In Pale, the Bosnian Serb parliament postponed debate on the latest peace talks until 10 January a few days before the parties were due to reconvene in Geneva. Parliamentary speaker Momcilo Krajisnik, quoted by the Serbian radio Pristina, said that there would be no more concessions to BiH. «I hope that . . . an agreement will be reached, but if the fundamentalist and militant forces in the Moslem camps do not allow this, nothing remains for us than to defend our land». *4077
In his New Year's message to BiH, President Izetbegovic said that the country's hardest year was now behind it. «We are stronger now than we were a year ago, and reason is on our side», he said. *4078
The head of the Bosnian Serb army, Ratko Mladic, pledged in a speech to defend Serb-held territory. «We must be ready to defend what we have gained, but also to be ready, if we have to, to fight until final victory», said Mladic, quoted by the Tanjug news agency. *4079
The Tanjug news agency reported that former French President Valery Giscard D'Estaing met with BiH President Alija Izetbegovic in Sarajevo. *4080
UNPROFOR in Sarajevo said that the situation of fighting in central BiH was abating, except for in Sarajevo. «We have the impression the last two days have been very quiet, except Sarajevo where there is still tension, and Mostar where it is not quiet», UNPROFOR spokesman Major Idesbald van Biesenbroeck said. *4090
UNPROFOR Commander, General Jean Cot, said from Zagreb that his forces were ready for military intervention if the UN ordered it. «We have prepared for an offensive intervention» in former Yugoslavia as envisaged by UN resolution 836, and «we are ready», he told the French television channel France 2. But he said the plan would not be put into action unless he considered that conditions for such an intervention had been met and that he had the agreement of UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali in New York. *4091
Hopes for an easing of tension between BiH and Croatia grew when a spokeswoman for Croatian Foreign Minister Mate Granic said that he would meet BiH Prime Minister Silajdzic in Vienna on Tuesday to discuss territorial disputes and humanitarian issues. Sources at the Geneva conference said that European Community and UN mediators Owen and Stoltenberg would also attend the Vienna meeting. They said that talks would focus on how to secure access to the Adriatic Sea for BiH as part of a peace deal. The talks were also expected to cover the cease-fire agreement which was supposed to last throughout the Christmas season but had been violated repeatedly by all sides. *4092
British Prime Minister John Major told BBC radio that Britain's more than 2,000 troops would not remain indefinitely in BiH and warned that they would be withdrawn if their safety was jeopardized. «They will be there for a while but we cannot guarantee they will stay there indefinitely, any more than can any of the other countries with large troop emplacements there», he said. *4093
The body of a former BiH general was found in a car park along the main highway between Liege in eastern Belgium and the German border town of Aachen. Sources said that two Romanian hitchhikers found the corpse of Jusuf Prazina at Walhorn overnight Friday. Prazina, 30, who had been fighting in Sarajevo, and later Mostar, settled in Liege last August. He once headed BiH troops on Mount Igman and was praised for his defence of the city in 1992. However, he later fell out with the BiH high command, was termed a traitor and fled in the spring of 1993 when he joined HVO Bosnian Croat forces. He had reportedly been missing since late last month. *4094
The United States was about to double the number of relief flights into the city, UNHCR said. «Within the next few days the number of aircraft will be increased [from eight] to 17. These will be mainly American, although the French and Germans are considering raising their contributions», UNHCR's Ray Wilkinson said. Of the eight aircraft already delivering aid to the city, six were reportedly American C-130s. France and Germany had contributed one aircraft each. *4105
BiH and Croatian leaders held talks in Vienna. *4106
The Belgian defence ministry said that the commander of UNPROFOR forces in BiH, General Francis Briquemont, might leave his post early and return to Belgium. Briquemont, an outspoken critic of political efforts to end the fighting, *4107 had been due to leave in July, but a ministry spokesman said that he had asked in December to return early. *4108
British Lieutenant General Sir Michael Rose was appointed to replace Belgian Lieutenant General Francis Briquemont as the new commander of UNPROFOR forces in BiH. Briquemont cited exhaustion as the reason he asked to be relieved of his post at the end of the month. *4120
The city was without water. UNPROFOR said that it would take days to repair transmission lines downed in the fighting. *4121 UNPROFOR also said that the main power supply line (30 megawatts) between Reljevo and Buca Potok, damaged in shelling before Christmas, could not be repaired before mid-January while several days would be needed to obtain authorization to repair the 18 megawatt line between Vogosca and Velesici. The power supply to the city was hit further by a technical halt ordered late on Tuesday at the Kakanj plant 50 kilometres to the north- west. *4122
BiH and Croatian leaders held a second day of talks in Vienna. *4123 Croatian Foreign Minister Mate Granic and BiH Prime Minister Haris Silajdzic announced that a plan to halt hostilities between their two sides would be put to a meeting in Bonn on Saturday between BiH President Izetbegovic and Croatian President Tudjman. «Both sides have confirmed that they will, within the framework of the preparations for the summit meeting, make firm efforts to prepare a complete plan of the cease-fire implementation along all the frontlines», a statement said. The joint statement issued by BiH and Croatia in Vienna said that both sides pledged to «cease all military activities and establish conditions for the durable cessation of hostilities» in central BiH. *4124
Negotiator Lord Owen, stated that cease-fires alone would not solve the problems in the former Yugoslavia. Negotiator Stoltenberg, added that there had already been 69 cease-fires and still no sign of an end to the war. Owen said that the BiH warring generals had not taken «a blind bit of notice» of their Christmas cease-fire. On a positive note, he added: «What is important is that they're starting to grapple with the real issues underlying the problem». *4125
BiH President Izetbegovic demanded that the UN Security Council stop the shelling of Sarajevo. «We are demanding the Security Council that it take efficient measures and stop the tragedy of Sarajevo and its citizens», BiH radio quoted him as saying in a letter to the Council. «This is the 10th day that Sarajevo is being shelled by the Serb aggressor and its residents are being killed daily by the scores before the world», Izetbegovic said. *4134
A group of about 50 mourners buried the family of six who were killed on Monday. The funeral took place at the Lion cemetery. *4135
UNHCR Sarajevo spokesman, Ray Wilkinson, said that aid convoys in Serb areas of BiH would be suspended on safety grounds over the next three days, the Serbian Orthodox Christmas period. This decision was based on a concern that a means of celebrating Christmas would include the firing of shells and ammunition into the air. *4136
BiH soldiers were reportedly wearing red ribbons to distinguish themselves from the Bosnian Serbs in close-quarter combat. *4137
UNPROFOR said that BiH government troops had launched several attacks on Serb positions around the city over the past few days, drawing a heavy Serb artillery response. «There are certainly no major changes in the front lines», UNPROFOR spokesman Bill Aikman added. *4147
In Bonn, Germany, BiH Prime Minister Silajdzic demanded the resignation of Europe's mediator, accusing Lord David Owen of trying to force BiH to accept an unjust peace. *4148
The bombardment of the city prompted the UN Security Council late in the day to make the following statement: *4149 «The Security Council condemns any hostilities in the United Nations-designated safe areas, especially in the Sarajevo area». «In particular it strongly condemns the continuing military pressure on and the relentless bombardment by Bosnian Serb forces of the capital city, Sarajevo», it added.
US and British diplomats told Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic to stop Bosnian Serbs from their continuous shelling of Sarajevo and concentrate on negotiations. Britain's UN ambassador, Sir David Hannay, said that British and American representatives in Belgrade «went and saw the President of Serbia and underlined the serious view which we took of the shelling of Sarajevo and the urgent need to stop it and to get back to the negotiating table and get a settlement». He said that no threats were made and that air strikes were not mentioned, adding: «It was a question of bringing to him the seriousness of the situation». «The main purpose of the demarche was to bring home to him that this continuing bombardment of Sarajevo was totally counter-productive and that we should get back to the negotiating table and get a settlement», he said. «The positions are now much closer together and it is a tragedy really that while this very slow process of moving the parties along is going on, lives were being lost», he added. Hannay spoke to reporters as the Security Council was meeting in an informal session regarding the shelling of Sarajevo. *4150
US Secretary of State Warren Christopher said that air strikes in BiH were still a possibility that would be discussed next week at a NATO summit that President Clinton was to attend. But he made it clear that Americans did not want the Brussels' summit to be dominated by a debate over the policy towards the former Yugoslavia. He said it would focus instead on the fate of eastern European countries wishing to join NATO. Addressing the issue of NATO airstrikes, Christopher said that this «remains a valid resolution with respect to air support» and that Sarajevo's status «is under constant review by the United States and NATO». *4151
Following a meeting between mediators and French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe in Paris, a foreign ministry spokesman said that UN troop deployment in BiH would have to be reviewed if a peaceful solution was not forthcoming. *4152
Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien, who met in Paris with French President Mitterand said that his government would decide whether to withdraw its 1,500 peacekeepers from BiH in March or April. *4153
Defending the recent BiH army tactic of initiating offensives in Sarajevo, an unidentified BiH official told the New York Times: «The world has shown us that only raw force matters here. The world has shown us for two years that arguments mean nothing». The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that it was absurd to suppose that the BiH government was trying to garner sympathy in world public opinion by provoking the Serbs to shell Sarajevo. «It is not our strategy to sacrifice our own civilians», he said. «We called our people to stay off the streets». «If Mladic only attacked Sarajevo whenever we attacked Grbavica, that would be an argument», the official said. «Mladic attacks this city whenever he's in the mood. The United Nations too rarely criticizes that». «The situation is such that we must take some targets. The war cannot be resolved militarily, but this military activity is necessary to strengthen our negotiating process», he added. *4165
Local officials reportedly refused to permit reservoirs developed by the New York-based International Rescue Commission (IRC) to flow into the municipal water system, as they were worried about the water's safety. Three of five planned reservoirs had been completed and one of them was full with more than 220,000 gallons of water, enough to supply one quarter of the city's minimum needs. The IRC system was designed to pump water from the Miljacka river into a chemical treatment and purification system and then store the clean water in steel reservoirs for release into the municipal system. *4166
Several hundred Bosnian Serb residents gathered to celebrate Christmas Mass in the morning at an Orthodox church in the old part of the city. *4167
The latest round of peace talks had to be pushed back a day until Sunday, because BiH President Izetbegovic was unable to fly out of the city due to the airport's closure. *4168
UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali reportedly turned down a request by UNPROFOR commander, General Jean Cot, that he be given the power to order punitive air strikes. *4169 The commander denied making any such request. *4170
Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic said that his side was unwilling to concede any more territory and warned that if BiH wanted to carry on fighting they could expect a massive response. «We've fulfilled everything that was expected of us and there can be no question at all of any more territorial concessions by the Serbs», Karadzic was quoted as saying by the Bosnian Serb news agency. If if BiH continued fighting, «we will activate wartime production, mobilize wartime production, mobilize the entire population», he said. *4176
UN special envoy Yasushi Akashi arrived in the city after a delay of several hours caused by the temporary closure of the airport. He reached the city overland from Kiseljak. After a meeting with members of the BiH presidency, Akashi said that the men «agreed on the utmost urgency of restoring peace and ensuring freedom of movement for humanitarian convoys because people are suffering». *4177
In Bonn, BiH President Izetbegovic and Croatian President Tudjman were greeted by German Foreign Minister Klaus Kinkel and mediators Lord Owen and Thorvald Stoltenberg. Izetbegovic told reporters that he was pessimistic about the outcome of the Bonn talks. «To be sincere, to be frank, I do not expect any big progress, any big breakthrough. From my experience before, from my experience with Croatians, I am not encouraged». *4178
A BiH-Croatian agreement was seen as crucial to making progress towards an overall peace settlement of the conflict at Geneva negotiations later in the month, at which Bosnian Serbs would also be present. *4179
US Vice President Al Gore, Defense Secretary Les Aspin and Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff General John Shalikashvili all amplified warnings during the day, saying that air strikes could be ordered at any time by NATO ministers in Brussels this week. *4180
UN special envoy Akashi said that UNPROFOR in BiH had been refining a system by which it could call in punitive air attacks when its troops were attacked. Akashi said that the so- called «close-air support» system would still depend, for first use, on the go-ahead of UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros- Ghali. He added: «We have had some exercises . . . and we are experimenting as to how to shorten the time required». «We are still refining the concept, but actual use of close air support has never been recommended». *4185
After meeting with Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic in Pale, special envoy Akashi stated: «I have been assured by Dr. Karadzic that so far as his side is concerned there will be full respect for the use for our purposes of Sarajevo airport». *4186
Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic warned that any NATO air strikes against his people would force them to reconsider all concessions to BiH. «If NATO adopts a new resolution aimed against the Serbs it would most certainly not contribute to the peace process, but instead would cause new difficulties in the search for a peace agreement», Karadzic told the Bosnian Serb news agency SRNA. *4187
NATO leaders said that they were ready to order air strikes in BiH under UN authority to prevent the siege of Sarajevo or to protect other areas, according to a draft of an alliance summit statement. A copy of the statement, which NATO sources said had been agreed to by all 16 leaders and was to be issued Tuesday stated: «We affirm our readiness, under the authority of the United Nations Security Council ... to carry out air strikes in order to prevent the strangulation of Sarajevo, the safe areas and other threatened areas in BiH». *4188
In Bonn, BiH President Izetbegovic and Croatian President Tudjman met face-to-face in the morning for nearly three hours before being joined by mediators Lord Owen and Thorvald Stoltenberg. After a break for lunch and consultations, the four resumed talks. «The talks will go on through the afternoon and probably into the evening», a UN source said. *4189
After two days of talks, the Bonn meetings ended. Croatian diplomats said that a cease-fire agreement had been reached, but BiH officials denied it. President Izetbegovic told German television that the talks had yielded «no great results» but had improved the atmosphere between the two sides. *4190
Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic blamed BiH forces for the day's airport shelling and said that this was done to pin the blame on the Serbs. «All this is pressure directed on us. All that we can do is live and act like there was no pressure», he said.
