Ruling on Bosnian Town’s Fate Put Off
International mediators Sunday postponed a ruling on control of this strategic town, dodging a decision that could have touched off new violence in Bosnia.
A decision now is scheduled to be made sometime after Bosnian general elections in September.
It was the third time a ruling on the issue has been postponed. Mediators said the latest delay was intended to benefit the new, more moderate Bosnian Serb leadership that currently holds Brcko.
The postponement was an effort “to give the new [Serbian leadership] the chance to accomplish significant reforms,” the mediators said in a statement.
The port town on the Sava River, dominated by Muslims before the Bosnian war, is so crucial to both Bosnian sub-states, the Muslim-Croat Federation and the Bosnian Serbs’ republic, that its future could not be settled during the 1995 talks in Dayton, Ohio, that ended the fighting. Both sides have threatened to resume fighting if control goes to the other half.
The United States contended Sunday that postponement was the most sensible decision.
“We believe today’s decision is in the best interest of peace implementation in Bosnia,” the State Department said in a statement.
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