Sarajevo Cease-Fire

* It appears that in return for Sarajevo being spared a few days of heavy bombardment, the Bosnian government is being manipulated into handing over its heavy weapons and being “realistic” about the need to sign away its rights. The Russians have now maneuvered themselves into a better position to prevent any further ultimatums against the Serbs from being effective and to undermine completely NATO’s feeble effort to re-establish any credibility as a power in European affairs. The U.S. has now been maneuvered into giving open support for the unjust and probably unworkable plan to divide Bosnia into ethnic Bantustans, two of which will be governed by genocidal maniacs.

I believe the Bosnian government is not doing what it should to protest this set of outrageous manipulations. Even if “realistically” Bosnia may finally be forced to surrender much of its territory and sovereignty, there is no reason for Bosnia’s friends in America and the West to pretend that this is just or reasonable.

ALAN FOGELQUIST

Institute of South Central European

and Balkan Affairs, Pacific Palisades

* Charles A. Kupchan (Opinion, Feb. 20) characterized President Clinton’s threat to use NATO air power in Bosnia as the most significant leadership decision since World War II. Either he is not aware or has forgotten that other presidents, in that time frame, implemented the Berlin airlift, defused the Cuban missile crisis and most importantly--prevented an atomic holocaust. And there were the matters of wars in Korea and Vietnam.

Kupchan misinterpreted Clinton’s clearly enunciated justifications for the air strikes--to end the siege. What the airstrike threat accomplished was to lessen the body count temporarily and redeploy Serbian ordnance to other besieged areas of Bosnia.

The Serbs continue to control all water and gas supplies and delivery of humanitarian aid to Sarajevo. The Serbs continue to receive over half of the aid as tribute for allowing it to enter the city. The citizens of Sarajevo still cannot leave the city freely.

JERRY N. BLASKOVICH

San Pedro

* Peace in Bosnia-Herzegovina is on shaky ground, while President Clinton is trying to find the Muslim “bottom line” making it acceptable for them to sign the peace agreement, while disregarding that the “bottom line” for Serbs in Bosnia, and Yugoslavia, has already been reached.

The recent massacre staged in the Sarajevo marketplace, which actually triggered the ultimatum against the Bosnian Serbs, is less and less mentioned by the Western media and politicians. This is in direct proportion with rapidly increasing odds that a U.N. special investigation will clear Serbian guns from responsibility for this senseless killing, and point an accusatory finger at the Muslims.

The established pattern of diversions previously staged by Muslims (as found by earlier U.N. investigators, including the “bread-line massacre,” May 27, 1992; “shelling” of Douglas Hurd’s visit, July 17, 1992; “orphan’s funeral,” Aug. 4, 1992; killing of ABC producer David Kaplan, Aug. 13, 1992; “water queue shelling,” Feb. 7, 1993), their motives (to provoke the world’s sympathy and push the U.N. and NATO into a military intervention against Serbs), and ballistic expertise (an Israeli expert, reported in French and Italian news), all indicate undeniably that it was yet another atrocity masterminded and executed by the Muslim government.

Is it possible that the U.S. will continue to support the Bosnian Muslim government if ongoing investigations reveal that it is guilty of one more cruel and barbaric hoax?

ALEXANDER YAHONTOV

Researcher for Serbian-American

Community Relations Coalition

Los Angeles