Bosnian Serbs dismissed the NATO warning to break the siege of Sarajevo and other threatened areas, saying that this was «unworkable» and describing the issue as a «storm in a tea cup». «We have been threatened for two years and these threats are unworkable» mainly because of the close proximity of Muslim and Serb front lines around the besieged cities, General Manojlo Milovanovic, chief of staff of the Bosnian Serb forces said. *4204
NATO leaders wound up their summit meeting in Brussels. Addressing the BiH issue, NATO warned Serb forces that it was ready to launch air strikes if shelling did not stop. The leaders reaffirmed an August decision to «prevent the strangulation of Sarajevo» by using air strikes, denounced cease-fire violations and said that the present «situation cannot be tolerated». They also extended the air-strike threat beyond the one contained in the August communique, vowing to deliver humanitarian relief by opening the air strip at Tuzla and to break a siege at Srebrenica so that UN soldiers from Canada, who were trapped there, could be replaced by Dutch troops. There were no signs, however, that air strikes were imminent, but British Prime Minister John Major was reportedly meeting with NATO military commanders to work out the rules of engagement. NATO Secretary-General Manfred Woerner said that he saw «stronger determination», but was not sure if all members of the alliance were resolved to act. He said: «My interpretation is there is a clear determination not to continue the situation as it stands. (But) more I cannot say at this time». *4205
The humanitarian airlift into the city resumed. *4209
UNHCR reported that fierce fighting between BiH and Croat troops in central BiH had blocked humanitarian aid routes from the Adriatic coast to Sarajevo and Tuzla. *4210
The International Committee of the Red Cross condemned random firing on the civilian population in the city after a woman was killed outside its headquarters on Tuesday. «We request all parties to put an end to all actions which are contrary to international humanitarian law, notably the indiscriminate shelling and sniper shootings against civilians», it said. *4211
In Geneva, UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali ordered a feasibility study of the more immediate NATO threat to launch air strikes. UN officials said that the Secretary-General had asked Yasushi Akashi to assess the risks of Western military action for review at a high-level meeting of UN officials in Geneva on Monday. *4212
The UN accused Bosnian Serbs of preventing repairs to a key electricity pylon, contributing to a power shortage in the city. «It's straight out-and-out bureaucratic harrassment by the Serbs», said UNPROFOR spokesman Bill Aikman. *4220
BiH Prime Minister Haris Silajdzic threatened to boycott peace talks in Geneva next week unless the shelling of the city stopped. Sarajevo radio said: «Speaking about the future of the Geneva talks, Silajdzic stressed that if the aggressor continues to destroy Sarajevo and other towns and to kill civilians during the Geneva talks, the talks will not be held». *4227
After a day of negotiations with Bosnian Serb leaders, BiH Prime Minister Haris Siladjdzic held out little hope for next week's round of peace talks in Geneva. «I can't say that things are going to be better in Geneva», he said after meeting Momcilo Krajisnik, president of the Bosnian Serb parliament. «We have been offered an unequal peace», he said. *4232
The leaders of the warring factions cast doubt over the prospects of a settlement at Tuesday's peace talks in Geneva. BiH Vice President Ejup Ganic stated: «There is new pressure on our government not to give away what is ours». He added, «[I]f the international community tries to divide according to power and force, it will not stand. Even if we sign an agreement, the dispossessed will not obey it». *4236
Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic stated: «Sarajevo used to be completely a Serb city. We will never leave and it will be the capital of our new state». He added, «They (Serb military) are advocating us to prepare for a long war and I think they are right». *4237
BiH Prime Minister Haris Silajdzic dropped his threatened boycott of the negotiations. Silajdzic left Sarajevo for the talks with President Izetbegovic, Foreign Minister Irfan Ljubijankic and army chief Rasim Delic. When asked about what he would demand at the peace talks, he replied: «Return of the refugees, stopping the aggression». *4238
The Bosnian Serb SRNA news agency, citing an official communique issued by Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic, said that he issued a «severe warning» forbidding any attacks by Serb troops on the Sarajevo airport, on UNPROFOR troops, on the International Committee of the Red Cross and on any other humanitarian organizations. *4244
British squadron leader John McEvoy, deputy in charge of the 60 UNMOS in the Sarajevo area, observed that the BiH army forces in the city had become more efficient in recent days. He said that the BiH army was originally a disorganized unit which included hired guns and a criminal element. However, «[E]ver since the reorganization and moving of certain commanders last summer, you can definitely say the Bosnian army comes across as more professional», he said. «They have introduced a rank system. They have appointed officers with JNA training in command positions, and the criminal element that was in charge during the summer has been put firmly to the rear». *4245
McEvoy stated that the UN had no proof that sides in the conflict were bombarding their own areas as a way to gain international sympathy but could not rule out such a possibility. The British officer complained about the state of UN staffing in BiH, saying that he needed 15 times as many observers in Sarajevo and that the monitors were not equipped to count precisely the number of outgoing shells. The mobility of BiH government artillery pieces, mostly small mortars, also made monitoring more difficult. Observing Serb positions was easier because the UN had checkpoints closer to their batteries, McEvoy said. *4246
Outgoing UN commander Briquemont was critical of the prospect of air strikes in BiH. «People who don't know the situation in Bosnia should be more circumspect . . . .», Briquemont said in an interview to be published in the German weekly news magazine Der Spiegel. *4247
Eight Islamic states, meeting in Geneva, renewed calls for a UN arms embargo to be lifted and for air strikes against Bosnian Serbs. After meeting the BiH government delegation they issued a vague threat of economic action against Western states deemed to be blocking the peace process. *4248
According to UN officials, since June 1992, 7,272 flights had brought in 81,948 tons of aid into Sarajevo via the humanitarian airlift. *4253
In Geneva, international mediators held out little hope for agreement at the latest round of peace talks between the warring factions. Lord Owen said that military offensives made the prospects for agreement «not very high». Thorvald Stoltenberg said that the atmosphere «has never been less conducive» to ending the war. Owen said that he did not know if renewed Western threats of airstrikes against the Serbs had much effect on the three sides. «I think that there is a fairly hardened cynical bunch of politicians out there who make their own assessment about the likelihood of this». «I don't think this is the fundamental thing. I think the fundamental thing is that there is a lot of fighting to be done, on the face of it», Owen said. *4254
Mediators Lord Owen and Thorvald Stoltenberg held separate talks with leaders of the Serb, BiH and Croatian sides. *4255
In Geneva, UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali ordered his special envoy in the former Yugoslavia to draw up plans for possible military action, including air strikes against Serb forces, UN sources said. *4256
A second day of talks began in Geneva between the mediators and Presidents Milosevic of Serbia and Tudjman of Croatia. The Presidents and later BiH's warring Serb, Bosnian and Croat leaders joined a plenary session with the mediators. Arriving at the meetings, Lord Owen predicted that Milosevic and Tudjman would go home later in the day unless there was «a very dramatic change in the tone and tenor of negotiations». *4261
Croatia and Yugoslavia agreed to start normalizing relations as the latest round of BiH peace talks faltered. The accord did not amount to a full mutual recognition but «representative offices» would be opened in Zagreb and Belgrade by 15 February, diplomats said. *4262
The UN Secretary-General won support from France to remove the UNPROFOR commander in the former Yugoslavia, General Jean Cot, who publicly criticized Boutros-Ghali's refusal to empower him to order air strikes. The French defence ministry announced that Cot would return home in March, four months before his one year term as commander expired. *4263
UNPROFOR commander, General Francis Briquemont said that commitments by military commanders of the warring factions were not being honoured by their troops on the ground. Briquemont called a meeting of the commanders of the Bosnian Croat and BiH armies, Ante Roso and Rasim Delic, at Sarajevo airport Wednesday to protest their forces' obstructionism. Today he said in a statement: «More than ever, it must be very clearly stated that it becomes impossible for us to deliver humanitarian aid to the population of BiH while the warring parties continue to fight». The statement listed instances where commitments by Bosnian Croat and BiH army commanders on access for humanitarian operations were not honoured by local troops. *4267
BiH President Alija Izetbegovic vowed that he would not accept peace at any price despite increased pressure from agreements on closer links between Serbs and Croats. «We said we do not want any kind of peace. We want a fair peace», he said after the latest round of Geneva peace talks ended on Wednesday no nearer to a deal to halt the hostilities. The Geneva talks were scheduled to resume on 10 February. President Izetbegovic said: «In our opinion the peace process should not be stopped. It won't be in the interest of BiH». *4268
The French government proposed that the United States, Russia and the 12 European Union countries hold urgent talks to work out a new approach to trying to stop the BiH conflict. *4269
In a protest letter to UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali after the killing of the six children today, the BiH government again called for air strikes to knock out the Serb artillery surrounding the city. Prime Minister Haris Silajdzic stated: «We ask you to request the bombardment of Serb positions around Sarajevo according to UN and NATO resolutions. What more must happen before UN resolutions to protect six Serb-besieged enclaves in BiH be implemented?» *4276
UNHCR spokesman Kris Janowski said that aid convoys were flowing relatively freely again in BiH but he called the situation precarious because it was feared that heavy fighting would resume following the collapse of the Geneva talks. *4277
UNPROFOR spokesman Bill Aikman admitted anxiety about the resumption of fighting--«everyone knows the current calm cannot last»--but said that reports of imminent violent combat were «somewhat exaggerated». *4278
The Bosnian Serb news agency SRNA quoted the command of the Sarajevo Mount Romanija Corps as saying that the mortars which killed a group of children on Saturday were not fired from Serb positions. «Bosnian Serb army units in the Sarajevo zone did not fire a single shell at the time the massacre took place», SRNA said. *4282
UNPROFOR reported that it was unable to determine who fired Saturday's shell which killed six children. According to reports, the shell's angle of trajectory could not be calculated from the shallow crater made on impact. *4283 However, UNPROFOR spokesman Bill Aikman made the following statement regarding the shelling: «We can give you the direction, but we can't confirm the distance it was fired from». But he said that the shell had come from due west of the Alipasino Polje neighbourhood where it landed. «It was a 120 millimetre mortar shell», he added. Both the Bosnian Serb and the BiH army had such weapons. *4284
Bosnian Serbs threatened to bar medical evacuations from the city after BiH authorities arrested seven Bosnian Serbs for trying to flee the city. Sarajevo police sources said that five doctors were arrested on 3 and 4 January as they tried to slip over the BiH army front lines into the Serb-held inner city district of Grbavica. Two Serb employees of the state oil company were also arrested in a Sarajevo apartment at the same time. All were jailed on charges of «avoiding military duty» (the BiH government banned citizens of draft age or holding essential jobs from leaving territory it controlled without exit permits). *4285
Between 300 and 400 people gathered at a Sarajevo cathedral for a mass attended by the papal nuncio in BiH, Francesco Monterisi, to celebrate a «prayer for peace in the Balkans» day. «We have come to show our solidarity with your suffering», Monterisi said, adding that the Catholic Church would «ask for an end to shelling, killing and destruction». *4286
In the Vatican, Pope John Paul II, in a speech on the Roman Catholic Church's international day of prayer for BiH, edged towards support of military intervention in the region. «Appropriate authorities have the responsibility to try everything humanly possible to disarm the aggressor and create conditions for a just and lasting peace», he said. *4287
British General Michael Rose arrived in the city to take over the command of the UNPROFOR troops in BiH. Rose, 54 was named to the post on 5 January by UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali to replace Belgian General Francis Briquemont. He formerly headed the elite Special Air Service commandos and led SAS regiments during the American Embassy siege crisis in Iran and in the Falklands war. *4292
UNHCR successfully evacuated sox injured persons from the city. Two of the evacuees were brothers, injured in Saturday's shelling. The other evacuees included another boy with a several-week-old eye injury, two Bosnian Serb men with war injuries and a woman with a brain tumor. *4293
French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe, in talks in Paris with US Secretary of State Warren Christopher, raised the possibility of imposing a peace settlement in BiH but Washington rejected the idea, a senior US official said. «We made clear that we would not support the idea of imposing a settlement on the aggrieved party, putting pressure on the Moslems», the official said. «And we discussed the fact that imposing a settlement logically could lead to the suggestion of using troops to do so, and he understood we are not prepared to do that», he said. *4294
