in addition to earlier accounts of mass graves near Srebrenica, a Muslim enclave in eastern Bosnia that fell to the Serbs last June.
The spokesman declined to say whether NATO would force the Serbs, who guard the mine, to open the way for investigators. NATO officials say that helping the search for mass graves is not a priority and that they are busy for now in making sure that the military forces of the warring parties are withdrawn behind zones of separation by this Friday's deadline.
-- Serb authorities released three more men detained since last month in a Serb area of Sarajevo, after international officials pressed for their release. Another 16 detainees who also had tried to pass through a Serb suburb were freed earlier this month. The Bosnian government says two more people are still missing and believed held by the Serbs. One of the men released Sunday, a 50-year-old Serb, said he had been mistreated in custody. But the other two, a Muslim, 60, and a Serb, 54, said they had been well-treated.
-- Bosnian factions are expected to release their remaining war prisoners this week, a senior Red Cross official said. About 900 prisoners will cross the lines dividing territory held by the Muslim-Croat federation and the Bosnian Serbs at various points on Monday and Tuesday, the official told reporters in Sarajevo. Under terms of the peace agreement, all prisoners must be released by this Friday.
-- The commander of Russian troops in Bosnia said his soldiers plan to begin their patrols within two weeks. The first 150 soldiers of a 1,500-strong Russian brigade flew into Tuzla on Friday. The rest are due to arrive by the end of January. The Russians will operate in mainly Serb-held territory in Bosnia's northeast corner. They will report to U.S. commanders because of Russia's uneasy relations with NATO.
Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
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