WASHINGTON, May 30 (Hina) - The United States on Thursday formally rescinded decisions on sanctions imposed on the former Yugoslavia, but sanctions on some individuals, who are believed to threaten peace and stability in the westerns
Balkans remained in place.
WASHINGTON, May 30 (Hina) - The United States on Thursday formally
rescinded decisions on sanctions imposed on the former Yugoslavia,
but sanctions on some individuals, who are believed to threaten
peace and stability in the westerns Balkans remained in place. #L#
On Thursday the U.S. President George W. Bush issued an executive
order terminating the executive orders from 1992 and 1998 imposing
sanctions on the former Yugoslavia. The sanctions referred to
individuals and organisations undermining peace and stability in
the western Balkans.
In a letter sent to the presidents of both houses of the U.S.
Congress, Bush writes that the situation which called for the
declaration of sanctions has considerably changed with the
peaceful transition into democracy and other positive developments
in Serbia-Montenegro (formerly the Federal Republic of
Yugoslavia).
Informing Congress of his decision, the US president said that the
strong commitment of senior officials of Serbia-Montenegro to
political and economic reforms was an argument for the termination
of decisions on sanctions previously imposed on the former
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
Sanctions were imposed on the country during the Slobodan Milosevic
regime in 1992, and in 1995 they were suspended so that a peace
agreement for Bosnia-Herzegovina could be concluded. In 1998 a new
decision was adopted imposing sanctions on the then Federal
Republic of Yugoslavia and in 2001 President Bill Clinton lifted
them, but sanctions imposed on Milosevic and his close aides
remained.
The termination of the executive orders from the 1990s should
encourage efforts of reform-oriented officials of Serbia-
Montenegro, Bush said in his letter.
The incumbent US president said that although he lifted sanctions
on Yugoslavia, certain restrictions on previously frozen assets
would remain in force in the near future.
Those bans are necessary due to claims by countries-successors to
the former SFRY and others regarding property and interest in
assets which should be deblocked, Bush added.
The new executive order includes a list of persons, which is an
addition to a similar decision adopted in June 2001, referring to
persons who obstruct the implementation of the Ohrid agreements on
Macedonia, the UN decisions on Kosovo and the Dayton peace accords
for Bosnia, as well as decisions of the international community's
officials in that country, and persons who are harbouring war
crimes suspects wanted by the UN war crimes tribunal in the Hague
(ICTY).
Those are 172 persons whose property is blocked by the U.S. and who
are not allowed to enter the United States.
The most numerous are persons from Bosnia-Herzegovina, including
war criminals Ratko Mladic and Radovan Karadzic and those who
harbour them, such as Momcilo Mandic and Milovan Bjelica.
Some of Bosnian Croats on this list are general Tihomir Blaskic,
whom the ICTY found guilty of war crimes, ICTY indictees Drago
Josipovic, Dario Kordic, Anto Furundzija and Ivica Rajic. Other
Bosnian Croats -- Ljubo Cesic-Rojs, Valentin Coric, Ante Jelavic
and Stanko Sopta -- were entered into it without any explanation.
According to the U.S. Embassy in Sarajevo, the list contains for the
first time the names of some well-known Bosnian Muslim politicians,
namely Hasan Cengic, believed to be a hard-liner in the SDA party,
Senad Sahinpasic, a man close to the Izetbegovic family and known
for his involvement in murky dealings including arms smuggling,
Bakir Alispahic, a former Bosnian federal interior minister, who is
currently being tried in Bosnia on charges that he helped set up a
terrorist camp on Mount Podgorelica.
Croatian General Ante Gotovina, who has been on the run since the
ICTY unsealed his indictment, and Croatian Serb rebel leader Milan
Martic, are also on the list.
(hina) ms sb