In Washington, US President Clinton said that he had no information to suggest that either UN Secretary-General Boutros- Ghali or the NATO heads of state were prepared to go forward with air strikes. «I don't think that the international community has the capacity to stop people within the nation from their civil war until they decide to do it», he said. He predicted there would be no settlement in BiH «until the sides decide that they have more to gain from signing a peace agreement than by continuing the fighting». Clinton said that the BiH officials «appear to be the most reluctant to sign a peace agreement at this time» because they have been able to obtain some weapons and have made some battlefield gains in recent weeks. *4295
Political and military representatives of the three warring factions met for talks at the airport, but were unable to reach an agreement, BiH Prime Minister Haris Silajdzic told Sarajevo television. The meeting, originally scheduled to take place in Split, lasted six hours and was to resume on Wednesday. Issues raised included resuming power, water and gas supplies to Sarajevo, the establishment of «hot lines» between the warring groups and the setting up of joint commissions to negotiate the status of specific disputed areas, Silajdzic said. Bosnian Croat military leader General Milivoj Petkovic, the head of the Bosnian Serb parliament Momcilo Krajisnik and the Bosnian Serb military leader General Ratko Mladic also attended the meeting. *4299
A UN spokesman said that police in the Serb-held Ilidza suburb, the origin of small-arms fire that hit overflying US and German aeroplanes last week, had arrested three persons for shooting at aircraft. Arrest warrants had been issued for five others, said Colonel Bill Aikman. «One of the individuals arrested has admitted to shooting at aircraft in the last couple of weeks», he told a news briefing. Aikman did not know if the suspects were soldiers in the Bosnian Serb army, irregulars, or civilians. The arrests reportedly came after Serb supreme commander General Ratko Mladic allowed UN observers to keep watch along the airport perimeter abutting Ilidza following the shooting incidents. «The UNMOS went out last week, were active in patrolling the area down from the airport, and worked together with Serb authorities who said they did not approve of [shooting at aeroplanes]», Aikman said. *4300
UNPROFOR commander General Jean Cot said that he wanted the decision making process for NATO air strikes to be no more than 30 minutes. He said: «In the case of a massive attack against a safe area or anywhere else, the only means we have of reacting against this, of reacting immediately, is close air support--on condition, though, that we are able to react immediately». «Immediately means three minutes. That would be perfect. Half an hour would be nice. But it's certainly not more than that». *4301
The three warring factions reached an agreement to restore part of the electrical power grid serving the city. The accord was worked out after two days of talks at the airport among representatives from the Bosnian Serb, Croat and BiH sides. The parties pledged not to destroy pylons, to refrain from hindering the distribution of electricity and to repair six power lines in southern, central, northern, eastern and north-eastern sectors of the city. However, BiH Prime Minister Haris Silajdzic acknowledged that talks on political and military issues made no headway. «We're just going in circles», he said, adding that a new round of tripartite contacts would take place on 5 February at a level of representation still to be determined. *4305
UN brass usually traveled in armoured cars in Sarajevo. However, on his second day of command, UNPROFOR commander Lieutenant General Michael Rose walked the 550 yards from his residence to the BiH Presidency building. *4306
In Geneva, the United States initially agreed to consider Russia's call for another meeting of foreign ministers from members of the UN Security Council, to try to bring an end to the conflict in the former Yugoslavia. Russia's special envoy, Deputy Foreign Minister Vitaly Churkin, called for Council foreign ministers to meet urgently in Geneva to persuade the warring sides to agree on a political settlement. *4307 The US reportedly rejected the Russian proposal. State Department spokesman Mike McCurry said: «It seems to us at this point very doubtful that a meeting called by the Security Council foreign ministers would have any greater success than the efforts that the European Union has attempted». *4308
Foreign ministers of the five Nordic countries said that they remained committed to keeping their 1,300 troops in BiH. «They must stay, the humanitarian reasons are so overpowering», Sweden's Margaretha af Ugglas said. *4309
Oslobodjenje reported that 61 soldiers from the BiH army, including a former commander, Ramiz Delalic, had been charged with mutiny. The paper said that the troops involved in uprisings in July and October 1993 would be tried by a military tribunal in Sarajevo within a month. Most of the soldiers, who belonged to the army's 9th and 10th Brigades, had been arrested and warrants had been issued for 16 who were still at large. Ismet Mehic, the Sarajevo prosecutor, said that 36 others had been acquitted. According to the charges filed, the soldiers staged the mutinies after the dismissal of several army commanders including Musan Topalovic (a.k.a. Caco) and Delalic (a.k.a. Celo). The charges against the soldiers said that the commanders planned to launch an attack on the headquarters of the BiH Presidency on 2 July and again three months later. *4313
In Paris French Foreign Ministry spokesman Richard Duque accused the US of playing bystander to BiH bloodshed. «If we are talking on a moral level, the choice today is between only watching the fighting or doing all possible to stop it». *4314
US Secretary of State Warren Christopher said that the United States remained «quite prepared» to participate in NATO- coordinated airstrikes for limited objectives, as was agreed at the NATO summit. But airstrikes were not imminent, US officials said, because UN commanders had not yet submittted aeroplanes for the airstrikes that NATO would be called on to implement. *4315
In Brussels the outgoing commander of UN forces in BiH, Lieutenant General Francis Briquemont, called for the replacement of international mediators Lord Owen and Thorvald Stoltenberg. «I said I was tired. Perhaps they are tired too. They always talk with the same people. They have a plan, it's difficult to change one's plan with the same people. Perhaps it would be better with new negotiators», he told Belgian radio. *4320
Cities across Europe held a cultural day to help keep the arts alive in Sarajevo. *4321
Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic pledged that his forces would halt «all military activity in Sarajevo» for the duration of the winter Olympic Games from 12 to 27 February. Karadzic proposed the cease-fire in a meeting in Pale with the new UNPROFOR commander in BiH, General Michael Rose, the Bosnian Serb news agency SRNA said. *4328
BiH General Jovan Divjak warned that any withdrawal of UN peacekeepers from the former Yugoslavia would spark increased fighting in the region. In an interview with Agence France Presse, Divjak (a former officer of the Yugoslav army, of Serb origin), one of the two deputy chiefs-of-staff in the BiH army, criticized the «lack of determination» shown by the United States and the «irresponsibility» of the European Community. With the present balance of forces in BiH, any UN withdrawal would «only put a match to the powderkeg the Balkans have become», he said. «Despite protestations of peace, the three parties continue to clash on the ground, because the Serbs and Croats have not yet completed the boundaries of their quasi-states, while the BiH government is seeking to recapture the territory taken from it by force», he added. *4329
The Bosnian Serb army high command announced that it had taken a series of decisions «aimed at mobilization of the republic's available resources that would lead to a successful end to the war». A statement said that the steps had been taken because «the international community has decided to support the Moslems in the war option and to recognize the results of their struggle». The Serb army command said the economy of the republic would be put on a war footing. All able-bodied citizens would be mobilized into the army or put to civilian work, with special units formed for women. Disciplinary measures were being introduced to combat «all forms of illegal trade». *4336
Russian hardliner Vladimir Zhirinovsky held talks with Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic in Bijeljina in north- eastern BiH. Commenting on the recent NATO airstrike threats he said: «I would like to reassure the governments of some Western countries that using force will not help them. If a single bomb falls on the towns of Bosnia . . . I warn them that this means declaring war on Russia and we will punish them for that». *4337
In Paris, French Defence Minister Fran¨ois Leotard said that he was concerned about the announced Bosnian Serb mobilization order. *4338
Following talks in the morning with UN envoy Yasushi Akashi, BiH President Alija Izetbegovic said: «I told him we are not in favour of peace at any price, but in favour of a just peace». He added, «no such peace has been offered». *4344
In a statement in Belgrade, Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic said that he expected the BiH conflict to be settled by war. He told the Bosnian Serb SRNA news agency: «The international community is going to allow the conflict to be settled by war which means that the world will give Moslems credit for land acquired through fighting. This same principle should be adopted for the Serbs». *4345
Speaking in Sarajevo, BiH Prime Minister Haris Silajdzic said: We cannot go to Geneva month after month, year after year, without a result«. He added: »If this conference continues to block UN decisions by way of fruitless discussions, we shall decide to call for the matter to be returned to the Security Council and ask the UN body to consider only the positions of the legally-formed Bosnian government«. *4346
A UNICEF survey released on this day indicated the following information on children in Sarajevo: 97.3 per cent of the children interviewed had experienced shelling nearby; 79.3 per cent had seen someone injured in the war; 46.3 per cent had seen someone killed in the war; 65.5 per cent had been in a situation where they thought they would be killed; 58.8 per cent were from homes that had been attacked or shelled. The UNICEF survey, conducted by Rune Stuveland of Norway, asked 1,505 children in the city to complete a questionnaire in June and July of last year to measure war related trauma. Stuveland said that many children were losing touch with reality as a result of the war. «We see children walking through dangerous areas instead of running», he said. «They just don't care anymore». Of the 749 boys and 756 girls, 22.5 per cent said that they didn't think that life was worth living. «Children should grow up making plans . . . but this may disappear», Stuveland said. «These children don't make plans because for them there is no tomorrow». he said. *4347
The gunmen who killed a British air worker in Zenica last week, were foreign Mujahideen fighters, the BiH government said. *4348
In New York, UN Secretary-General Boutros-Ghali signaled his preparedness to use air power in BiH. *4349
Pakistani and Turkish Prime Ministers Benazir Bhutto and Tansu Ciller called for a lifting of the arms embargo on BiH and urged the government to reject any «unjust» negotiated settlement to the war. In a joint declaration issued during their brief visit to the city, the two Islamic heads of government said that «rarely has a nation been subjected to such merciless savagery in the full view of the world» as had BiH. *4357
BiH President Izetbegovic said that he did not expect to attend the next round of peace talks on 10 Febraury in Geneva unless some «progress» was made between now and then. In an interview with Sarajevo radio, Izetbegovic said that he was still «undecided» but that he had already told Lord Owen that he would «probably not» attend because it «would be a waste of time». He said that he told Owen that Prime Minister Haris Silajdzic would probably lead the BiH government delegation. *4361
BiH government leaders wrote protest leaders to NATO and the UN Security Council, saying that were tired of Western governments denouncing repeated bloodbaths in Serb-besieged towns but never intervening to protect civilians and restore peace. *4368 BiH Prime Minister Haris Silajdzic wrote to the Security Council: «The international community's indecisiveness found fertile ground again today, inspiring the aggressor to new crimes». *4369
BiH President Alija Izetbegovic said that today's market massacre would not stop peace talks in Geneva, due to resume 10 February. «An initial emotional reaction would be to refuse to take part in the negotiations», he said. *4375
Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic denied responsibility for the market attack. He told a news conference: «This massacre is cold-blooded murder by the Muslim leadership». *4376
The Bosnian Serb army threatened to halt humanitarian aid deliveries in BiH unless the UN exonerated it of responsibility for the market shelling. An ultimatum by Serb chief of staff General Manojlo Milovanovic demanded an immediate response from UNPROFOR commander Sir Michael Rose. Milovanovic told the Tanjug news agency: «I categorically claim there was no opening of fire from Bosnian Serb army positions in that area and at that time». *4377 Milovanovic also called for a joint investigation to determine responsibility for the shelling. In the text of a letter carried by the Bosnian Serb news agency SRNA, he said that he expected the joint committee to be formed by 8:00 a.m. Sunday by representatives of the BiH government, Bosnian Serbs and UN military forces. *4378
In New York, UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali issued a statement condemning «in the strongest possible terms this heinous act of violence», and ordered an investigation to establish the facts surrounding the incident. *4379
