Bosnia Vote Puts Peace Plan in Peril

The Parliament of Bosnia-Herzegovina on Saturday rejected a formula for ethnic partition of the country but urged further peace talks, raising new doubts about prospects for the international community’s only viable plan for ending Bosnia’s civil war.

In an exhausting two-day session in the capital, Sarajevo, the Muslim-led Parliament unanimously agreed to continue peace talks in Geneva this week in the hope of winning more territory and guarantees that provisions for reversing “ethnic cleansing” and protecting the country as an international entity will be implemented.

“We are asking for crucial changes. The international identity of Bosnia-Herzegovina must be affirmed,” said Muhamed Filipovic, a member of the government’s delegation to the peace talks.

But while the Bosnian government’s reservations about the plan threatened to throw new obstacles in the way of bringing peace to the embattled nation, there were clear indications that government leaders are abandoning their dream of a single, multiethnic nation.

“They (the Serbs) still have 1,000 tanks against us, and if we don’t find a solution, Bosnia will be destroyed,” Muslim President Alija Izetbegovic said in an emotional address to the Assembly.

The current peace plan, drawn up by Bosnian Serb and Croat leaders with Izetbegovic’s reluctant participation, calls for demilitarizing the country and creating three loosely federated ethnic republics with a common presidency and foreign ministry. Citizens are guaranteed the right to live anywhere in the country regardless of ethnic background.

Bosnian Serb legislators, meeting in Pale in the mountains above Sarajevo, voted 55 to 14 for unconditional acceptance of the plan. It would force them to give up much of the land they have gained during 17 months of war but award them the greatest share of territory--about 52%, compared to 30% for Muslims and 18% for Croats.

“We have all the conditions to achieve a settlement without much more talks if we all accept it in good faith, and I do hope we can implement it very soon,” said Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic, who prevailed over hard-line Serbs who objected to forfeiting Serbian military gains in Bosnia.

Karadzic warned that “if the Muslims do not accept the plan now, every next map could only be worse for them, and in case the war continues, they will lose everything.”

Croat leaders, meeting in the central Bosnian town of Grude, took a step toward implementation of the peace plan by formally declaring an independent Bosnian Croat republic, but indicated that they too will seek adjustments in the territorial map drawn up in Geneva.

“It is imperative that corrections be made,” Croat leader Mate Boban said. “There are details which are illogical.”

Just how much more the Muslims will demand may not be clear until Monday, when leaders of the three communities are scheduled to present their responses to international mediators Lord Owen and Thorvald Stoltenberg. The precise wording of the Bosnian Parliament’s action was not to be released until today.

But there were indications that the Muslim-led government will seek to improve its 30% share of territory, perhaps to as much as 36%. Muslims are seeking access corridors to Muslim enclaves in eastern Bosnia and also a permanent access to the sea.

Fighting has been at a lull throughout Bosnia-Herzegovina during the last two days of parliamentary discussions, and in an important breakthrough in central Bosnia, part of a U.N. aid convoy trapped by Muslim demonstrators in Mostar was allowed to leave Saturday afternoon.

Civilian drivers and aid workers who formed a large share of the 113 men and women blockaded for nearly three days in the embattled city drove out to the Croatian city of Medkovic, while about 50 Spanish peacekeeping troops and their armored personnel carriers were forced to stay behind.

An estimated 55,000 Muslims trapped on the city’s east side say they fear that Croat forces will resume their attacks against them after the U.N. personnel leave. U.N. civil affairs chief Cedric Thornberry, who headed the convoy, said he would favor offering security protections to all citizens of the city, which is divided between Croats and Muslims.

The likelihood of success of an ultimate peace plan will not be clear until this week, when the parties gather again in Geneva and present their precise demands.

International mediators have said there is no room for extended further negotiations on the maps. Serbs have made it clear that they are not prepared to concede much more territory, and neither are the Croats.

“The big difficulty is they’re trying to stop a war that’s still raging, and they’re trying to tell the people who militarily have done the best that they have to give up a significant amount of territory,” said one analyst close to the peace talks.

“The important thing now is if Izetbegovic can come back (to Geneva) empowered to accept something a bit better. If he comes back and says, ‘We need another 3% of territory,’ maybe that can be worked out. Or maybe not.”

In the Serbian province of Kosovo, an entourage that included Sen. Paul Coverdell (R-Ga.) was delayed for more than an hour by local officials, the Associated Press reported. The U.S. Embassy in Belgrade said ethnic Albanians traveling with Coverdell were stopped for questioning, and the senator chose to stay with them. Coverdell was on a fact-finding tour of the region, which Western authorities fear may become another Balkan hot spot.