PRESS CONFERENCE BY PERMANENT REPRESENTATIVE OF BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA

Press Briefing

PRESS CONFERENCE BY PERMANENT REPRESENTATIVE OF BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA

Military planes from the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia had crossed into Bosnian airspace intending to attack his country, Muhamed Sacirbey, Permanent Representative of Bosnia and Herzegovina to the United Nations, told correspondents at a press conference at Headquarters this afternoon. That had happened just a few hours ago, as the Security Council was meeting to discuss a draft resolution that was intended to condemn North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) use of force against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.

The three MIG-29 aircraft had crossed very deeply into Bosnia, he continued, so that could not just be an oversight or a mistake. Two of those aircraft had been shot down and pilots had been taken prisoner by Stabilization Force (SFOR) troops on Bosnian territory.

Although there were troops from North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) countries in Bosnia, they were there with the authority of the Security Council and of the Bosnian Government, as part of the peace agreement signed by three countries including the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, he pointed out. Bosnia and Herzegovina was not at war with the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, nor was its territory being used in any military operations carried out by NATO in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.

The attempted attack seemed to be a clear attempt to broaden the war and undermine the peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina, he said. He alerted correspondents that it would not be necessarily accurate to conclude that the planes were aiming at NATO targets, because many of the SFOR troops were not from NATO countries. Some came from the Russian Federation. If he was not mistaken there were also, for example, Malaysian and Egyptian troops.

Because of this action, he had just forwarded a letter to the President of the Security Council, he said, which read as follows:

"Excellency, we have just now confirmed that three military aircraft, MIG-29s, of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro) crossed into the sovereign airspace of Bosnia and Herzegovina with the intention of committing military strikes against our country. Two of these violating aircraft were shot down. We are requesting an emergency session meeting of the Security Council to address this aggression against my country.

"Most notably this aggression was occurring while we were all meeting in the Security Council regarding a draft resolution that intended to condemn NATO's use of force against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro)."

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* Reissued for technical reasons.

Asked what Bosnia and Herzegovina's strategy would be now regarding the Federal Republic, Mr. Sacirbey said that he thought his country's position on the draft resolution against NATO actions in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, that the Security Council had not adopted, had been very clear. Bosnia and Herzegovina had for some time considered the situation in Kosovo, if unattended, would be a real threat to peace and security in the region in general and specifically to his country.

Now there was a direct attempt to involve Bosnia and Herzegovina in this war, at a most delicate time in the peace process, he continued. Since the NATO country forces in Bosnia and Herzegovina were not directly involved in military operations in Serbia and Montenegro, any attack against those troops or against his country -- in a sense civilian targets -- could only be viewed as a provocation. No right of self-defence could be claimed. There was no confrontation across Bosnia and Herzegovina's borders.

This was an aggression, he said, and a violation of the Dayton and Paris peace accords. It could also be seen as a violation of international criminal law, as it very much seemed to be an act of terrorism.

To a second question asking whether he thought the conflict would spread throughout the region, he answered that he had reason to believe that similar threats existed against other neighbouring countries and that there may be further threats and attempts against his country. He assured the correspondents that he did not say this lightly.

Responding to a correspondent who asked whether he thought Republika Srpska was planning to back out of the Dayton accords, Mr. Sacirbey explained that Republika Srpska was a part of Bosnia and Herzegovina and therefore could not back out of the Dayton accords. It was like an American state, and so could not back out of an international agreement, just as the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina could not. The question was, had the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia backed out of it? He believed that many in the Republika Srpska were not only supportive of the Dayton peace accords, but saw good reasons to proceed with their implementation.

Elements within the population of his country may not be pleased with what was going on across the border, he said. He himself was not pleased, the operation inevitably involved the loss of innocent lives. While some people may try to generate additional provocation, the population was overwhelmingly committed to the Dayton peace accords, simply because they saw what the consequences of not having such a commitment would be. The consequences included the type of war and ethnic cleansing that were occurring in Kosovo right now.