UN special envoy Yasushi Akashi commented on the market shelling: «I express my outrage, and that of the whole international community, at this unspeakable act of barbarity». In a statement from Zagreb, Akashi said that he and UNPROFOR commander Cot would go to Sarajevo on Sunday, «carrying some specific proposals to the parties for concrete action to reduce the tension». *4380
US President Bill Clinton called for an urgent UN investigation of the attack. «I have directed that Secretary Christopher engage our allies in Europe and the United Nations on the situation and on the appropriate next steps», the President said. «We do not rule out the use of NATO airstrikes once responsibility had been fixed», Christopher said. *4381
Earlier, a senior US administration official said that Washington had «very little doubt» that Serb forces fired the mortar shell. He said the attack «makes it more likely that the United States will consider pressing for action» against Serbs but no decisions had been taken. *4382
President Clinton also ordered the Pentagon to offer assistance in «evacuating, hospitalizing and treating those injured in this savage attack». American C-130 transport aeroplanes were scheduled to evacuate the wounded to a mobile army surgical hospital near Frankfurt, Germany. *4383
British Foreign Secretary Douglas Hurd said in a statement: «The shelling is the latest and worst example of the miseries of this war. The only lasting answer is a negotiated peace». *4384
France said in a French Foreign Ministry statement: «Faced with the dramatic deterioration of the situation the latest bombardments of Sarajevo, France has consulted its partners in the European Union and the United States». The statement continued: «France demands action to permit the immediate lifting of the siege of Sarajevo, the gathering together of heavy arms held by all sides and their control by the United Nations». The statement added: «It hopes that modalities for implementing this action, including the use of air power, should be set out as soon as possible by the United Nations in collaboration with the Atlantic alliance. *4385
Belgian Foreign Minister Willy Claes called for NATO air strikes against Serb positions around the city. «After a [NATO] bombardment, the Serbs can naturally try to take their revenge against the [UN] blue helmets on the ground, but once again I don't see any other way out», he said in a television interview. *4386
In Rome, Pope John Paul II characterized the shelling as: «a massacre . . . by criminal hands [which] continue systematically to slaughter and destroy» and said they would answer before God. *4387
UNPROFOR BiH commander Lieutenant General Sir Michael Rose reported the general results of the crater analysis of Saturday's shelling. He stated that the «crater analysis has been completed. It was impossible to tell who fired the shell». *4394 But the general said that the mortar was of the same type that had been determined to have been fired on the Dobrinja neighbourhood on Friday, killing 10 people. «The world will certainly draw its own conclusions», he said. *4395
UNPROFOR spokesman Colonel Bill Aikman said that investigations into the shelling were inconclusive at this stage. «There was only one shell, and it hit the roof of a stall and blew up first before it hit the ground», he said. «So we can't even use the depth of the hole as an indicator». *4396
British Brigadier General Chris Ritchie said that it might not ever be known who actually fired the deadly shell on Saturday. Ritchie said that a trajectory line had been ascertained, placing the firing point somewhere between 2,000 and 3,000 yards away. «I'm afraid that spans both sides of the confrontation line», he said. Ritchie said that mortars are not precision weapons and he suspected the shell's accuracy was «luck» for whoever fired it. «The reason there were so many casualties is because when the mortar landed, it landed on a table and exploded three feet off the ground», he said. «If it had impacted on the ground, the casualties would have been lessened». *4397
UN special envoy Yasushi Akashi and UNPROFOR commanders General Jean Cot and Lieutenant General Sir Michael Rose, visited the Sarajevo market. They were escorted to the site by Sarajevo Mayor Muhamed Kresevljakovic and BiH Interior Minister Bakir Alispahic. They were later to meet with BiH leaders before heading back to Zagreb. *4398
Sarajevo Mayor Muhamed Kresevljakovic, commented: «This was the worst day of death in this city for 500 years». *4399
Special envoy Akashi later said that he had failed in a mediation bid between the warring factions. He stated after a meeting with both BiH and Serb officials: «I regret to tell you that these discussions have not reached an agreement yet». He added: «The major difference is that the Bosnian side wants to have the withdrawal of artillery, mortars and other heavy weapons out of range of the city of Sarajevo and be placed under UNPROFOR control. This is not acceptable for the Serb side». *4400
BiH President Izetbegovic said that his government was willing to agree to a cease-fire covering Sarajevo, but not until Serb forces withdrew their heavy artillery from around the city. «The basic situation is that we will accept a cease-fire on the express condition that the Serb side withdraws its heavy artillery from around Sarajevo, with which it has been killing the civilian population», he said. He said that the Serb artillery on the hills around the city had «no strategic military significance». It was «only there to intimidate the city and to kill its inhabitants». *4401
Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic said that a draft agreement on a cease-fire between the sides in Sarajevo had been drawn up, the Tanjug news agency reported. He was speaking after talks with the UN special envoy Akashi. Tanjug said that if BiH accepted the cease-fire it would come into effect at 10:00 a.m. Monday. Akashi was quoted as saying after the meeting: «We hope for a cease-fire and now everything depends on the Bosnian government in Sarajevo». *4402
Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic condemned the market shelling, Tanjug news agency reported. «The dead and wounded in Sarajevo are not victims of war but victims of war criminals», Milosevic said. *4403
Nearly 300 people, including more than 100 Jews, reached the Croatian coast after being evacuated from the city on Saturday. Sarajevo's 400 year-old Jewish community numbered 14,000 before World War II and 1,400 before the current conflict. It was estimated that only a few hundred Jews remained in the city. *4404
UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali asked NATO to authorize air strikes against Bosnian Serb artillery positions in response to attacks against civilians, a senior UN official said. According to the report, Boutros-Ghali had written to Manfred Woerner, the Secretary-General of NATO, asking that he get authorization from the NATO council for strikes. *4405
European mediator Lord Owen said that he had a «glint» of optimism that Sarajevo could be put under UN control as a result of Saturday's shelling. «What has happened has demonstrated once again that you cannot go on with the situation in Sarajevo. It's an absolutely desperate situation», Owen said. Owen reported that he was flying to Belgrade today for talks with Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic that he hoped would show the Bosnian Serbs ready to agree to a deal for Sarajevo under which the city would be put under UN administration. *4406
BiH's embassy in Vienna charged that the UN Security Council was responsible «de facto» for the latest shelling attack in Sarajevo. «The Security Council is empowered to prevent attacks on safe havens [in BiH], which can be done by taking any action necessary, including air strikes . . . »The international community has also pledged to prevent any further strangulation of the city of Sarajevo . . . It stands to reason that by not using its full powers and commitments, the Security Council in fact supports the aggressor and encourages his crimes«, the embassy said in a statement. *4407
Lord Owen commented on the prospect of airstrikes around the city. «Punitive air strikes against Sarajevo have been thought to be the way through it. I've never made any secret I don't believe that will succeed», he told Sky news. *4408
France called early Sunday for a plan of action from the United Nations and NATO, including the possible use of air power to end the siege of Sarajevo. A statement released by the foreign ministry said that France had consulted its EC partners and the United States following the market place shelling. «France wants action to be taken to enable the siege of Sarajevo to be lifted immediately as well as the collection of all heavy weapons held by all parties and their control by the United Nations», the statement said. The statement added: «It hopes that the United Nations in conjunction with [NATO] will determine ways as soon as possible to implement such measures, including recourse to air power». *4409
British Defence Secretary Malcolm Rifkind said that western military retaliation for Saturday's mortar attack could endanger the whole UN relief effort. «We are all giving very, very careful thought as to whether there's anything we can do that can actually help resolve this terrible problem», he told Sky news. «We want to get food and aid through to the people of Sarajevo--that's been a very great success story for the United Nations--if at all possible we want that to continue», he added. Rifkind, who was in Sarajevo to discuss with allies the use of military power in the wake of Saturday's shelling, later agreed that NATO should convene an emergency meeting to consider further action, including the use of air strikes against Serbian positions. «Of course it's right that NATO should consider it and the United Nations is obviously looking at it very, very carefully», he said. *4410
US President Clinton called on the UN to confirm who was behind Saturday's shelling attack before the US took any action. Speaking after a meeting with Secretary of State Christopher and other top advisers he said he hoped the «horrible incident can be the spur for peace». But he appeared to rule out any immediate American military response because of allies' concerns for their peace-keeping troops on the ground. «I want to give the United Nations a chance to confirm responsibility for it», Clinton said. *4411
Addressing Saturday's shelling, Russia's foreign ministry stated: «We demand that the international community be informed immediately about the results of this inquiry», the ministry said in a statement. It added: «We are indignant about the terrorist act against Sarajevo . . . Whoever the authors are, they must be punished severely». *4412
Canada expressed outrage over Saturday's shelling. Foreign minister Andre Ouellet described the attack as the «deliberate killing and wounding of hundreds of innocent civilians». He added, «This latest atrocity underscores the urgent need for concerted international action to prevent further violence against the innocent civilian population of Sarajevo». *4413
Greece's Secretary of State for Defence, Nicholaos Kouris, said on Sky radio, that Saturday's shelling could have been a provocation by BiH and repeated Greek opposition to any military opposition. «At first sight, the Serbs don't have any reason to provoke the massacre», Kouris said. He stated further that the shelling seemed to «serve the plans of those who want to see a military intervention in favour of the Moslems». He added: «We cannot exclude a provocation». Greece, which held the rotating presidency of the European Community, had not yet given an official reaction to the attack. *4414
Turkish President Suleyman Demirel supported calls for air strikes in a statement while Prime Minister Tansu Ciller, just back from a visit from Sarajevo, repeated calls for the lifting of the arms embargo against BiH forces. *4415
Italy said that it was willing to support any NATO decision to launch air strikes. «Taking into consideration the latest tragedies . . . air raids against the main sources of fire could be launched», Defence Minister Fabio Fabbri said. *4416
Iran condemned Saturday's mortar attack. Iran Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Velayati said that Iran was ready for «any kind of cooperation» with the world community to «restore the rights» of the Moslems in BiH. «We strongly condemn this crime and urge the international community to seriously confront Serbian aggression», he said on the radio. *4417
Romanian President Iliescu condemned the market shelling. He stated: «We condemn this brutal terrorist action», and believed that those who caused the incident would receive a deserved punishment. *4418
Pakistan condemned the shelling attack: «Pakistan vigorously condemns the heavy shelling of innocent people in Sarajevo by the Serbian forces. We reiterate our call on the international community to take effective steps to respond to the latest act of aggression», a government spokesman said. «We are continuing our efforts within the United Nations to secure the lifting of the arms embargo against Bosnia», he added. *4419
UNPROFOR spokesman Colonel Bill Aikman when asked about BiH President Alija Izetbegovic's charge that the UN was shrinking from blaming the Bosnian Serbs to blunt pressure for foreign military intervention, said that decisive evidence was lacking. «I don't see anything to substantially change the conclusion that we have now», he said. He reiterated that Saturday's shell struck a market stall roof and then a table where it exploded before hitting the ground. «The thing had already hit two solid objects and you can't guarantee you still have the (original) angle when it hits the ground. You don't have a deep enough hole to get an angle», he said. Another problem was that evidence such as shell fragments were lost in the efforts to save the wounded. «It (should be) like a crime scene. The police normally seal it off and nobody touches it until all the measurements and calculations are made», he said. «But on Saturday people were roaring around helping where they could to save lives. There was not enough left to give anything other than a direction from which the mortar came». *4427
BiH President Izetbegovic said that he believed Bosnian Serbs would try to exploit the indecision on how to respond to Saturday's shelling. «I don't think the Serbs will withdraw their artillery», he said after the first meeting of the BiH parliament since the shelling. «I think they will take a risk, and they will try to test Europe, playing their indecision», he said. *4428
