Soeharto offers help for peace<\/p>\n
By Rikza Abdullah<\/p>\n
ZAGREB (JP): President Soeharto made a brief junket from here
\nto the embattled Sarajevo yesterday to offer his good offices to
\nthe current international drive for peace in Bosnia-Herzegovina.<\/p>\n
There was a brief tense moment during his four hours stay in
\nthe Bosnian capital as the United Nations' chartered plane that
\nwas to take him out was shot at as it was landing in Sarajevo.<\/p>\n
\"There were a few shots fired from Stup (a suburb bordering
\nthe airport). The plane definitely was not hit,\" said UN
\nspokeswoman Captain Miriam Souchaki. The plane later left with
\nSoeharto on board safely, according to Reuters.<\/p>\n
Soeharto, who is also the chairman of the 111-nation Non-
\nAligned Movement (NAM), held talks with Bosnian President Alija
\nIzetbegovic to discuss the situation in the former Yugoslavian
\nrepublic that has been torn by four years of ethnic war.<\/p>\n
His visit, albeit short, has added a new dimension to
\ninternational peace diplomacy, which to date had been largely
\ndominated by European countries and the United States.<\/p>\n
Details of the discussion between Soeharto and Izetbegovic
\nwere not available as of last night but on Sunday, at a banquet
\nhosted by Croatian Prime Minister Nikica Valentic, the Indonesian
\nleader offered his services to help bring about peace in both
\nBosnia-Herzegovina and Croatia.<\/p>\n
Soeharto and his entourage flew to Sarajevo from Zagreb in the
\nafternoon after the local UN forces obtained assurances from
\nBosnia's warring factions concerning his safety.<\/p>\n
Turkish President Suleyman Demirel was prevented from
\ntraveling to the city last month after receiving veiled Serbian
\nthreats to his safety.<\/p>\n
Despite the guarantee and the assurance from the United
\nNations Protection Force (UNPROFOR), President Soeharto and his
\n21-member entourage were still required to sign papers stating
\nthat they were responsible for their own safety.<\/p>\n
They were also required to put on bullet-proof vests.<\/p>\n
\"Sarajevo is safe today. But I can say that President Soeharto
\nis very brave to travel to Sarajevo at this time,\" UNPROFOR
\ndirector of information Michael Williams told reporters in
\nZagreb. He recalled that there were sniper attacks against
\ncivilians in Sarajevo over the weekend.<\/p>\n
Soeharto flew on board a Russian-made, three-engine Jak-40
\naircraft flown by 34-year-old Russian pilot Voronine Evegueni.<\/p>\n
Before taking off, Evegueni said he had flown many leaders to
\nSarajevo, including UN Secretary General Boutros-Boutros Ghali
\nand former U.S. president Jimmy Carter.<\/p>\n
Soeharto's entourage included Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali
\nAlatas, Minister\/State Secretary Moerdiono, Chief of the Armed
\nForces Gen. Feisal Tanjung, the chief executive assistant to the
\nNAM chairman, Nana Sutresna, and the chief of Indonesia's mission
\nto the United Nations, Nugroho Wisnumurti.<\/p>\n
Two Indonesian journalists, representing Radio Republik
\nIndonesia and the Antara news agency, joined the delegation.<\/p>\n
Soeharto's trip to Sarajevo was in doubt earlier after a plane
\nbringing Yasushi to Sarajevo on Sunday was hit by gunfire.<\/p>\n
Calm<\/p>\n
Calm prevailed at the airport when Soeharto arrived at midday
\nto a welcome by Akashi. The two held a meeting for about 25
\nminutes before Soeharto and his entourage were transported on
\nbullet proof military personnel vehicles to the center of the
\ncity where he was met by Bosnian President Alija Izetbegovic.<\/p>\n
\"Not a single firing shot was heard on our way to the palace,\"
\nan Antara reporter told his Indonesian colleagues in Zagreb.<\/p>\n
Soeharto was greeted by Izetbegovic at the presidential palace
\nwith a military ceremony. A crowd of about 200 people watched and
\ngreeted his arrival outside the palace.<\/p>\n
UNPROFOR military spokesman Lt.Col. Gary Coward said in
\nSarajevo that an increased North Atlantic Treaty Organization air
\npresence had been requested for Monday over Sarajevo, along with
\nother special measures to ensure Soeharto's safety. French UN
\ntroops were also deployed around the presidency in downtown
\nSarajevo Monday, AFP reported.<\/p>\n
Soeharto had gone to Sarajevo chiefly in the hope of obtaining
\nfirst-hand information about the situation in Bosnia-Herzegovina.<\/p>\n
Minister State\/Secretary Moerdiono said in Zagreb that at the
\ndinner meeting on Sunday, Soeharto assured Croatian Prime
\nMinister Valentic that Indonesia would help all parties involved
\nin conflicts in the former states of Yugoslavia to find a
\npeaceful solution.<\/p>\n
\"But Indonesia cannot solve the problem without the active
\nrole of the leaders of the parties directly involved in the
\nconflicts,\" Soeharto was quoted by Moerdiono as saying.<\/p>\n
Valentic told Soeharto that Croatia needs peace and wants a
\npeaceful solution to the current conflict.<\/p>\n
\"A comprehensive solution is needed and recognition,
\ntherefore, is important for the independence of the former states
\nof Yugoslavia,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Yesterday morning, Soeharto held a tete-a-tete meeting with
\nCroatian President Franjo Tudjman for talks largely focusing on
\nimproving bilateral ties between the two countries.<\/p>\n
Soeharto also met with members of the Garuda XIV, the
\nIndonesian military contingent taking part in the UN peacekeeping
\nmission in Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina.<\/p>\n
He met with Lt. Col. Heridadi, the commander of the 219-strong
\nhealth battalion, and Lt. Col. Suhartono and Lt. Col Nathi Harun,
\nwho are members of the Indonesian corps of police and military
\nobservers.<\/p>\n
The President presented them with parcels containing food and
\ncigarettes \"for the boys\", Antara reported.<\/p>\n
He also asked the troopers to keep up the good work and
\nreminded them that they are flying the national flag.<\/p>",
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