Indented are my comments on this piece of agreement:
UNITED NATIONS, Sept 26 (Reuter) - Following is the text of a joint statement issued on Tuesday after a meeting of the foreign ministers of Bosnia, Croatia and Yugoslavia:
For the second time in three weeks, the Foreign Ministers
of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Republic of
Croatia and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia have met under
the auspices of the Contact Group. The meeting was held at the
U.S. Mission to the United Nations and co-chaired by U.S.
Assistant Secretary of State Richard C. Holbrooke and EU
Special Negotiator Carl Bildt.
The Contact Group and EU Special Negotiator announce today
that the three Foreign Ministers, speaking for their
governments -- the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the
Republic of Croatia and the Federal republic of Yugoslavia,
which also represents the Bosnian Serbs in a joint delegation
-- have authorized us to issue the attached Further Agreed
Basic Principles. All three governments -- and their Presidents
-- agree that these principles will govern additional
negotiations. Moreover, the Co-Chairmen reiterated that the
issues of Eastern Slavonia, Baranja, and Western Srijem will be
a top priority in an overall peace settlement.
Is Croatia getting back its territories for letting Serbs hold on to Banja Luka? Or is Croatia getting Banja Luka for giving Serbs its Eastern Slavonia regions? What has Bosnian government to do with Eastern Slavonia settlement (unless they have to part with some of supposedly their land)?
The principles issued today take us one more important step on the road to peace. As important as this step is, we remain a long way from peace.
as if we did not figure that out ourselves...
Although we still have a long and difficult path ahead of
us, today's agreement does mark another important step forward
for several reasons.
First and foremost, it establishes clearly that both sides
agree that Bosnia and Herzegovina will have a Parliament or
national assembly, a Presidency, a Constitutional Court, and
makes provisions for free and democratic elections under
international supervision. In our view this means direct, free
and democratic elections would be held as soon as possible when
the necessary conditions exist.
Bosnia and Herzegovina has a Parliament, a Presidency and a Constitutional Court, and it had it before the war. The free and democratic elections under international supervision WERE held before the war, and SDA (widely regarded as "Muslim" party) won, and there was a public referendum where PEOPLE in direct democracy procedure decided to secede from Yugoslavia. Referendum was boycotted by minority SDS party (lead by Radovan Karadzic). SDS rather errected baricades on roads that lead in and out from Sarajevo and started pounding the city with weapons given to them by Yugoslav Army. I don't regarding simple repeating of history "a big step ahead."
These are obviously significant, if incomplete,
achievements, which must be fleshed out in much greater detail
in the next round of negotiations. For example, what are "other
matters" referred to in the second sentence of paragraph 6.6?
Although this must be negotiated, in our view they should
include such important matters as foreign trade, customs
administration, international financial affairs, currency
administration, citizenship and passports, protection of
borders, and other matters. These issues must be solved before
we can achieve the settlement we seek.
There are many other important issues not resolved, or even
addressed, in today's document. Above all, the territorial
issues are still unresolved, and will be the subject of very
tough negotiations. In this connection, the Contact Group
reiterates its strong support for the sovereignty and
territorial integrity of the states of the region.
So, nothing tangible was achieved. No concrete issue was adressed. And "above all" territorial issues (which are at the core of the war) "are still unresolved."
We are also committed to ensuring that, at the end of the negotiating process, the above institutions and their manner of operations and decision-making will be fully consistent with democratic principles. We shall continue to avoid mechanisms that could make the governmental institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina un-democratic or non-functioning in their operations.
The first and the foremost mechanism that makes governmental institutions un-democratic or non-functioning in their operations is a disaster of war. But I didn't see much efforts to avoid warfare in Bosnia. So, I think that the use of the phrase "we shall continue" is entirely inappropriate in this place.
We also must address the presence of several different military forces on the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina in such a manner as to ensure that their presence and activities are consistent with the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
This is a particularly brilliant thought. How can a presence of several different foreign military forces on the territory of one country be ever made consistent with the sovereignty and territorial integrity of that country? Can Bosnian government cancel a lease to Serbian or Croatian or French or Brittish or Ukrainian military like Philippino goverment cancelled lease to the U.S. military?
The American negotiating team will return to the region, starting in Sarajevo, on Thursday. The EU Special Negotiator, Carl Bildt, will continue work also on the constitutional and reconstruction efforts which will be addressed by the EU Foreign Ministers in Luxembourg October 2 before he proceeds to the region. Russian negotiator, First Deputy Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov, will return to the region next week. The attached Basic Principles have been agreed upon today by H.E. Muhamed Sacirbey, Foreign Minister of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Bosnia and Herzegovina), H.E. Mate Granic, Foreign Minister of the Republic of Croatia (Croatia); and H.E. Milan Milutinovic, Foreign Minister of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Yugoslavia), and witnessed by Representatives of France, Germany, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States, and by the European Union Special Negotiator for the Former Yugoslavia.
New York, September 26, 1995