Late in the day, BiH Prime Minister Haris Silajdzic said that the threat of western air strikes could bring peace to BiH. While stressing that western air strikes were not «an objective in themselves», he said that they could restore the balance of power in the BiH conflict and thereby «bring about the return of peace». He warned in a statement that, «if the international community and in particular NATO only reacts with empty threats, it will lose all credibility». *4429
Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic said that foreigners in BiH would not be safe if the West went ahead with threatened air strikes. «We would defend ourselves with all means. I do not think that if there would be any air strikes we would partially lose control and there would be chaos and any outcome is possible», he said from Pale. «That means foreigners would not be safe and secure in Bosnia», he warned. *4430
The Ukraine stated that it decided to go ahead with the planned replacement of its peace-keeping troops in BiH, the Press Service of the Ukrainian Defence Ministry said. The Ukraine dispatched a second aeroplaneload of peacekeepers to the Sarajevo sector, the Press Service said. *4431
European Community foreign ministers called for the lifting of the siege of Sarajevo by «all means necessary, including the use of airpower». *4432 The foreign ministers of the 12 European Community countries moderated the terms of a draft ultimatum that Bosnian Serbs stop shelling Sarajevo, or come under air attack by NATO warplanes. The ministers stepped back from giving the Serb forces a three week deadline to withdraw, as advocated by France. According to Irish Foreign Minister Dick Spring, at least seven of the 12 foreign ministers were against the air strikes, including himself. Britain, Ireland, Greece, Spain, Denmark, Luxembourg and Portugal backed a negotiated settlement. France, Italy, Netherlands and Belgium backed air strikes. Germany, banned by its constitution from sending forces, did not take part in the vote. *4433
NATO ambassadors informally discussed a request by UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali that the 16 member alliance confirm the use of its warplanes to bomb artillery emplacements around Sarajevo. They were expected to meet formally either Tuesday or Wednesday and could formally approve attack plans for some of the 160 NATO warplanes already patrolling the BiH skies, diplomats said. *4434
Russian Foreign Minister Andrei Kozyrev warned against NATO airstrikes. «Urgent measures are necessary, but we should not get into a trap», he said in remarks reported by the ITAR- TASS news agency. «This is a well-placed trap, and, maybe, a provocation from any side». «Already once, in 1914, a provocation was staged in Sarajevo when a similar horrible act of terror became the reason of a global tragedy», Kozyrev said. An escalation stemming from Saturday's violence could result in «a repetition of the tragic scenario», Kozyrev added. He warned world leaders to be guided by a «cold political mind and not by emotions». *4435
Special envoy Yasushi Akashi said that he had obtained assurances from Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic that negotiations scheduled in Geneva this week would take place. Speaking at the end of a one hour meeting with Milosevic in Belgrade, Akashi said that the Serbian president was «very eager to make progress on the UN administration of Sarajevo as well as on its demilitarization even before a peace agreement is reached». The two international mediators Lord Owen and Thorvald Stoltenberg, had met Milosevic in the morning. In response to questions from reporters at the end of their meeting, Lord Owen stated: «Nobody but a fool wants air strikes, but on the other hand, nobody but a fool can go on tolerating the situation in which as many people can lose their lives as happened Saturday in Sarajevo». *4436
Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic accepted to negotiate a demilitarization of Sarajevo that would place the city under UN control, international mediators said in a communique released in Geneva. According to the communique: «In order to bring peace to Sarajevo now, the Bosnian Serbs are ready, in the circumstances where it is not yet possible to reach an overall peace settlement, to negotiate for United Nations administration and the demilitarization of Sarajevo district prior to a final settlement for Bosnia-Hercegovina». *4437
US President Bill Clinton expressed support for UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali's call for NATO authorized airstrikes in BiH. Clinton said that the UN mission in BiH must determine who was responsible for the attacks and «the Secretary-General has now asked that authority be given to our commanders there on the ground to take appropriate action». He added, «I have directed our representatives in NATO to support the Secretary-General's request». *4438
US Secretary of State Warren Christopher accused Bosnian Serbs of a pattern of shelling against civilians that went beyond last Saturday's attack. Acknowledging that there had been no precise finding that Bosnian Serbs fired the mortar into the marketplace, he said that Serbs were determined to be responsible for the recent shelling of a food line and other attacks. «The death toll from that (marketplace) shelling was not only the worst since this tragic conflict began, it is also part of a pattern of shelling of civilian areas by Serb artillery that has continued despite NATO's repeated warnings», Christopher said. «We expect that the North Atlantic Council will decide on a course of action on an overall strategy within the next few days», he added. *4439
US national security advisers met at the White House to consider what action to take in response to Saturday's shelling in Sarajevo. The meeting was attended by Secretary of State Warren Christopher, Defense Secretary William Perry, National Security Adviser Anthony Lake, UN Ambassador Madeleine Albright, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff John Shalikashvili. *4440
British Prime Minister John Major said that he wanted immediate, effective and «more muscular» action to halt the bombardment of civilians in the city. Downing Street said that Britain would call for political backing for a new approach at the European Union's Foreign Affairs Council in Brussels during the afternoon. *4441
The Organization of the Islamic Conference called on the United Nations to back military and other action against Serbs after Saturday's shelling attack. The statement from the 44- member OIC called for an urgent Security Council meeting to examine «the continuing Serb attacks on civilians». *4442
Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic claimed that the Sarajevo market attack was a «stage-managed fraud», alleging corpses of persons who had died earlier and plastic body parts were used to boost casualty figures. According to the Tanjug news agency, Karadzic, in a letter to the US and Russian presidents, said that the incident was a fraud and that only a few people were killed or injured. Karadzic was quoted as saying: «An explosion took place in the market, killing and injuring a few people. Everything else around this incident has been stage- managed». He added that according to eyewitnesses, there were only a few people at the market just before the explosion, not 300. «All the witnesses, even the Muslims in the Muslim- controlled media, have asserted that this was an unusual bomb because the characteristic whistling noise was not heard prior to the explosion», Belgrade television quoted him as saying in the letter. «Television footage clearly shows that manipulation of bodies has taken place in this tragedy. In the footage, one can see the bodies of casualties who had died hours earlier, as well as plastic body parts», Karadzic said. *4447
Serb ballistics experts said that a single shell could not possibly have caused Saturday's massacre, blaming instead explosives laid in the market by BiH forces themselves, Serbian news reports said. In making this claim, the experts said that a 120 millimetre shell containing three kilograms of explosives could not have produced the results of Saturday's blast. Instead they said that they concluded that a number of home-made devices, carrying 30 kilograms of plastic explosives stuffed with shrapnel, had been placed among the market stalls, and were detonated by the single falling shell. *4448
Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic threatened to shoot down any aeroplanes attacking Serb positions around Sarajevo. But Karadzic said that the Serb forces could agree to reduce or move their artillery from Sarajevo within a peace plan and possible UN administration of the city. *4449
BiH Vice President Ejup Ganic appealed to the United States to launch airstrikes against Bosnian Serb gun positions in the hills surrounding the city. «Militarily you can do a lot. You can lift the siege of Sarajevo in a few hours», Ganic said on US television. Speaking from Sarajevo, Ganic said that unless the US launched air raids the siege would not be lifted. «Your pilots know the hills like their backyards», he said. «The Serbs are convinced that you will not make a new move», he added. *4450
NATO held «intense» consultations on the possibility of airstrikes against Bosnian Serb forces surrounding the city. «As you know intense consultations are taking place now and have been taking place during the last hours within NATO and among [our] membership», said NATO Deputy Secretary General Sergio Silvio Balanzino. He added: «As to air strikes I will have a very definite and clear answer tomorrow. Stay tuned as they say on TV . . . At this stage, I can't say anything more». *4451
The UN Human Rights Commission called for «firm and resolute action» to halt violations in BiH. «This deliberate and indiscriminate shelling of the civilian population of Sarajevo is part of a pattern of despicable and outrageous violations of international humanitarian law and of human rights», said the consensus statement read out by the Commission's chairman, Peter van Wulfften Palthe. «The Commission . . . calls in the strongest possible terms for firm and resolute action to be taken immediately by the international community in order to stop these human rights violations, ethnic cleansing and other genocidal acts, rape and abuse of women, strangulation of Bosnian cities, shelling and killing of civilians; to secure a just and lasting peace in the Republic of Bosnia Hercegovina and to bring the war criminals to trial», it concluded. *4452
Japan condemned last Saturday's marketplace shelling, but remained non-committal on support for possible air strikes. «We strongly condemn such a barbarous and atrocious act against innocent civilians», Foreign Ministry deputy spokesman Kishichiro Amae said. *4453
Bosnian Serb and BiH forces agreed to an immediate cease-fire on the Sarajevo front and the withdrawal of their heavy weapons, UNPROFOR commander General Michael Rose said. The announcement came as members of NATO were reported to be near agreement on sending the Serb forces an ultimatum. Rose said after chairing talks between the two sides that the weapons would be placed under UNPROFOR control and that UN forces would be posted to key positions on the front. «With full consent of their political and military authorities I have today concluded an agreement between the representatives of the Bosnia-Hercegovina army and the Bosnian Serb army that there should be an immediate cease-fire in and around the city, i.e. that no further attacks or shooting should take place from either out or within the city, that there should be a positioning of UNPROFOR troops in key locations and sensitive places, that there should be monitoring and placing of all heavy weapons under UNPROFOR control», he announced. *4456
General Jovan Divjak, the deputy commander of the BiH army, *4457 said that he doubted that the latest cease-fire would hold. «I don't believe in it. I think this is yet another game which the Serbs will get away with», he said. «We accepted the agreement only so that we would not be told we do not want talks on peace», Divjak added. *4458
NATO agreed to give Bosnian Serb forces 10 days, starting at 1:00 a.m. Friday, to withdraw their heavy weapons from Sarajevo or face airstrikes, a statement said. The statement also said that NATO would launch strikes at the Serbs' big guns found within 20 kilometres (13 miles) from Sarajevo which were not under UN control after 1:00 a.m. 21 February. The BiH government would also have to put its heavy weapons in the «exclusion zone» under control of UNPROFOR. «Heavy weapons of any of the parties found within the Sarajevo exclusion zone, unless controlled by UNPROFOR, will, along with their direct and essential military support facilities, be subject to NATO airstrikes», the statement said. *4459
At the United Nations in New York, an official said that the latest Sarajevo cease-fire could obviate the need for western military action. «If the cease-fire agreement and the details are accepted by all the parties, then it is obvious that there may be no need to launch airstrikes», said UN spokesman Ahmad Fawzi. «We hope it is a real cease-fire, we hope the parties realize that it is time to take a serious stand and end the bloodshed». *4460
US President Clinton stated that he was encouraged by the Bosnian Serb agreement to a cease-fire. «It's a good beginning but it shows, again, every time NATO shows a little resolve there we get some results», Clinton said. «Anyone, anyone shelling Sarajevo must recognize this fact and be prepared to deal with the consequences», Clinton said shortly after NATO approved its ultimatum demanding that Bosnian Serbs move their artillery within 10 days or face air strikes. *4461
Russian Foreign Minister Andrei Kozyrev said that Moscow was opposed to threatened NATO air strikes against Bosnian Serbs. He tried to rally support for a Russian proposal to make the city a UN protectorate and said that Moscow might send its own troops to implement the plan. «We say yes to a security zone, yes to withdrawal of artillery and heavy weapons from this security zone--to exclude the possibility of bombardments and tragedies like the one which happened--but no to escalation of the conflict by resorting to air strikes», he said. Speaking during a visit to Kazakhstan, Kozyrev stated: «What we really need is to reduce and exclude hostilities and create a security zone around Sarajevo. This could be done by filling the zone with UN peacekeepers». He added, «I would not exclude Russia considering direct participation in UN peace-keeping efforts».
