Bosnian Serb Voters Reject Peace Proposal
Bosnian Serbs deepened their self-imposed isolation, voting overwhelmingly against a peace plan endorsed by friends and enemies alike, according to initial results Monday.
Fears rose that the 28-month Bosnian war--which has already left 200,000 dead or missing--will turn even more violent with the defiant rejection.
Referendum officials said that more than 90% of Bosnian Serbs who voted rejected the plan that was put forward by the United States, Russia, France, Britain and Germany.
The proposal had been accepted by Bosnia’s Croats and Muslims and also was endorsed by Russia, a traditional Serbian ally, and by Serbia, the main supporter of the Bosnian Serb war effort until recently.
The head of the electoral commission said turnout was more than 90% of 1.2 million eligible voters.
He said that at some voting stations, “more than 100%” of those who were on the voting lists cast ballots. He explained that refugees voted.
The plan would reduce Serbian territory to 49% of Bosnia from the 70% they have seized. A federation of Bosnian Muslims and Croats would get 51%.
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