Word Likely Soon on French Pilots Missing in Bosnia

A potentially explosive obstacle to the upcoming Bosnia peace-signing ceremony in Paris appeared closer to being overcome Monday as officials here indicated that good news is imminent about two missing French fighter pilots.

The first word of the airmen since they were shot down over Bosnia-Herzegovina in August came from the head of a visiting NATO delegation after a meeting with Yugoslav officials.

Karsten Voigt, president of the North Atlantic Assembly, told reporters that Yugoslav Defense Minister Pavle Bulatovic told him that a statement would be forthcoming from the pilots’ Bosnian Serb captors that Bulatovic expected “would satisfy the families of the pilots.”

Voigt did not elaborate, but independent Belgrade radio B-92 reported that a French aircraft was standing by at Belgrade’s airport, and state-run Serbian television broadcast upbeat comments by Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic.

“We are doing our best to help clarification of that, and I hope successfully,” Milosevic said when asked about the plight of the pilots.

The developments raised hopes that the airmen, Capt. Frederic Chiffot and Lt. Jose Souvignet, are alive and that heightened tensions over their capture will not sour Thursday’s signing of the peace agreement hammered out last month in Dayton, Ohio. A recent confidential U.N. memo suggested that the two men were dead, and radio B-92 reported last week that they had been executed shortly after their capture.

In Washington, Clinton administration officials said they are hopeful that a breakthrough in the crisis is near. President Clinton said the French expect the ceremonial signing to go ahead as scheduled.

“We are in very close touch with the French,” Clinton said. “They are working very hard on this.”

Also Monday, Clinton formally asked Congress for an “expression of support for U.S. participation in a NATO-led Implementation Force in Bosnia,” the 60,000-strong international peacekeeping force that will include 20,000 Americans.

The request came in a letter to Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.). The Senate is expected to vote on a resolution of support Wednesday that has been drafted by Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole (R-Kan.) after consultation with senators from both parties.

“I believe congressional support for U.S. participation is immensely important to the unity of our purpose and the morale of our troops,” Clinton wrote.

“America has a responsibility to help to turn this moment of hope into an enduring reality. As the leader of NATO--the only institution capable of implementing this peace agreement--the United States has a profound interest in participating in this mission, which will give the people of Bosnia the confidence and support they need to preserve the peace and prevent this dangerous war in the heart of Europe from resuming and spreading.”

Clinton told a news conference earlier that he expected Congress to approve a resolution of support.

“I believe when it . . . is all debated, and all’s said and done in the next few days, that the Congress will find a way to express their support for our troops,” the President said. “That’s what I believe will happen.”

Despite the favorable signs about the French pilots Monday, there was no confirmation from the Bosnian Serbs, who captured the airmen alive after their Mirage warplane was downed over Bosnian Serb territory Aug. 30 during heavy North Atlantic Treaty Organization bombing raids. Their whereabouts have been a mystery since then, with Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic saying they were abducted from a Bosnian Serb hospital by unknown assailants.

Voigt, whose assembly is NATO’s parliamentary organization, said a Bosnian Serb statement was expected Monday. But officials in Pale, the Bosnian Serb headquarters near the capital, Sarajevo, indicated that nothing was in the works. By early today, no statement had been made.

A government official in France, which had threatened unspecified retaliation against the pilots’ captors, said “intense contacts” were continuing with Belgrade.

The Bosnian Serbs are believed to be hanging on to the Frenchmen as collateral, perhaps to get more lenient treatment for Karadzic and Bosnian Serb military leader Gen. Ratko Mladic, both of whom have been charged with war crimes. There was speculation Monday in Belgrade that the delay in obtaining the expected statement from Pale was because of intense last-minute jockeying among the Bosnian Serbs.

“He thinks this was a matter of tactics, that some people there tried to get a higher price for certain conditions of the peace process,” Voigt said of his meeting with the Yugoslav defense minister.

The situation has been complicated by growing distrust and bitter feuding among Karadzic, Mladic and Milosevic, who were once united in their goal to win the war but now are divided over the terms of peace. Although Milosevic represented the Bosnian Serbs in peace negotiations, his leverage over Karadzic and Mladic has weakened since he compelled them to approve the Dayton agreement.

One of the key points of contention has been Milosevic’s decision to turn over Serb-held suburbs of Sarajevo to the Bosnian government. Karadzic has tried to rally Serbs in Sarajevo against the peace accord. Many Serbs are threatening a mass exodus if they are forced to live under government control.

In Sarajevo on Monday, a thousand or so mostly young people marched through downtown streets to show their support for the peace agreement.

Banners proclaiming “We can live together again” and chants of “I love Bosnia” dominated the demonstration as participants and their leaders proclaimed their support for a unified Sarajevo.

The rally, which was meant as a counterbalance to protests that have been held almost daily on the Serbian side of the city, comes on the eve of a referendum in which the Serbs of Sarajevo are expected to reject the peace accord.

The referendum, which presents the question of whether the Serbs’ suburbs should fall under government control, is expected to draw a resounding “no” vote but have little impact.

“If they wish to have a referendum, it’s up to them,” said U.N. spokesman Lt. Col. Chris Vernon. “It’s not going to change anything.”

Asked about reports of defiance of the Dayton accord in Bosnia, Clinton professed not to be worried about the basic acceptance of the agreement.

“It has not been a perfect observation of the agreement,” he said, “but, basically, the agreement has been observed. There has not been a resumption of hostilities. There are some rough edges there, which is why NATO and others who are cooperating with us were asked to come in and help . . . supervise the separation of the forces, the transfer of land, the redeployment of forces . . . and then to maintain a secure environment while the agreement is implemented.”

Far more concern was expressed at the State Department. Secretary of State Warren Christopher, in fact, admonished Croatian President Franjo Tudjman to act against the Bosnian Croat soldiers who have been burning and looting homes in towns that are destined for Serbian control under the Dayton accord.

Christopher, according to State Department spokesman Nicholas Burns, asked Tudjman in a phone conversation Sunday to use his influence with the Bosnian Croats “to stop the arson, stop the looting and burning of towns.”

Tudjman told Christopher that the incidents had occurred some time ago, but Christopher insisted that they were taking place that very weekend, Burns said. The secretary of state said he had read “credible news reports” that Croatian gunmen were burning and looting the towns of Sipovo and Mrkonjic Grad in western Bosnia.

Under the terms of the accord, the towns will become part of the Republika Srpska, the Serb-controlled sector that will cover 49% of Bosnia. A Croat-Muslim federation will cover the remaining territory.

Times staff writers Tracy Wilkinson in Sarajevo and Stanley Meisler in Washington contributed to this report.