WASHINGTON, March 6 (Hina) - The decision of the international arbitration commission, led by Roberts Owen, to declare the town of Brcko and the area of the pre-war Brcko municipality as a neutral district, was made at the right time
and solved in the satisfactory manner this contentious issue which was of the great interest for both entities of Bosnia-Herzegovina and all three constituent peoples, US officials said on Friday. This area in the north-east of Bosnia will remain under the international supervision and will cover the town of Brcko and another 80 kilometres of the region that has so far belonged either to the Serb Republic or the Croat-Moslem Federation. An American senior official said the authorities of the two entities were given 60 days to propose administrative or similar solutions for Brcko on which Owen would take a final decision According to some Washington officials, on 15 March last year
WASHINGTON, March 6 (Hina) - The decision of the international
arbitration commission, led by Roberts Owen, to declare the town of
Brcko and the area of the pre-war Brcko municipality as a neutral
district, was made at the right time and solved in the satisfactory
manner this contentious issue which was of the great interest for
both entities of Bosnia-Herzegovina and all three constituent
peoples, US officials said on Friday.
This area in the north-east of Bosnia will remain under the
international supervision and will cover the town of Brcko and
another 80 kilometres of the region that has so far belonged either
to the Serb Republic or the Croat-Moslem Federation.
An American senior official said the authorities of the two
entities were given 60 days to propose administrative or similar
solutions for Brcko on which Owen would take a final decision
According to some Washington officials, on 15 March last year the
arbiter Owen was poised to decide to give Brcko to the Croat-Moslem
Federation. But, he did not eventually made such decision, since he
believed that Premier of the Republic of Srpska, Milorad Dodik,
could significantly contribute to the implementation of the Dayton
peace accords.
The conduct of the former President (of the Republic of Srpska)
Nikola Poplasen, his radicals and the Serb Democratic Party (SDS)
was the chief reason why the arbitrator could not include Brcko into
the Bosnian Serb entity, a US senior official added.
Prior to the war, Moslems (Bosniaks) made up a majority of the
population of this town on the right bank of the Sava river. The
second largest national group were Croats, but after the aggression
against Bosnia-Herzegovina and the bloodshed in this town, almost
only Serbs live in Brcko now. Their local authorities have failed to
enable and stimulate the return of refugees.
The US Administration fully supported Friday's decision of the
international High Representative to Bosnia, Carlos Westendorp, to
oust the President of the Serb entity, Nikola Poplasen, after this
Serb radical had more frequently and blatantly violated the Dayton
Accords provisions. American officials pointed to Poplasen's
refusal to defer the command over the Serb entity's armed force to
the Serb member of the Bosnian collective presidency. The last
straw was when Poplasen on Thursday forwarded a letter to the
Spanish diplomat openly threatening to use force in case Westendorp
attempted to oust him.
Regarding the resignation of the Premier of the Serb entity,
Milorad Dodik, US officials gave restrained comments expressing
their belief that the situation could become clear during the
weekend's session of the Serb entity's assembly.
After the announcement of the arbiter's decision on Brcko, a score
of people rallied in that town to protest against the arbitration,
but there were no other reactions, American officials informed.
The presence of the International Police Task Force (IPTF) and the
NATO-led Stabilisation Force (SFOR) has been boosted in the area.
The U.S. Secretary of State, Madeleine Albright, on Friday
forwarded letters to Croatian and Yugoslav Presidents, Franjo
Tudjman and Slobodan Milosevic respectively, notifying them of the
American stands on Owen's decision.
We hope Milosevic could notice in this decision as well as in the
decision on the relief of Poplasen from his duties, the
determination and seriousness of the international community to
solve all open issues, including Kosovo, an American official
stressed.
(hina) ms