November 23 1995

Building the peace in Bosnia

THE PEACE plan agreed upon by the main rivals of the Balkan conflict this week is a cause of celebration-and remorse. The fact that after weeks of tough and continuous negotiations in a US base the parties were able to make concessions in the 11th hour and agree to end one of the bloodiest conflicts in post World War II Europe is a victory for diplomacy and in specific US diplomacy. The sad thing is that in spite of the accord, Bosnia-Herzegovina will be divided along ethnic lines into two republics. In a way the aggressors have won the day.

But for the negotiators, especially the Bosnian Muslims, they could not have walked away from the deal. After three years, their people were exhausted, disappointed and weary. Walking away could have meant yet another devastating winter at the mercy of Serbian guns. This was a war where civilians were the victims and where the battlegrounds were ruined cities and abandoned enclaves and protected areas.

And as the beleaguered Bosnian Muslims await the implementation of this latest accord, they will have to examine the results of three years of barbaric onslaught against them by Bosnian Serbs. The price they had to pay was too high and that's why the taste of this latest deal is bittersweet. That is one reason why not all Bosnian Muslims were happy with the deal. For many the deal gave away too much. For those who died in the defence of a united Bosnia-Herzegovina, the deal was tantamount to surrender.

Now what is more important than the end of bloodshed is the complete implementation of this accord. This is important to the Bosnian people who persevered in their resistance in order to protect their state and their identity. The thousands who perished as a result of heinous acts of genocide must be remembered and honored by instituting an effective mechanism to implement the clauses of the agreement. This includes the repatriation of refugees and lifting the siege from Muslim enclaves including the city of Sarajevo. Without US and European backing, the Bosnian Serbs will find excuses to violate or delay the implementation of the articles of the lengthy accord that was signed in Dayton, Ohio, on Tuesday

The US must continue to lead in order that all parties will honor their commitment in the accord. That's why we support President Clinton's announcement that he will back a peace keeping force with US troops. The fragile peace that was reached in Ohio must not be allowed to shatter or collapse because of Serbian conspiracies.

Meanwhile, the end of war means building peace. Bosnia needs international aid to emerge from the debris of war as a nation capable of taking care of its own.

International interest in Bosnia should not end now that the spectre of war has eclipsed. If the world community had failed to stop the war, then it should not hesitate to build the peace.