Soeharto to follow up peace plan

Soeharto to follow up peace plan

JAKARTA (JP): President Soeharto says he plans to follow up on
his successful trip to Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina by sending
Indonesian envoys to other ex-Yugoslavian republics to discuss
his alternative peace plan.

"We will soon send a mission to Serbia-Montenegro, Slovenia
and Macedonia to discuss the same peace proposal," Soeharto told
journalists yesterday aboard the Garuda Indonesia DC10 plane
taking him home from Zagreb.

The Indonesian leader, who is also chairman of the Non-Aligned
Movement (NAM), held talks with Croatian leaders in Zagreb and
with Bosnian leaders during his four-hour visit to the embattled
Sarajevo on Monday.

The President's proposal would seek a comprehensive, rather
than a partial, solution to the ethnic wars that have been
devouring most of former Yugoslavia for the last four years.

"Both Croatian President Franjo Tudjman and Bosnian President
Alija Izetbegovic have accepted our proposal as an alternative
mechanism to bring about a peaceful solution to conflicts in
former Yugoslavia," Soeharto said.

He said Indonesia, in its capacity as NAM leader, is proposing
that all parties involved in the conflicts hold negotiations to
find permanent and comprehensive solutions based on the
principles of peaceful co-existence, a guarantee for the
protection of minorities, mutual recognition, acceptance of
internationally recognized borders and non-intervention in each
nation's domestic affairs.

Four of the former Yugoslavian states -- Croatia, Slovenia,
Bosnia-Herzegovina and Macedonia -- declared their independence
in 1991 and have since been recognized internationally.

Serbia and Montenegro, however, refuse to recognize their
independence, while the Serbs living in Croatia and Bosnia-
Herzegovina are rebelling against their governments. Bosnian
Serbs now control about 70 percent of the Bosnian territories and
Croatian Serbs about one-third of the Croatian territories.

As numerous international efforts to bring peace to the
territory have failed, Soeharto's proposal has been welcomed as
a new dimension to the peace drive.

Initiative

The President said Indonesia was taking the initiative out of
its concern for the fate of the old Yugoslavia, which also helped
found the NAM in the 1960s.

Minister/State Secretary Moerdiono, who accompanied Soeharto
on the overseas trip, said Nana Sutresna, the chief executive
assistant to NAM chairman, will be heading the mission to
Serbia/Montenegro, Macedonia and Slovenia.

"If the leaders of the former Yugoslav states do not want
their countries ruined and they really want to end wars, they
must meet to talk on ways to reach solutions," Soeharto said.

He said the ultimate aim of the peace process is to create a
confederation of the former Yugoslavian republics.

The new Balkan states could also establish a regional
cooperation forum -- like the Association of Southeast Asian
Nations (ASEAN) -- for themselves, which could be expanded to
include other nations in the Balkans.

"If they reach a consensus on ways for a solution," he
suggested, "they'd better hold an international conference so
their solution can be recognized internationally."

He added that the conference should involve the United
Nations, permanent members of the UN Security Council and the
western countries that have thus far tried to devise a solution
to the ethnic warring in the former Yugoslavia.

In spite of the efforts of the United Nations, the permanent
members of the Security Council and several western countries,
Soeharto said the warring parties have failed to settle their
differences because the mechanisms proposed have been partial in
nature.

Soeharto gave his assurance that Indonesia would be ready to
facilitate any meetings, first among the warring parties and
later at an international level. "The proposed meetings can be
held anywhere they want -- in Indonesia or any other country," he
said.

Minister Alatas said Monday that Indonesia, if asked, would
host the negotiations, send envoys to parties relevant to the
conflicts or provide any other facilities.

Soeharto reiterated that Indonesia is ready to act only as a
facilitator of negotiations, not as a mediator to the conflicts.
Only the leaders of the conflicting parties can solve their
disputes, he reminded, others can only help provide facilities.

The President returned yesterday after an eight-day overseas
tour that also took him to Copenhagen, where he attended the
Summit Meeting on Education for All, attended by nine leaders of
the most populous developing countries, and the World Conference
on Social Development, both held in the Danish capital.

When he touched down at Halim Perdanakusuma airport, he was
welcomed by Vice President Try Sutrisno and a number of cabinet
members, including Coordinating Minister for Industry and Trade
Hartarto, State Minister/Cabinet Secretary Saadilah Mursid and
Minister of Defense and Security Edi Sudradjat. (riz)