BRUSSELS, March 18 (Hina) -The NATO military mission in Bosnia- Herzegovina was being carried out according to plan, NATO Secretary-General Javier Solana told Monday's news conference in Brussels. He expressed his regret for recent
incidents in Sarajevo which presented a blow to the idea of multiethnic society.
BRUSSELS, March 18 (Hina) -The NATO military mission in Bosnia-
Herzegovina was being carried out according to plan, NATO
Secretary-General Javier Solana told Monday's news conference in
Brussels.
He expressed his regret for recent incidents in Sarajevo
which presented a blow to the idea of multiethnic society. #L#
Solana condemned the fact that Bosnian Serbs were setting
fires to houses in areas which were to be integrated into the
Bosnian Federation, describing the acts as "dreadful behaviour".
He added that actions of the Federation were far from
expected.
"Even if Sarajevo is united, the way the process was carried
out is a terrible blow to our views of a multiethnic Sarajevo,"
Solana said, adding, "The behaviour of the Federation is far from
encouraging".
Solana expressed his concern with the political situation, but
he said that IFOR was moving towards fulfilling duties from the
D+90 plan, under which the Federation and the "Republika Srpska"
are to officially establish their new borders in line with the
Dayton peace accords, 90 days after the deployment of IFOR troops
in Bosnia-Herzegovina.
Solana expressed his satisfaction with the good cooperation
between IFOR troops from various countries active in sector-south,
Poland, Denmark, Norway, Russia and the U.S.A. He especially
stressed very good cooperation among Russian troops and the
excellently organized joint patrols of Russian and American troops.
He would discuss the issue with the highest officials of the
Russian Federation, where he would travel tomorrow for a two-day
visit to Moscow, Solana said.
Although the military aspect of IFOR was successful, there
were problems concerning the civilian aspect, Solana said, adding
that there was improvement and that IFOR troops were working on
more than 200 projects on the reconstruction of civilian buildings.
IFOR commander, General George Joulwan, told the news
conference that the third stage of implementing the IFOR plan was
being carried out: ensuring freedom of movement in all areas in
Bosnia-Herzegovina.
All roads in Bosnia would be opened within 120 days, Joulwan
said.
(hina) lm
181542 MET mar 96