The war in Bosnia ends
Yesterday in Dayton: Milošević, Tuđman and Izetbegović reach a peace agreement
The war in Bosnia ends
Clinton: “A heroic and historic solution”
The lifting of the embargo against the former Yugoslavia is expected today
After 4 years of fighting, the death of 250,000 people, the sacrifices of more than 2 million refugees and other barbarities, yesterday the presidents Slobodan Milošević, Franjo Tuđman and Alija Izetbegović agreed to put an end to the drama of the people of Bosnia.
This agreement was reached at the Ohio base in the USA after 21 days of strenuous and dramatic talks. The peace plan, announced at 16:45 yesterday, envisions Bosnia as a state within its present borders and can be built in two parts: the Croat-Bosniak Federation and the Serb-Bosniak republic. The government, parliament and presidency will be installed in the capital Sarajevo after free elections to be held under the supervision of international observers. The return of all refugees will be allowed, while all war criminals will be excluded from political activity. Yesterday the USA and Germany asked the UN Security Council to approve two resolutions to make it possible to lift the embargo against the former Yugoslavia, possibly within 24 hours.
Officially, the peace agreement will be signed in mid-December of this year in Paris. In the end of the talks, Christopher declared: “They decided that 4 years of destruction were enough. The time has come to establish peace and justice.” The Serbian President Milošević, after the agreement, said: “This day will go down in history as the date when the war in the former Yugoslavia ended.” Meanwhile, President Izetbegović commented: “The document we signed today guarantees the sovereignty of Bosnia-Herzegovina and the development of an open society based on tolerance and freedom.” Tuđman, meanwhile, stated: “I believe that the achievement of this agreement will bring a long-lasting and stable peace to this area.”
Immediately informed by Christopher about the agreement, President Clinton from the White House said: “The presidents of Bosnia, Serbia and Croatia have made a heroic and historic solution.”
Read on page 4 the full statement of President Bill Clinton after the peace agreement
Serbian President Milošević, Bosnian President Izetbegović and Croatian President Tuđman yesterday during the signing of the peace act in Dayton, USA photo REUTERS