Canada reversed its opposition and agreed to NATO air strikes in BiH, saying that it was encouraged by US President Clinton's efforts to reach a broader peace. Canada had opposed air strikes out of concern for its 800 peacekeepers on the ground in BiH, but agreed that NATO could no longer stand idle. «We have accepted [air strikes] in order to protect the civilian population and not see the repetition of the massacre of the last weekend», Prime Minister Jean Chretien told Parliament. «President Clinton's involvement and his determination to impress on the parties a peaceful solution is a factor that has influenced Canada's decision», Foreign Minister Andre Ouellet said. «We have the assurance that the Americans will be very much involved in this process of bringing the parties to a peace solution», he said. *4462
NATO commanders briefed Italian Defence Minister Fabio Fabbri in preparation for possible air strikes against Bosnian Serb forces. During a visit to the 5th Tactical Air force Command (ATAF) in northern Vicenza, Fabbri reaffirmed that Italy would allow its air bases to be used for the strikes. *4463
Foreign ministers from Austria, Albania, Bulgaria, Greece, Hungary, Italy and Romania met international mediators Lord Owen and Thorvald Stoltenberg in Geneva to discuss the effect on the region of economic sanctions imposed on Yugoslavia. Albanian President Sali Berisha, on the eve of the meeting, encouraged the conference participants to support NATO actions against Bosnian Serb forces. «I would wish that it [the conference] supports and encourages NATO to take punitive action against the perpetrators of the massacre», he told reporters on Tuesday. *4464
Bosnian Serbs rejected NATO's ultimatum to end their siege of Sarajevo or face air attacks and said that their heavy weapons would not be removed from around the city. «Despite this ultimatum, the Serb artillery will not move an inch», said their main spokesman Miroslav Toholj. «We are ready to retaliate». *4469 The Chief of Staff of the Bosnian Serb army, General Manojlo Milovanovic, said: «The withdrawal of the artillery is out of the question. The Serbs have never accepted ultimatums and will not accept this one». At Pale, Radovan Karadzic's spokesman, Jovan Zametica, said: «We are not going to cave in. If NATO aircraft attack our positions, we are going to take them out». *4470
Russian Foreign Minister Vitaly Churkin said later in the day, after a meeting with Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic, that the Bosnian Serbs were «committed to the arrangement» reached Wednesday with the BiH government and UN forces. *4471
French UN peacekeepers in armoured personnel carriers took to the streets in the city, ushering in the latest cease- fire agreement. Six French army platoons, numbering 40 men each and armed with 90 millimetre cannon mounted on armoured cars, were deployed. French Lieutenant Colonel Richard Pernod said that the «no man's land» strips taken over included Zuc Mountain, Mojmilo Hill, Dobrinja, the inner-city «Bridge of Friendship and Unity» and Vidikovac and Mount Trebevic overlooking the Old Town. Pernod said that a joint commission of Serb and BiH government military officers coordinating the disengagement would meet on Friday to set in motion the first withdrawal of Serb artillery ringing the city. «We hope that tomorrow we will start to have a certain number of these heavy weapons withdrawn», he said. *4472
Closed negotiations on the cease-fire agreement's details were held at the airport among unidentified military officials from both sides under UN supervision. The talks were expected to continue on Friday morning. UNPROFOR BiH commander Lieutenant General Michael Rose said that the goal was to remove all Bosnian Serb artillery larger than 12.5 millimetres from positions in the mountains surrounding the city. *4473
The United States reportedly identified 200 to 300 possible targets around Sarajevo if and when airstrikes were ordered, a senior Pentagon official said. US surveillance overflights had reportedly given US officials a good idea of where possible targets were located but indicated that there still could be difficulty in hitting the targets, the officials said. «They are easy to hide. They dig them in, they camouflage them, they put them near schools», said General James Hill of the Defense Department's strategic planning office. *4474
Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic said in Geneva that he would not take part in peace talks until last Saturday's shelling was properly investigated to determine who was responsible. He spoke as he was entering the talks, and said that he would tell the BiH and Croatian delegations his conditions for proceeding. «I just want to say that we are not going on with the conference until we get an international investigatory body to investigate and resolve the Sarajevo massacre», Karadzic told reporters. *4475
In Geneva for the opening of the BiH peace conference, BiH Prime Minister Haris Silajdzic said that peace might be at hand in BiH. «There is a line that has been crossed», he said. It «might be the first step towards disengagement», he said. *4476
Russia called for an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council to discuss ways to demilitarize the city, in what some analysts deemed an effort to sidestep UN airstrikes. *4477
Greek Prime Minister Andreas Papandreou said that the NATO threat issued on Wednesday was «very regrettable, completely wrong and unpardonable». Speaking after a closed cabinet meeting Papandreou said that, in the event of a military intervention against Bosnian Serb forces, he would withdraw Greek crews serving with NATO early warning radar aeroplanes and refuse to allow allied forces to use the NATO airbase near Preveza, western Greece, for attacks. *4478
UNPROFOR BiH commander, General Sir Michael Rose, said that he was «reasonably satisfied» with the cease-fire that began on Thursday despite a burst of shelling and machine-gun fire late in the day. Bosnian Serb and BiH forces blamed each other for the violations but the UN said that both sides were guilty. «A comparatively small number of rounds have been fired since the start of the cease-fire--as far as I can judge, as many out of the city as into the city», Rose said in a statement through his spokesman. «It seems quite extraordinary that renegade military units are attempting to sabotage the cease-fire and thus prolong the suffering of their own people in Sarajevo». *4484
As peacekeepers negotiated with the warring factions for the surrender of their weapons, UNPROFOR spokesman Bill Aikman said: «So far, so good. For the first time in many, many months the people have been able to walk the streets without too much fear». UNPROFOR commander General Sir Michael Rose, toured the city on foot assuring people the world was serious about imposing peace. *4485
Yasushi Akashi, the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General, ordered a follow-up investigation of the 5 February market shelling. The investigation was mandated to complement earlier investigations conducted by the UN, and was confined to the crater analysis and technical aspects of the explosions. The report was to include all relevant physical information, and any relevant findings with respect to culpability. The investigation team was composed of the following individuals: Colonel M. Gauthier, team leader; Major S. Khan; Captain Y. Lavarde; Lietenant Colonel N. Rumyanstev; and Captain J. Grande. *4486
In Washington, US Defence Secretary William Perry ordered 12 additional warplanes sent to Italy to join 65 American jets already there as part of an allied force keeping watch over BiH, the Pentagon said. *4487
Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic confirmed in Geneva that his forces would withdraw their heavy artillery from Sarajevo, but he also said that BiH infantry must be controlled. «On 5th of February I agreed with Mr. Akashi a settlement for long-lasting cease-fire in Sarajevo and this agreement envisaged on-site control of heavy weaponry of both sides of Serbian and Moslem», Karadzic said. «We are not members of NATO. We do not live with NATO. We have agreed this cease-fire with Moslems brokered by Mr. Akashi and this agreement envisaged control of Moslem infantry», Karadzic said. *4492
Karadzic expressed concern about the advantage that BiH infantry would soon have. «Moslems have three times more numerous infantry than the Serbs. Serbian weaponry was the element of strategic balance. If we put our heavy weaponry under [UN] control, then the Moslem infantry should be under control too», he said. *4493
BiH peace talks were suspended today to allow time for a new diplomatic initiative by the US and Russia. As two days of negotiations on the shape of a new union of three ethnic states broke up, international mediator Thorvald Stoltenberg said that they would not resume until «late February or early March». «The reason is that in the days to come both the United States and Russia will have high activity with the parties to see if they can influence the negotiating process», he said. *4494
European mediator, Lord Owen, said that the talks had made some progress, but he said that the talks had gone slowly «because the sides are all waiting, and in particular the Bosnian government [is waiting] for the American position to be clearer . . . Certainly, the Bosnian government is not going to shift its position until they get that, and also probably until they see what is happening in Sarajevo, and whether there are air strikes». *4495
Talks on the surrender of Bosnian Serb and BiH heavy weaponry to UNPROFOR were again blocked by new Serb demands, one week before the end of the NATO ultimatum. Serb representatives failed to turn up in the morning for talks at the airport called by UNPROFOR, after the planned arms handover first failed to go ahead. UNPROFOR General Andre Soubirou, commander of the Sarajevo sector, immediately went to Pale to meet senior Serb military officials who demanded that BiH forces be confined to barracks. *4499 (The Bosnian Serbs had demanded that the BiH army be put under UN control in exchange for handing over their heavy artillery) *4500
NATO aeroplanes could stage airstrikes on Bosnian Serb forces within minutes of an attack, US Defense Secretary William Perry said. «From the time of the impact it's a matter of seconds to get the information coordinates to an airplane», Perry said in a television interview. *4501
BiH and Bosnian Serb officials discussed the weapons handover at Sarajevo airport, but the key meeting was scheduled for Tuesday morning between Ratko Mladic, commander of the Bosnian Serb forces and Rasim Delic, the BiH army commander. If that meeting failed to produce a «concrete plan for the withdrawal of Serb artillery» from around Sarajevo, then NATO strikes against any heavy guns would be «one step closer», a high- ranking UN officer said. *4504
US envoy Charles Reman arrived in Sarajevo for a two- day visit, and went straight into talks with BiH President Izetbegovic. The talks were aimed at trying to bring the warring factions closer together on a plan for the partition of BiH. *4505
According to UNHCR, Bosnian Serbs did not allow a three- truck UNHCR convoy to cross the Unity and Fraternity bridge, newly under UN control, saying that it did not have the «necessary authorization». *4506
In Brussels, a NATO spokesman disputed remarks by the British deputy UNPROFOR commander in BiH, Lieutenant Colonel Simon Shadbolt, that the Serbs did not have to move their weapons as long as they were placed under UN control. Simple monitoring of the weapons was not good enough «because this has never stopped the weapons from being used», the spokesman said. *4507
A key meeting between top commanders of the BiH and Bosnian Serb forces at Sarajevo airport was canceled after BiH commander General Rasim Delic failed to show up. According to BiH Vice President Ejup Ganic, General Delic had left for central BiH and could not attend the meeting. «We shall not be sending representatives to this meeting, Ganic added. BiH Prime Minister Silajdzic said: »We have not been informed of the meeting«. *4510 On Wednesday, Vice President Ganic said that there was no question of their doing so »because the NATO resolution is not negotiable and imposes a deadline«. *4511
Bosnian Serb leaders rejected demands to withdraw all of their heavy arms from around the city. General Ratko Mladic told the Tanjug news agency that his weapons would stay put to protect Serbs against «fanatical Moslem units». *4512
Croatian President Franjo Tudjman warned Bosnian Serbs to accept the NATO ultimatum to withdraw its guns around Sarajevo by 21 February. «A new world war can break out in Sarajevo between civilizations unless we stop it», Tudjman said at an official dinner in Bucharest. *4513
Malaysia's 1,500 strong contingent serving with UNPROFOR was scheduled to become fully operational in BiH next month. According to Malaysian armed forces chief General Borhan Ahmad, some of the forces had taken up positions in the city, some were outside the city and others were on their way. These soldiers were armed only with light weapons such as assault rifles and mortars. *4514
According to UNPROFOR BiH commander Lieutenant General Sir Michael Rose, Sarajevo's cease-fire was a model for peace that could be exported throughout BiH. «If we can persuade people to accept this sort of exercise in Sarajevo, of course there is a chance we can persuade them to accept it elsewhere», he said. «Certainly we've already started talking about that right now. I can promise you the plan is already in hand for establishing the same program elsewhere in Bosnia Hercegovina», Rose added. According to reports, the cease-fire had thus far brought down the number of war dead in the city from 98 in the first week of February to just one last week. *4515
NATO was reportedly increasingly critical of what it deemed as inadequate UN plans to monitor Bosnian Serb artillery, according to a source at NATO headquarters in Brussels. The source who declined to be identified said that plans by UNPROFOR to have monitors check on Serb artillery stored in Serb barracks did not amount to proper control. «We need to be serious about this. The control has to be strong enough to stop the weapons being used», the source said. *4516
NATO and United Nations agreed on how to control heavy weapons of Bosnian Serbs in the Sarajevo area, a UN spokesman said. «Coordination meetings between NATO and the UN have sorted out all points», UNPROFOR spokesman Peter MacFarlane said. His comments contrasted with reports from Brussels that NATO was becoming increasingly critical of apparently inadequate UN plans to monitor the Serb artillery around the city.
