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)