Major powers ease sanctions on Belgrade
SARAJEVO (Reuter): The major powers eased sanctions on rump Yugoslavia early on Saturday in return for its military blockade of Bosnian Serbs, pinning peace hopes on isolating Belgrade's former proteges in Bosnia.
Over the protests of the Moslem-led Bosnian government and Islamic countries, the UN Security Council relaxed some of the strictures on Belgrade to reward Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic for supporting the latest international peace plan and cutting off supplies to Bosnian Serbs.
At the same time the council imposed new travel and economic curbs on the Bosnian Serbs, designed to tighten their isolation and stop any travel abroad except for peace negotiations.
U.S. Ambassador Madeleine Albright also made a strong plea to lift the arms embargo against the Bosnian Moslem-led government, outgunned by superior Serb weaponry.
"We cannot wait indefinitely for the Bosnian Serbs to change their minds. If Pale does not agree to the peace plan by Oct.15 we intend to seek a resolution in this council to lift the arms embargo," she said.
"We understand the pain that more fighting might bring. But there is a choice: the peace plan can be accepted by the Bosnian Serbs," she added.
Albright said the resolutions "demonstrate this council's determination to use both carrots and sticks to move the parties towards a negotiated settlement."
British ambassador Sir David Hannay said that Milosevic's commitment "if sustained over time, is clearly an important development."
The measure easing the embargo against the Yugoslav states of Serbia and Montenegro suspends for 100 days bans on passenger flights to Belgrade and cultural and sports exchanges. It will also allow ferry service between the Montengran port of Bar and Bari in Italy.
The resolution will come into effect a day after Secretary- General Boutros Boutros-Ghali receives a report from border monitors that Serbia is banning all but humanitarian supplies from crossing into Bosnia.
But the strict trade embargo imposed on Yugoslavia in May 1 for fomenting the Bosnian war stays in effect.
In the more than three-hour debate, a dozen ambassadors from Islamic states attacked the resolution as sending the wrong message to the Serbs. They also pointed to reports that Serbia might be sending supplies to Bosnia in helicopters.
The UN measures were drafted by the major power "contact group" on Yugoslavia, comprising the United States, Russia, Britain, France and Germany.
The moves by Western and Russian diplomats to support Belgrade in isolating the Bosnian Serbs came after NATO jets bombed a Bosnian Serb T-55 tank west of Sarajevo on Thursday following Serb attacks on UN peacekeepers.
In Cairo, the Arab League said yesterday that it regretted the Security Council decision.
Adnan Omran, the league's assistant secretary-general, told reporters the decision damaged the credibility of the council, which recently extended sanctions against league member Libya.
"It is regrettable for us to see the Security Council moving to lift some of the sanctions against the Republic of Serbia at a time when there has been no real change in the Serbian position and when we are seeing more Serb intransigence."