Yugoslavia warned against NATO air strikes around Sarajevo. «Once you pull a trigger, it is difficult to stop. The recent decision by NATO is politically and militarily unwise and one that could have serious consequences on the ground», Yugoslav envoy Dragomir Djokic told the UN Security Council. Djokic joined more than 55 speakers addressing the 15-member council during the second day of a two-day debate on the BiH crisis to air views but not to take any decisions. This was the first discussion since NATO agreed last week to a request by Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali to use air power against shelling of civilians in Sarajevo. *4517
The US government made several strong statements regarding the consequences if Bosnian Serb artillery was not handed over to UNPROFOR after the NATO deadline goes into effect on Monday. White House spokesperson Dee Dee Myers said: Our bottom line has not changed. Weapons have to either be removed from the exclusion zone or put under UNPROFOR control«. She added, »Any weapon that is either not under UN control or not removed from the exclusion zone will be subject to air strikes after the deadline«. *4518
Canadian Colonel Michel Gauthier, who headed the UN's five-member commission of inquiry on the market shelling, reported that the mortar bomb which hit the Sarajevo market on 5 February could have been fired by either besieging Bosnian Serbs or defending BiH forces. The five-member investigative team, backed by two technical experts, found that the market blast was caused by a single high-explosive bomb from a conventional, factory made 120 millimetre mortar. The precise location of the weapon that fired the round could not be established. Gauthier said that the mortar round detonated on contact with a thin layer of asphalt laid over soft ground in the market, and not on the market table as initially thought. The tail fin of the mortar bomb had been retrieved from the crater, indicating that it was 120 millimetre in calibre but provided no precise details of manufacturer or origin. *4522 «The distance of origin of fire overlapped each side of the confrontation line by 2,000 metres», Gauthier said. «Both parties are known to have 120mm mortars, and the bombs go along with them. The team has no reason to believe that either party does not have access to this type of ammunition». *4523
Momcilo Krajisnik, speaker of the Bosnian Serb parliament expressed displeasure with the UN investigative commission's conclusions on the market shelling: «We are very unhappy with the results because the UN commission of experts has not carried out a detailed or in-depth investigation», Momcilo Krajisnik, speaker of the Bosnian Serb Parliament was quoted as saying by the Tanjug news agency. Krajisnik said that an autopsy of the victims could have determined whether a mortar bomb was responsible or not for the market shelling. *4524
After division over the meaning of the word «control» and several options for handling Bosnian Serb arms, UNPROFOR commander General Michael Rose said that heavy arms would be placed under the physical control of UNPROFOR and that if the warring factions attempted to take them back, air strikes would be launched against them. *4525
UNPROFOR Sarajevo sector commander, General Andre Soubirou briefed Bosnian Serb commanders in detail at a meeting on how guns were to be turned in. A similar message was given to BiH government commanders. The plan called for collected weapons to be placed in five depots or compounds, each less than a half square mile and surrounded by barbed wire. The compounds were to be under the control of unarmed UNPROFOR military observers and guarded by a platoon of at least 40 to 50 armed UNPROFOR soldiers. Bosnian Serbs would be permitted to send some maintenance personnel to take care of the weapons and a small number of infantry soldiers to guard them, but no gun or tank crews were to be allowed. The guns were to be unloaded and the ammunition kept in a separate place. The compounds were to be located away from firing positions. *4526
UNPROFOR commander Rose reported that he had ordered surveillance aircraft and ground radar units to pinpoint the position of any big gun firing after the NATO deadline expired. *4527 UNPROFOR spokesman Bill Aikman stated that 170 troops with 20 armoured personnel carriers were about 25 miles north-west of the city en route to help monitor the cease-fire. Aikman said that a British battalion near Vitez was also on standby for mobilization to patrol Sarajevo streets. France and Britain had also committed to sending two artillery-locating radar units each, Aikman said. *4528
UNPROFOR commander Rose requested up to 3,000 backup troops, a UNPROFOR spokesman said. UNPROFOR spokesman Bill Aikman said the reinforcements, which would double the number of UN troops deployed in the city, would oversee the cease-fire agreement reached last week between Bosnian Serb and BiH leaders. *4529 The new request for soldiers was in addition to reinforcements which began arriving in Sarajevo on Tuesday to consolidate the cease-fire. About 135 UN military observers were deployed in Sarajevo, up from 60 at the time of the mortar attack 10 days ago. *4530
Charles Redman, the US envoy to the former Yugoslavia urged the warring factions to seek a political settlement rather than provoke NATO air strikes around Sarajevo. «NATO is prepared to act», said Redman, after meeting with Croatian Foreign Minister Mate Granic in Zagreb. «But our hope is that it won't be necessary to act, that people will comply with what's been asked and that shelling of Sarajevo will stop», he said. *4531
NATO said that it would not extend its 21 February deadline for Bosnian Serbs to withdraw their artillery from around Sarajevo. *4532 «Our deadline is firm and will not be extended beyond the deadline set on 9 February», a spokesman said after a weekly meeting of ambassadors from the 16 nation alliance in Brussels. *4533 If air strikes go ahead, it would be NATO's first combat action since it was founded in 1949. *4534
The United States said that it was asked by the United Nations to contribute peacekeepers to demilitarize Sarajevo. There was, however, no sign that Washington was willing to do so. State Department spokeswoman Christine Shelly said that she was unable to say if the US had formally turned down the request. But she told reporters: «I think the US position on (committing ground) troops (to BiH) remains unchanged». *4535
Russia blasted as «illegitimate» NATO's threat to bomb Bosnian Serb military positions around Sarajevo. «We are doing everything to prevent air strikes», Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov announced in his Parliament, «and we consider the NATO ultimatum illegitimate». *4536
In Naples, NATO reportedly assembled the largest collection of allied airpower since the 1991 Gulf War, with more than 170 combat aeroplanes deployed. *4537
In Pale, Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic flanked by Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Vitaly Churkin, announced in the evening that Bosnian Serbs had accepted the Russian withdrawal plan. *4540
UNPROFOR spokesman Bill Aikman said that Bosnian Serb forces had begun a major withdrawal of their weapons in compliance with the NATO ultimatum. *4541
Bosnian Serb commander Manojlo Milovanovic said that in the event of NATO air strikes, all foreigners in Serb-held territory would be at risk. «In case of air strikes, all foreigners in the Serb Republic in Bosnia, including UN employees, Red Cross representatives and journalists, will become hostages», he told the bi-monthly Serb magazine Intervju in an article published today. The chief of the Bosnian Serb army's general staff said that his troops would retaliate against air strikes and that one way of doing so could be «a massacre of international representatives». Milovanovic made the threat in an interview on 10 February, a day after NATO issued its ultimatum. *4542
Russia offered to send 400 of its troops to help UNPROFOR with the demilitarization of Sarajevo. Moscow reportedly tendered its offer to the UN Secretary-General in a letter from Foreign Minister Andrei Kozyrev delivered on Wednesday night, just days after it rejected the UN's request for forces to help demobilize the Sarajevo combatants. *4543
BiH Ambassador Muhamed Sacirbey said that the BiH government «cannot accept the Russian initiative», and he accused Moscow of being biased in favour of Bosnian Serb forces. British Ambassador David Hannay disagreed, saying, «the Russians strongly want to see Sarajevo become a genuinely safe area. They are wholeheartedly in favour of the efforts to get the heavy weapons away from Sarajevo. *4544
British Foreign Secretary Douglas Hurd said in the evening that the prospect of air strikes on Serb positions around Sarajevo seemed more remote due to the Russian offer of troops in the area. *4545
US President Bill Clinton expressed hope that NATO air strikes against Bosnian Serbs would not be necessary, but insisted that NATO was serious about its threat. «I think the Serbs and others in Bosnia understand that the NATO allies are dead serious about carrying this out», Clinton said at the White House. *4546
Two days before the NATO ultimatum, UNPROFOR commanders and diplomats met in Croatia with a top NATO official to discuss final plans for possible air strikes. «All we had to say to both sides, both on military and political levels has been said correctly», said French General Jean Cot, commander of UNPROFOR troops in the former Yugoslavia. «I believe that over the next two days, we must endeavor to fulfill what is our task», he said. *4550
«The UN Protection Force is making real progress, and we are seeing sights being vacated [around Sarajevo]», said US Navy Admiral Jeremy Boorda, the NATO Southern European Commander. «But our deadline is Sunday night and we all hope it will be met», he told reporters after meeting Cot and UN special envoy Yasushi Akashi at the UN base at Croatia's Zagreb airport. *4551
UN special envoy Akashi, who had the authority to request NATO to carry out initial air strikes, *4552 said he had reached an agreement with Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic on the effective control of Serb weapons which had not yet been withdrawn. «Tomorrow [Saturday] I will go back to Sarajevo, for another meeting with Karadzic, and technical details of this agreement will be elaborated upon by the mixed commission, chaired by the UN commander in Sarajevo, General Andre Soubirou», Akashi said. Akashi told a press conference that, to date, 50 Bosnian Serb guns had been placed under UN control. «We do not have the account of weapons withdrawn from the 13-mile Sarajevo exclusion zone, but a significant number of artillery and mortars have been withdrawn from the zone», he said. Akashi, who met separately with Karadzic and BiH President Alija Izetbegovic, said that the talks gave him hope that progress toward a durable cease-fire would be achieved, as well as disarmament and disengagement. «President Izetbegovic expressed satisfaction with the talks with the Serb side», he said. «He hoped the progress will make it possible for us not to call for air strikes». *4553
Akashi, Cot and Boorda refused to comment on any specifics they had discussed over the past few days. «We wanted to make sure we're on the same level as to the ways and means of coping with the situation in and around Sarajevo», Akashi said. He said that his agreement with Karadzic included regrouping and the placing of those heavy weapons, artillery and mortars which had not yet been withdrawn. «These were significant elements in the agreement», Akashi said. *4554
UNPROFOR denied a news report that said it had blamed BiH forces in an official report for the 5 February market shelling in Sarajevo. UNPROFOR spokesman Peter MacFarlane said in Sarajevo that the report by French television channel TF1 was false. «This is totally fallacious and we deny it», he said. *4555
According to reports, the anticipated arrival of Russian UNPROFOR troops in Pale had given Bosnian Serb forces new confidence. «By Sunday there will be 400 Russians around Sarajevo. How do you think the Americans are going to be able to bomb us after that? It would lead to world war, the crisis is over», an unidentified officer said. *4561
The deployment of Russian UNPROFOR forces had sparked a controversy over whether the Russian troops would remain neutral in light of Russia's special relations with the Serbs, with whom they shared common religious and ethnic ties. But in return Bosnian Serb forces had charged that the Jordanian and Malaysian troops would favour the BiH army. *4562
Commenting on the NATO ultimatum US President Bill Clinton said: «We are determined to make good on NATO's word». He added: «Our military goal will be straightforward--to exact a heavy price on those who refuse to comply with the ultimatum». *4563
French Defence Minister Fran¨ois Leotard backed the US insistence that the NATO ultimatum be respected, but he said that it would be re-examined at the last minute on Sunday night according to developments on the ground. US, French, British, Dutch and Italian defence ministers were due to meet at the Italian Air Force base at Aviano less than 12 hours before the deadline for what officials called a final session of preparation and evaluation. But NATO officials, who spoke on conditions of anonymity, said that there was no question that the Aviano or any other meeting would dilute the ultimatum issued last week by NATO. *4564
Russian special envoy Vitaly Churkin warned in Moscow that «rash» air strikes by NATO in Sarajevo could spark a crisis between Russia and the West. *4565
Earlier, Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic said that although snow was hampering the withdrawal of weapons, it should be completed ahead of the midnight deadline imposed by NATO. «I think we will make it», he said in an interview with ABC television. «NATO will not have any simple reason to act», he said. «We Serbs do not cause any trouble with NATO». He repeated a warning made earlier in the day that his troops would fire back if attacked by warplanes. «Certainly we will have to defend ourselves», he said. *4576 Two hours before the deadline, Karadzic told CNN that the heavy weapons would be withdrawn or turned over to UN personnel. He told an interviewer that Serbs would meet the deadline imposed by NATO. «I'm positive about that», Karadzic said when asked specifically if the weapons would be pulled back to protect Sarajevo. He said that his forces planned to meet the deadline or transfer the weapons, adding one qualifier: «only if (the) United Nations don't have enough personnel». *4577
