Soeharto in Sarajevo<\/p>\n
Visiting Sarajevo these days could be very risky. Yet
\nIndonesia's President Soeharto made a successful visit there on
\nMonday.<\/p>\n
The trip was dangerous because the Serbs outside of the
\nBosnian capital are violating the cease-fire. Just last weekend
\nfive people were killed and six others were wounded in an
\nexchange of fire in Bosnia's besieged capital.<\/p>\n
The Serbs, the faction responsible for almost all of the
\nbloody incidents in the rump Yugoslavia, has renewed its shelling
\nof the city with mortars.<\/p>\n
On Sunday, a plane, which transported United Nations special
\nenvoy Yasushi Akashi, was hit by heavy machine gun fire on the
\nSarajevo airport runway. The attackers were believed to be Serbs.<\/p>\n
Soeharto, an active military commander for two decades, was
\nwell aware of the risk he would face if he proceeded with his
\nplan. Yet he did.<\/p>\n
Soeharto, who represented the world's largest Moslem country,
\nwent to the beleaguered city to express solidarity with the
\nBosnians, who have suffered the most brutal war of attrition
\nsince World War II. What makes the suffering even more
\nnightmarish for the Bosnians is that the western countries have
\nclearly been reluctant in their efforts to find a negotiable
\nsolution to the crisis. These countries, who have spoken like
\nchampions of human rights, have hindered the Bosnians, the
\nvictims of aggression, by imposing an arms embargo on them
\nthrough the UN Security Council. They have also fruitlessly tried
\nto force Bosnia-Herzegovina to accept the humiliating
\ncapitulation labeled as peace.<\/p>\n
The fact that Soeharto, who is the current leader of the 111-
\nnation Non-Aligned Movement, has something to contribute to the
\npeace efforts, is clearly acknowledged by the United Nations.
\nBefore Soeharto flew to Sarajevo, the UN Protection Force had
\nrequested that NATO tame the Serbs by increasing an air presence
\nover the city as an apparent effort to secure the Indonesian
\nleader's visit.<\/p>\n
The Serbs might have been deterred by NATO's warning but these
\npeople, who form the dominant segment of Yugoslav society, may
\nalso regard Indonesia with respect because Belgrade and Jakarta
\nwere co-founders of NAM.<\/p>\n
Turkish President Suleiman Demyrel did not enjoy that
\nrespect. Last month he had to cancel his trip to Sarajevo for the
\nsecond time after Serbs threatened to attack his plane. Turkey
\nhas strongly supported the Bosnians in their struggle against the
\nSerbs' atrocities.<\/p>\n
Hopefully, Soeharto's visit to Sarajevo has convinced the
\nBosnian people that despite the West's inaction in the crisis
\nthey still have friends in most parts of the globe. The nations
\nof the West might see little meaning in his visit, but if they
\nare wise enough to look deeper into the essence of the gesture,
\nthey could well understand that humanitarianism is not their
\nmonopoly.<\/p>\n
The visit is also expected to push the nations of the West to
\nrealize their past blunders in facing this problem and to
\nmotivate them to back Indonesia's efforts to find a comprehensive
\nsolution to the horrendous three-year-old crisis.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/soeharto-in-sarajevo-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}