When a correspondent asked whether the planes could have been trying to fly within the Republika Srpska portion of Bosnia and Herzegovina, he explained that the boundaries between the two entities that made up his

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country were not international boundaries. Therefore, what part of the country they overflew was not a matter worthy of his attention. Additionally, to the extent that the boundaries between the two parts of Bosnia could be defined, they were very irregular. Military aircraft could very quickly cross from one part of the country to the other. However, those aircraft were deep within Bosnian airspace with a clear intent to do harm, and there were three of them. Their presence could not be attributed to a mistake.

The two planes had been brought down between Tuzla and a smaller city called Bijeljina -- perhaps a little closer to Bijeljina, he said. Tuzla was in the Federation and Bijeljina was in Republika Srpska.

Asked what targets he thought the planes were aiming at if they were not targeting peacekeeping forces, he said he did not care. The point was that they had come with the intent to violate his country's airspace and to undertake aggression. He had some ideas about civilian targets, but the target was not the basis upon which he should make his representation to the Security Council.

To a follow-up question asking whether the targets he referred to were civilian targets or related to the United States base in Tuzla, he replied that it was up to correspondents to draw conclusions about the vicinity of the planes to the United States base in Tuzla. His concern was that they were within the airspace of his country and they were there with the intent to do harm. This was not only a sufficient reason for him to act, but made it necessary for him to act.

He found it ironic, he added, that Bosnia and Herzegovina had agreed to shut it down precisely to avoid the type of incident that had taken place.

His information was that the third aircraft had turned around, Mr. Sacirbey said in response to another question. However there were two pieces of aircraft on the ground and two pilots captured.

Given that the pilots of those planes landed between Bijeljina and Tuzla, he could not be certain whether they were in Republika Srpska or the Federation, he explained when asked. He understood that they were being held by SFOR troops, but did not know which SFOR troops.

A correspondent asked how he thought widening the conflict would benefit the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia's President Slobodan Milosevic. He answered that it did not seem a good tactical move to him, but that in war one should not assume that everything was fully coordinated. The aggression was clearly a coordinated effort on the part of the military. Where in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia the decision to act in such a way would have been taken he did not know.

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Had it been one aircraft, he continued, one might draw the conclusion that it had strayed. If they had not shown a clear intention to attack, one might still think it was a mistake. However there were three aircraft and they had shown a clear intent to attack. He did not wish to attribute the decision to any specific individual.

Asked whether he thought Mr. Milosevic was rational, he said he did. The question one must ask was what was he rational about. He was rational about his survival.

He had raised the matter with the United States Government, he said when asked. However Bosnia was not the key issue in the region at the moment, and he did not wish to make it the key issue. Kosovo was still the focus of attention.

However, the attempt to broaden the war into his country and to undermine the peace agreement was the key issue for Bosnia and Herzegovina itself, he added. There were several different interests at stake. There were the interests of the countries trying to bring peace to, and stop the human rights abuses in, Kosovo. There were the interests of Bosnia in maintaining its territorial integrity and its fragile peace. And there were the interests of those responsible for preserving peace in Bosnia.

His country could not allow the Bosnian peace to be second priority to something else, he said. But it tried to coordinate efforts to ensure that the success of the NATO mission in Kosovo was realized soon -- that meant the acceptance of peace by the Serbian regime -- and, at the same time, to ensure that everything was done to defend Bosnian sovereignty, territorial integrity and citizens.

He said he would push for the matter to be considered at the 4 p.m. meeting of the Security Council today, in response to another question. Tomorrow was the most important Islamic holiday on the calendar, so obviously timing was important. He could not rule out that the holiday may have had something to do with the timing of the attack.

In concluding, he asked correspondents to consider what would happen to the peace process in Bosnia if tens or even hundreds of peacekeepers became victims of such an attack. It would be very difficult for the Bosnian peace process to receive the outside support that was very much needed. While what had happened may not have been irrational, the threat to Bosnia and to the peace was very real and that was why he had requested an urgent meeting of the Security Council.

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