Five hours before the NATO ultimatum was to go into effect, UNPROFOR BiH commander, General Sir Michael Rose said: «I have soldiers working out there tonight ensuring that by tomorrow morning we will have got as clear a picture . . . as we possibly can». He added, «I remain reasonably optimistic that we will come to a peaceful end to this terrible war». Rose stated further that he expected to be at home «in bed» when the deadline fell, but that if there were any breaches of the ultimatum, «those who perpetrated those breaches will suffer the consequences accordingly». *4578
UN special envoy Yasushi Akashi said that snow would prevent the Bosnian Serb forces from meeting NATO's deadline for removal of all of their heavy guns, but he urged against immediate NATO air attacks. He told reporters: «This failure is not necessarily sufficient reason to call in air strikes». Speaking from the Bosnian Serb Army's Lukavica barracks, he said: «Because of the weather, snow and road conditions, not all the weapons which have not been withdrawn outside the exclusion zone may be in actual control of the United Nations Protection Force by the end of the day». *4579
Earlier, BiH UN ambassador Mohammad Sacirbey said on ABC television that his forces were complying with the NATO deadline. «Our information is of course that our heavy weapons, and we only have about 50 of them, are being withdrawn», he said. *4580
It was reported that BiH President Alija Izetbegovic met with Russian special envoy, Vitaly Churkin, who assured the president that the 400 Russian peacekeepers sent to Sarajevo would be professional and objective. *4581
As the NATO deadline for possible airstrikes neared, Russia called for an emergency session of the Security Council. But the closed-door informal session resulted in an exchange of views rather than any action. Russian Ambassador Yuli Vorontsov told reporters that Moscow had been alarmed about possible air strikes and was worried that «snow was hampering everything and obstructing everyone». He said that the Serbs had left guns for UNPROFOR, which it could not find in the snow, but that the UN statement on holding off air strikes was welcome news. Vorontsov also promoted his plan to put Sarajevo under UN administration immediately. *4582
US President Bill Clinton said early in the day that he was encouraged by reports on compliance with the UN-NATO deadline in Sarajevo, but that some weapons remained in position. «What happens after 7:00 p.m. [Washington time of the deadline] will be determined by facts on the ground», Clinton said. «The deadline will stand». *4583
US Secretary of State Christopher, interviewed early in the day by ABC television, warned that despite the complications caused by snowfall, «a deadline is a deadline». Every weapon that has not been moved or put under control of the UN is subject to attack, starting after midnight«, Christopher said. However, he also said that it could take hours for UN observers to assess whether or not the weapons withdrawal had been complied with, meaning that air strikes were unlikely to be carried out immediately after midnight. *4584
In London, British Foreign Secretary Douglas Hurd said that he was confident that NATO's credibility would remain intact after the expiration of NATO's deadline even if air strikes were not launched. Hurd said that the combined approach of NATO, UN military leaders and Russia had «come together» in a manner he hoped would be effective. *4585
Bosnian Serb Vice President Nikola Koljevic said that the thought of the danger of NATO air strikes against Serb positions around Sarajevo was over. «We believe that there is absolutely no danger any longer of air strikes», Koljevic said to a local Serbian radio station. «The worst crisis is now over and the Bosnian war is nearly at an end», he said, adding that Bosnian Serbs celebrated the NATO ultimatum «like it was New Year's Eve». *4590
BiH President Izetbegovic hailed the withdrawal of Bosnian Serb heavy guns as a «victory» on Sarajevo television. «It is not without deficiencies but it is a victory because they are not killing us anymore», he said. *4591
UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali declared the UN operation to silence guns around Sarajevo a «great success» and said that the threat of air strikes needed to be kept in reserve. «What happened was a great success for the United Nations», he said. «And we have been able to obtain this without using the air strikes». He cautioned, however, that the world must prepare itself, «for very long and difficult negotiations». *4592
The Kremlin declared its mediation in BiH a diplomatic triumph. Boris Yeltsin's press spokesman, quoted by Interfax news agency stated: «It is not just that Russia has returned to the roots of its historical . . . role in the Balkans and defended the Serbs, whose faith, culture and national spirit is close to us», spokesman Vyacheslav Kostikov told the agency. «It has firmly established the parameters of its influence in Europe and the world». Special envoy Vitaly Churkin told Russian television: «The West should learn a lesson from the current Bosnian crisis when it is over . . . And the lesson is that Russia should be treated as an equal partner, not the way some of them did it this time». *4593
Russian Defence Minister Pavel Grachev proposed deploying western troops as buffers in positions around Sarajevo controlled by the BiH army. According to reports, this proposal received a cool response from the United States. *4594
United States Defense Secretary William Perry warned that NATO warplanes would enforce continued compliance with the exclusion of heavy weapons from around the city and would retaliate against any resumed shelling of Sarajevo. Perry said that he was «cautiously optimistic» about compliance by both the Bosnian Serbs and the BiH government but added that «compliance is a continuous act». The defense secretary said that NATO aircraft would monitor compliance and would remain ready to strike to enforce it. Perry, who had talked regularly by telephone with Russian Defence Minister Pavel Grachev in the day's before Sunday's deadline, praised the «constructive role» played by Moscow in winning compliance with the arms rollback. He said that he had asked Grachev to encourage the Bosnian Serbs not to transfer their heavy weapons from Sarajevo to other war fronts elsewhere in BiH. Perry and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General John Shalikashvili, appeared together at a Pentagon news conference. *4595
French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said that Sarajevo should be put under UN control. He also called for action in other UN-declared security zones. Speaking on Europe 1 radio, Juppe said: «The objective of the next few days is that greater Sarajevo be placed under UN administration and that the UN acquires the means to do it». He added that the main aim was still to achieve a negotiated settlement. He also warned that the NATO air strike threat remained in place. «The threat of air strikes in the event of the (Sarajevo) cease-fire being violated is as great as before», he said. *4596
France offered a two-year plan for putting Sarajevo under UN control including appointing a civilian administrator and extending safety zones to three more cities. French diplomats presented the three-part proposal to the UN missions from Russia, Britain, Spain and the United States for discussion during Wednesday's Security Council meeting. Russia had also voiced support for putting Sarajevo under UN control, but the US has said that should be carried out in the context of an overall peace plan. *4603
In Bonn, Russian and Western European officials met and agreed the next step would be to extend the peace effort across BiH. But even as they spoke, war reports were coming in from across the Republic. German foreign ministry political director Juergen Chrobog, who chaired the meeting of high-level representatives told reporters afterwards that it was necessary to ensure that the weapons that were withdrawn from Sarajevo following the NATO ultimatum «do not show up in other battlefields. We must prevent at any price any spillover». *4604
US Defense Secretary William Perry said that he was relieved that NATO air strikes had not been needed in BiH, but stressed that the mission was not yet completed. «I can't tell you how relieved I am that we did not need to call on those young men to go on those air strikes», Perry told the House Armed Services Committee. Earlier in the day, Washington said that it would not immediately send peacekeepers to BiH, as the Russians had asked, even if NATO extended the ban on heavy artillery. «It's not something that we plan to do. Our position has not changed», said White House spokeswoman Dee Dee Myers. «There has been no change in our position», Myers said. «The only circumstances under which we would send ground troops in Bosnia would be to implement a workable diplomatic solution, a negotiated settlement among all the parties». *4605
BiH President Alija Izetbegovic charged that Bosnian Serb forces had failed to honour the NATO ultimatum to withdraw all artillery from Sarajevo. In a statement read to reporters by BiH Vice President Ejup Ganic, Izetbegovic gave a list of weapons not pulled out since the NATO ultimatum. «According to reliable data, the realization of the ultimatum is not accomplished», the statement said. The statement listed sightings by BiH sources (from Monday to Wednesday) of eight tanks, three armoured personnel carriers and at least 16 artillery pieces in the exclusion zone around the city. Whether these weapons remained Thursday could not be immediately confirmed. UNPROFOR spokesman Bill Aikman said that there were still at least eight weapons sites to be checked and that there were additional sites where Bosnian Serbs were refusing to hand over arms to UNPROFOR. Ganic charged that the 260 artillery pieces collected thus far from the Serbs included many obsolete arms and many below the high calibre weapons the Serbs possessed. *4616
BiH and Bosnian Serb officials agreed at a meeting at the Sarajevo airport to ease some of the restrictions that had isolated the city. Sarajevo radio reported that roads and power lines into the city and a city-centre bridge linking Serb and government-held neighbourhoods would reopen under the agreement, and that some civilians would be allowed to move between areas held by the BiH government. At the airport meeting, Bosnian Serbs reportedly agreed to open routes from Sarajevo to Visoko and Zenica west of the city through the Serb-held town of Ilijas. Foreign aid convoys and civilians with special permission would be allowed to move along this and perhaps other «blue routes» patrolled by UNPROFOR. Teams of Bosnians and Bosnian Serbs were to discuss repairing power and gas lines to the city and opening the Bridge of Brotherhood and Unity connecting the Grbavica district with the BiH-held Marijin Dvor area. *4617
The UN Security Council reportedly neared an agreement late in the day, on a resolution ordering a lifting of the siege of Sarajevo. «The French draft is close to an agreement. We will be bringing that on Monday morning», said Roble Olhaye of Djebouti. Under the most recent version of the proposal, the United Nations would name a senior civilian official to work with the BiH government to re-establish electricity and water service in the city, except for Serb-run Pale. The Council was considering demanding that all sides in the conflict allow civilians and aid to travel in and out of the city without going through checkpoints. The draft also requested that the UN Secretary-General extend the same UN protection to Maglaj, Brcko, Mostar and Vitez that Sarajevo and five other BiH cities had over the past year. *4623
Russia's military chief of staff, General Mikhail Kolesnikov, speaking at a news conference, said that the «trust factor» between Serbs and Russians played a key role in reaching the agreement on the demilitarization of Sarajevo and stated that the West should show a better understanding of those special ties. «Our partners in the West should consider, in an objective manner, the trust factor between Serbs and Russians and the fact that Moscow is deploying its troops in Bosnia while the threat of airstrikes is always present», he added. Kolesnikov reiterated that Russia opposed the NATO threat of airstrikes and stated that Moscow would have considered the military action, had it been carried out, as a «violation of its rights and interests». *4624
UNPROFOR said that it saw Bosnian Serb forces driving at least six tanks out of the weapons-free zone around Sarajevo, in violation of agreements with the UN and the NATO ultimatum. «We were not aware of the tanks until we saw them leaving», said UNPROFOR spokesman Bill Aikman. «It is of concern to us. We are increasing our ground patrols in the area to clarify if any more (heavy weapons) are hiding». Aikman said that UN military observers saw «six or seven» tanks speeding out of the exclusion zone under cover of darkness in the early hours of the morning. Asked if there had been any thought given to calling in NATO airstrikes against the tanks rather than letting them escape the zone, Aikman said: «The event was over before a decision like that could have been made». He added that the tanks had less than 10 kilometres to go to leave the zone when they were observed. He said that they were in the clear before UNPROFOR commander Sir Michael Rose could be informed. *4633
A UN Sector Sarajevo statement complained that the 1st Bosnian Corps had refused to allow journalists to visit the positions on Zuc under UNPROFOR control. The BiH army had explained the ban as a need to protect military secrets, but the UN noted that Bosnian Serbs were ready to allow the visit. «It's necessary to note that at least one mortar cease-fire violation came from the Bosnian side proving that some weapons have escaped control», the statement said. *4634
BiH government officials charged that Bosnian Serb heavy artillery withdrawn from around Sarajevo in line with the NATO ultimatum was being used to set up attacks on Maglaj and other BiH-held areas. *4635
Bosnian Serb General Manojlo Milovanovic, told the Tanjug news agency that he would use force to prevent the UN from reopening the Brotherhood and Unity bridge in Sarajevo and to stop humanitarian convoys from moving freely through BiH without his command's permission. «We shall prevent by force if necessary the attempt to reopen the bridge», he said. The UN had said that the bridge would open today. Announcing its decision, UNPROFOR spokesman Major Rob Annink said: «Both sides have agreed to the opening». *4639
In Washington, BiH and Croat officials entered a second day of talks discussing a proposal for a Muslim-Croat bi-national entity in BiH that might later bring Serbs into the structure and preserve the Republic's multi-ethnic unity. *4640