20 Years Since The Bosnian War
This month marks the 20th anniversary of the start of the Bosnian War, a long, complex, and ugly conflict that followed the fall of communism in Europe. In 1991, Bosnia and Herzegovina joined several republics of the former Yugoslavia and declared independence, which triggered a civil war that lasted four years. Bosnia’s population was a multiethnic mix of Muslim Bosniaks (44%), Orthodox Serbs (31%), and Catholic Croats (17%). The Bosnian Serbs, well-armed and backed by neighboring Serbia, laid siege to the city of Sarajevo in early April 1992. They targeted mainly the Muslim population but killed many other Bosnian Serbs as well as Croats with rocket, mortar, and sniper attacks that went on for 44 months. As shells fell on the Bosnian capital, nationalist Croat and Serb forces carried out horrific “ethnic cleansing” attacks across the countryside. Finally, in 1995, UN air strikes and United Nations sanctions helped bring all parties to a peace agreement. Estimates of the war’s fatalities vary widely, ranging from 90,000 to 300,000. To date, more than 70 men involved have been convicted of war crimes by the UN. [46 photos]
THE WHITE HOUSEOffice of the Press Secretary
For Immediate Release April 17, 1996STATEMENT BY THE PRESS SECRETARYMcLarty Trip to the GulfPresident Clinton’s Bosnia peace initiative took another important step forward earlier this week when key Arab states committed about $100 million to fund the U.S.-led train and equip program.Presidential Counselor Mack McLarty and a senior interagency team met April 14-15 with Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abd al-Aziz Al-Saud; Sheikh Zayid bin Sultan al-Nuhayyan, President of the United Arab Emirates; Sheikh Jabir al-Ahmed al-Sabah, Amir of Kuwait; and other top officials. Counselor McLarty delivered personal messages from the President stressing the importance of the train and equip program to the success of the Dayton Accords. >>>more<<<
ACCESSION NUMBER:00000
FILE ID:96041702.GWE
DATE:04/17/96
TITLE:17-04-96 KEY ARAB STATES SUPPORT U.S. TRAIN & EQUIP PROGRAM FOR BOSNIA
TEXT:
(Official briefs on T&E program for Bosnia 4/17) (770)
By Jane A. Morse
State Department Correspondent
Washington -- U.S. efforts towards the Bosnia peace initiative made
important progress this week when key Arab States committed about $100
million to fund the U.S.-led train and equip program.
The White House announced April 17 that Presidential Counselor Mack
McLarty and a senior interagency team met April 14-15 with Saudi Crown
Prince Abdullah bin Abd al-Aziz Al-Saud; Sheikh Zayid bin Sultan
al-Nuhayyan, president of the United Arab Emirates; Sheikh Jabir
al-Ahmed al-Sabah, amir of Kuwait; and other top officials.
According to the White House Statement, "The purpose of the train and
equip program is to provide the Bosnian Federation the military
capability it needs to deter attacks in the future and defend its
people and territory should deterrence fail. The success of the
McLarty mission will enable the training element of the train and
equip program to move ahead in a timely manner. Combined with the U.S.
commitment of $100 million in military equipment, the start-up
training in Bosnia will provide a solid foundation for improving the
military capability of the Bosnian Federation."
During a background briefing at the State Department April 17, a
senior U.S. official said that McLarty, appointed by President Bill
Clinton and National Security Adviser Anthony Lake, emphasized to key
donor states "the priority of this project and the President's
personal interest in its success." McLarty, the official said, also
stressed "the critical importance of the need to support the creation
of a military balance in Bosnia." >>>more<<<
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Why Foreign Aid to Haiti Failed | ||
Aboard Air Force One En Route to San Francisco, California
5:30 P.M. PDT
MR. LAKE: On Haiti, let me just give you a readout that we’ve gotten so far. And all of this –
Q: Are you on the record?
MR. LAKE: Yes, I’m now on the record. And all of this is preliminary. The polls are just closing about now, aren’t they? Yes, I would think so.
First of all, there have been some isolated incidents of violence, but only a very few, and no reports of casualties thus far. Secondly, there have been reports of some logistical problems with regard to getting ballots to the polling places on time, et cetera. But our embassy has not reported any immediately visible political patterns in those logistical problems. I think it is not surprising — and we’re not making any final judgments yet on the elections. We have to hear from our observers and others. I think it’s not — I would say, however, that it’s not surprising that there would be logistical problems when you’re speaking about getting out some 14 million ballots, and when you’re dealing with some 11,000 candidates in an election in a country which was so recently in the grip of endemic violence.
In fact, I would argue that we really ought to be, besides looking at the trees here, looking at the forest, and seeing how — what an extraordinary act it is to have conducted elections in Haiti on time when a year ago, if a Haitian expressed freely a political view, he or she risked having his or her face cut. And today millions of Haitians express those political views in safety.
So I think — well, I could have made a lot of money if a month or two ago I had bet people on whether or not the elections would take place today and in circumstances of relative calm. But I did not do so only because gambling is illegal. (Laughter.)
Q: (inaudible)
Q: Is there a U.S. monitoring delegation there, Tony?
MR. LAKE: — except off the record on baseball.
Q: Is there a U.S. monitoring delegation there?
MR. LAKE: Yes, yes.
Q: Who heads that?
MR. LAKE: Brian Atwood, AID.
Q: What about the –
MR. LAKE: (inaudible) — tonight.
Q: Would the U.S. military — the, actually U.N. military, but primarily U.S. soldiers, what role are they playing in terms of any monitoring?
MR. LAKE: Well, they have been out very actively, both in the cities and in the countryside to make sure that there were conditions of security. And apparently, very effectively so, working with the new Haitian police forces.
Q: Can you say at this point that they were free and fair elections?
MR. LAKE: No, I cannot. We should not rush to a judgment here, >>>more<<<
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