Quote from Forum Archives on March 25, 1999, 5:11 am

Posted by: lifeunlimited <lifeunlimited@...>

March 25, 1999

For your information, the following is the latest Bosnia Report
newsletter I receive. Past issues have been very balanced, reporting
helpful information of what is going on in the former Yugoslavia.

If it interests you, you might consider subscribing, following the
directions at the bottom of the letter.

In Christ,

Bob Tolliver ---- Rom 1:11-12
Life Unlimited Ministries
E-mail: [email protected]
Ph: 417-275-4854
Fax: 417-275-4855

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From: [email protected] (Bosnia Action Coalition)
To: [email protected]
Cc: [email protected], [email protected]
Subject: SPECIAL REPORT: Airstrikes in Yugoslavia
Date: Wed, 24 Mar 1999 21:00:14 -0500 (EST)
Message-ID: <[email protected]>

March 24, 1999

This Week in Bosnia-Hercegovnia
SPECIAL REPORT: AIR STRIKES IN YUGOSLAVIA
Will NATO military action over Kosovo affect peace in Bosnia?

NATO forces launched attacks on military targets across Yugoslavia
today, seeking to destroy air defenses, and command and control
systems of the Yugoslav National Army. Serb military installations
in the province of Kosovo were also targeted.

While paramilitary forces from Serbia rained death and destruction
across large swaths of former Yugoslavia since 1991, today marks the
first time that any military action has come to the heart of Serbia.
NATO air strikes in 1995 that sought to stop the war in Bosnia were
aimed largely at targets within Serb-held Bosnian territory.

Today's NATO attack force included satellite-guided cruise missiles,
U.S. B-52 bombers, new U.S. B-2 ``stealth'' bombers, and attack
aircraft from 11 nations, U.S. officials told reporters.

The strikes came in retaliation for the Yugoslavian government's
refusal to sign a Western-backed peace plan for Kosovo, as well as the
continued destruction of Kosovo villages and atrocities against ethnic
Albanian civilians there.

Russia, which backed Serb nationalist ``ethnic cleansing'' in Bosnia
during the war there, objected strongly to today's NATO action. Russia
threatened to send weapons to Yugoslavia and stop further cooperation
with NATO.

Russian officials said their troops in Bosnia will now only take orders
from their immediate commanders, United Press International reported.

Meanwhile, the NATO peacekeeping force in Bosnia closed all airports
within Bosnia-Hercegovina as airstrikes against neighboring Yugoslavia
began.

``Nobody in this country is going to fly a plane unless they have our
okay,'' NATO spokesman Maj. David Scanlon told UPI. ``This has been
taken as a prudent, precautionary measure to avoid any confusion or
misunderstanding that could result in tragic consequences.''

Fearing Serb retaliation against Americans due to the NATO airstrikes,
the
U.S. State Department yesterday warned U.S. citizens to leave Republika
Srpska, the Serb-run entity within Bosnia. The U.S. also pulled out its
civilian government personnel from Srpska.

Milorad Dodik, the relatively moderate caretaker Srpska prime minister,
had urged NATO not to attack Yugoslavia, according to Agence France
Press, while nationalist Serb politicians also condemned the action.

The NATO military strikes could ``further increase'' tensions in
Srpska, and ``there may even be attempts by hardliners to retaliate
against the international community there,'' Reuters reported.

``But officials and analysts said on Wednesday they did not expect any
major incidents in Bosnia as a result of such military action, not
least because of the strong presence of the NATO-led peacekeeping force
throughout the Balkan country.''

SFOR, the NATO-led Stabilization Force in Bosnia, said it had advised
international officials in the Serb entity to "take precautionary
measures," even though it estimated the risk of something happening as
low, according to Reuters.

Here is a Bosnia Action Coalition analysts of how the conflict in
Kosovo and airstrikes in Yugoslavia might affect longer-term peace in
Bosnia.

Is the bombing in Serbia likely to set back the peace process in
Bosnia?

A great deal depends on the outcome brought about in Yugoslavia by the
NATO air strikes. If they bring about the Belgrade regime's acceptance
of the Rambouillet peace agreement, the peace process in Bosnia can
only benefit.

Under the terms of the proposed agreement hammered out in France, the
Yugoslav government would have to accept a NATO-led peacekeeping force
for Kosovo. That force, composed principally of troops from Europe ,
would guarantee enforcement of the agreement -- including an end to
"ethnic cleansing" in Kosovo, political autonomy and the rule of law in
the province, and observance of the human rights.

The Rambouillet agreement also stipulates that the Belgrade government
would have to cooperate with the UN war crimes tribunal and with the
tribunal's investigations.

Since Belgrade is currently believed to be sheltering a number of
indicted war criminals, the requirement for cooperation with the
tribunal would also help speed the quest for justice and reconciliation
in Bosnia.

The Bosnian Serb entity has already declared it would be neutral in any
conflict between Yugoslavia and NATO. While many politicians and
ordinary Bosnian Serbs are angry and upset by what is happening
in Yugoslavia, where they have relatives and friends, it appears
unlikely at this point that they will go beyond voicing their
unhappiness about events next door.

After more than three years of peace, the majority of people on all
sides in Bosnia are deeply invested in maintaining the progress they
have achieved, and are probably reluctant to risk it all by staging
violent confrontations.

Both SFOR and the Office of High Representative Carlos Westendorp have
taken precautions and peacekeeping troops are on alert for any
incidents.

The international community is also conscious of its investment in
peace in Bosnia. The need to preserve peace in the region was one of
the key considerations that led to the decision to intervene in Kosovo.

"Ethnic cleansing" carried on there by Belgrade's forces has already
driven 200,000 refugees across borders from Kosovo into neighboring
countries, including Bosnia. The arrival of tens of thousands of Kosovo
refugees within the past twelve months has imposed a terrible burden on
Bosnia, and has further complicated efforts to find shelter for the many
Bosnians who are seeking to return to their home towns and villages.

A best-case scenario for NATO's Kosovo intervention would be if it led
to the disgrace of Milosevic and a change to a more democratic regime
in Belgrade. While, given NATO's superiority in arms and manpower, a
protracted conflict in Kosovo appears to be unlikely, even in the short
term Bosnia may have to cope with a new wave of refugees fleeing the
fighting in Yugoslavia.

Helping these new victims of war is sure to be a challenge to the
international community, the local authorities in Bosnia, as well as
ordinary Bosnians.

Meanwhile, CBS television in the U.S. reported recently that despite
dire warnings of the dangers and potential morass of sending troops to
Bosnia, the mission there now appears to be a success. ``As far as the
GIs
are concerned, the debate about being here is over,'' correspondent
Allen Pizzey reported.

``I went to visit a mass grave site,'' Sgt. 1st Class Randy Coe told
CBS. ``If it stops something like that, then it's the most important
reason of all. It's why we're here.''

``It's not a soldier's job to do peacekeeping missions,'' Capt. David
Sanders added, ``but only a soldier can do it.''

_________________________________________________________________________

To subscribe or unsubscribe to ``This Week in Bosnia-Hercegovina,''
please send a message to [email protected]

This Week in Bosnia-Hercegovina can also be found on the World Wide Web
at
www.applicom.com/twibih/

The Bosnia Action Coalition gratefully acknowledges the donation of
server space and mailing list services from Applied Computing Solutions
Inc. (www.applicom.com)
--The Bosnia Action Coalition

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