PRESS CONFERENCE BY PERMANENT REPRESENTATIVE OF BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA

Press Briefing

PRESS CONFERENCE BY PERMANENT REPRESENTATIVE OF BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA

At a Headquarters press conference yesterday, the Permanent Representative of Bosnia and Herzegovina to the United Nations, Muhamed Sacirbey, announced the convening of an international conference in Sarajevo on 27 August aimed at exploring ways of preventing the recurrence of deadly conflict in war-torn societies.

The conference, hosted by the Government of Bosnia and Herzegovina, was being organized by two private organizations, the Carnegie Commission on Preventing Deadly Conflict and Hunt Alternatives, as part of their "Bridge" project. It would bring together leaders from several countries, in particular from South Africa and Northern Ireland, as well as other people who had experienced similar circumstances, and it would provide a forum for exchanging ideas about ways to prevent deadly conflict.

Mr. Sacirbey introduced Jane Holl, the Executive Director of the Carnegie Commission on Preventing Deadly Conflict. From 1991 to 1994, Ms. Holl was the Director in the European Division of the United States National Security Council of the Former Yugoslavia.

She said that the Carnegie Commission believed that the people and leaders closest to violent conflict had the greatest responsibility to prevent its re-emergence. They understood the deeply rooted issues that gave rise to the violence, and they had an interest in finding ways not to repeat their past mistakes. There was plenty of blame to go around in conflict situations; the conference was an opportunity for introspection and forward-looking dialogue among the people of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The Commission was oriented on the notion of preventing mass violence, through the diplomacy, economics and sociology of prevention, she said. It also sought to define when and how force should be used in an attempt to prevent people from killing each other. Its work was founded on the premise that deeply rooted conflicts or those that had engulfed societies for periods of time often were not self-healing. The role of outsiders and of those closest to the problem could find non-violent ways of brokering their differences. There were global lessons to be learned, and those leaders and people dealing daily with the realities of mending post-conflict societies could teach them.

She said that the situation in Kosovo, as well as in other countries around the world, illustrated that policy makers could no longer consider the reality of conflict without also considering ways in which the violence could be prevented. It was in that spirit that the sponsors had decided to present a day-long discussion in Sarajevo. The agenda was structured around four panels. The first would focus on moving forward, and was designed to bring

together the leadership of the parties of Northern Ireland and representatives of parties in South Africa, with a sober view of what they had experienced and what they faced in the future.

Continuing, she said that the second panel emphasized the role of women in restoring social cohesion to war-torn societies, for which the panel would draw from representatives of Cyprus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Afghanistan and elsewhere. The third panel would consider the importance of immigration, highlighting the role of outsiders and insiders. In that respect, the challenge was to integrate the outsiders with the insiders, and the short-term emergency relief efforts with those long-term efforts that helped prevent the emergence of mass violence.

The fourth panel would bring together senior statesmen and diplomats to discuss the future challenges for Bosnia and Herzegovina, she said. The former Foreign Minister of Yugoslavia was the featured speaker for that discussion. He would be joined by representatives from the United Nations Office of the High Representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The President would open the session, which was expected to be a robust interaction between panellists and audience members.

Asked why South Africa and Northern Ireland were singled out as participants, Ms. Holl said the three groups of political leaders had sought out each other; they had visited each other and drawn lessons from each other. In South Africa and in Northern Ireland, for very different reasons and under very different circumstances, the determination of the leadership to carry forward their diverse societies under the potential emergence of new violence was evident.

To a question about whether the situation in Kosovo was on the agenda, Mr. Sacirbey said that the situation likely would be raised, although it was not an agenda item because "Bosnia is Bosnia, and Kosovo is Kosovo". His Government, however, clearly intended to move into the military, political and economic institutions of Europe and the North Atlantic partnership. It was ready to cooperate with friends in Europe and America, but it did not need to complicate the situation by seeming overly anxious. If Europe and the United States or the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) needed Bosnia, it was there as a reliable ally today, and hopefully as a full partner in the future. It was not necessary for Bosnia to make any specific offers of military assistance.

Asked why the Commission, established in 1994, had not stepped into the case of Kosovo, Ms. Holl drew attention to her recent "op-ed" editorial in the Los Angeles Times concerning the application of the Commission's work to the situation in Kosovo. The Commission was comprised of an advisory group of more than three dozen people from around the world "who all had their Kosovos". Its role was to orient the thinking in academic and analytic

Bosnia Press Conference - 3 - 12 August 1998

circles, as well as of policy makers in government and ordinary citizens, on the possible, urgent and practical aspects of prevention. To that "in box" of problems like Kosovo, it took a step back from the immediacy of the "in box" conflict" to examine what was known about violent conflict in the post-cold war period, as well as all aspects of prevention.

Asked why the former Foreign Minister of Yugoslavia was invited, Mr. Sacirbey said that he could be asked about his role in preventing the war, he could tell a lot about how things came to be in the former Yugoslavia, and not just in Bosnia. It really all started with Kosovo in 1989. The former Foreign Minister's insight would be helpful, and his contribution would arouse discussions.

To a number of questions concerning recent reports that the United States had given up on large-scale plans to apprehend Radovan Karadzic, an indicted war criminal in Bosnia, he said that senior United States Government officials had in no way indicated to him that they had changed their agenda regarding the arrest of war criminals. Mr. Sacirbey remained hostage to their good will and their good faith in communicating those facts to him. His communication with senior officials of the State Department, the White House and NATO had not led him to believe they had backed away from their commitment.

If the international community, however, had given up on securing the arrests of both Mr. Karadzic and Ratko Mladic, also an indicted war criminal, then it had also given up its credibility in Bosnia and Herzegovina, he said. There could be no long-term peace and reconciliation without identifying and bringing to justice those who were responsible for the worst crimes in Europe in some time. Bosnia was still not beyond conflict, which could be re-ignited by various leaders and indicted war criminals seeking, once again, to abuse ethnicity and religion.

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