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Show AAG The SaltLake Tribune COMMENTARY Sunday, August 25, 1996 United Nations Security Crucial for Bosnian Voters and other towns even before the BY DIANE PAUL FOR THE WASHINGTON POST HELSINKI, Finland — NATO's Tecent decision to withdraw from their posts because of threats — as well as continued attacks against returnees, minorities and opposition members — are the latest evidence that elections in Bosnia cannot possibly be fe, free or fair. Nonetheless, the ton administration, the Orga- nization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and High Representative Carl Bildt insist they proceed. Having bullied Bosnians into holding grossly premature elections, the least they can do nowis implementa practical program to deter and punish attacks or threats during this increasingly Perilous pre-election period. NATO's involvement in a protection plan is crucial. But can we count on these professional sol- diers, among them U.S. troops sent by President Clinton to aid “innocent women and children,” to protect anyone but themselves? As pointed out bythe Coalition elections. Buha, the SDS party leader, and Miladin Stefanovic, the may- or of Uglijevik, who said that U.N. observers would be cap- tured and killed immediately if indicted warcriminals Mladic and Radovan Karadzic are arrested, ought to be promptly stricken from the ballot. The Provisional Electoral Commissionestablished by the OSCEhas the power to do it The IPTF, backed by High Representative Bildt, needs publicly to demand the removalofpolice will not be tolerated. IPTF, which station's front door. chiefs who have involved police officers in obstructing freedom of movementor have threatened or Similarly, the police chief of Pale recently threatened that the Serbs again would take international hostages. Oust these people now, before the elections. failed to cooperate with IPTF of- ficers. It is no secret who they are. One of the most notorious police chiefs, Simo Drijaea of Prijedor, was a primary actorin setting IFOR and IPTFshould organize “security watches” on notorious mayors, police or civilians as a means of deterring violence against returnees and international monitors. Those caught in the act should be arrested by the international troops and turned overto police, with a warningthat up the Omarska and other concentration camps in 1992. Since Dayton, Drijaca has organized police andcivilians to interfere violently with freedom of movement — even to the point of handing out guns — and has ordered policein his district to prevent IPTF officers from entering the police the absence of proper investigation and prosecution of abusers suffers from a lack of transportation and communications equip- ment, should be provided immediately (by IFOR, if necessary) with enough vehicles and radios to let officers move about and to communicate about security problems. Finally, international monitors should release the wealth of in- formation they have on human- rights abuses and officials’ noncooperation with IFOR, IPTF and the OSCE. Those known to have consistently flouted the Dayton accords should be publicly identi- fied by name and position So far, the Clinton administration and others have been so busy putting a good face on the upcoming elections that they have done little to identify, stigmatize and punish those responsible for threats against either Bosnians or international troops and monitors purportedly there to support them. The Bosnian people have been broughtto the edge of a precipice, and there is no safety net. Those wholed them there have the moral responsibility to provide one — now. Diane Paulis a research associate for Human Rights Watch, Helsinki, Finland. -UTURE HOP R S $ScoOU | T SUPERCENT for International Justice, “Tragically, NATO troops, like the U.N forces before them, have been rendered impotent.’ NATO troops goto great lengths to avoid contact with war criminals. NATO Secretary General Ja- vier Solana has said that “NATO will continue its policy of arresting persons indicted for war crimes.” Yet they allowed Ratko war crimes and accused of super- Pentium® Processor Based Multimedia System timetable in inspecting weapons soun ¥ Full:motion video Piresew! piayback Mladic, who has beenindicted for vising the slaughter of unarmed Muslim menin Srebrenica, to intimidate them and dictate their sites. 7 Internet ready Will NATOrun for the bar- ile racks if threats are made during theelections? If so, who will pro- tect the voters? NATOinsists that the local police will — the same police whohavekilled three Mus- ELEY pentium lims in the past 10 days and who «1599 beat and intimidate minorities and opposition members with impunity Alexsa Buha, head ofthe hard- ® s00mhz line ruling Serbian Democratic Party (SDS), already has warned that the Bosnian Serb police will block Muslims from returning to certain areas to vote. Serb and including 14” .28 Monitor and Canon BjC 210 Printer ee Mm COMPAL Friiitiit. 100 @& Federation authorities alike have been sending up“trial balloons to gauge the willingness of the international police and troops to tolerate violence against ethnic minorities and displaced people. So far, there hasn't been much of 3 Pentium Pe COMPUTING IW A Re GREEN DESKTOP a response. > a of bem: Lee d Ea ig Blot Last Chance: Having squan- Deltadala dered opportunities to createsafe and democratic conditionsin Bos- MULL * Includes Canon BIC 210 nia during the past eight months. the international community may be facingits last chance to demon- / Fasy access buttons 7 Superfast internet access with 31.0 modem ey 7 Seahone strate real concern for the safety of ordinary Bosnian peopleand to 2199” ii LOR Gail) ert anon 8X restrain those who haveattacked and threatened them. Onceelections haye locked hard-liners in i place — with the West's imprima- tur — and NATO troopsstart to pull out, the international com- HEWLETT PACKARD munity’s leverage will be dimin- ished greatly Immediate, decisive steps, em- powered by the Dayton agree- mentand its election annex, must be taken if lives are to be saved. Neither sound bites nor smoke and mirrors will protect human lives. The NATO-led international eeeaed Prepare Daa) ROM SOFTWARE armed forces (IFOR) and the International Police Task Force (IPTF) should draw up a plan identifying “secure routes” for those planning to returnto vote in troubled areas, and deploy a strong presence along those BJC 210 Color Printer * Dazzling color # Easy set-up & on screen help + Fonts for any proje ct or need * Continuous banner feed * Two sided printing * Laser like 720x360 DP) in black ‘# Incredible color at 360x3 * Creativ COinclude 299° routes for the period Sept. 12-16. International troops and police in Paper Fax Spectra 1200 Color Scanner * Laser-quality 360 DP! output * 15 page memoryfor broadcasting & out of paper reception * 64 shades of grey for fantastic photo output * Single pass scanning * 1200 DPI photo quality resolution * 24 bit color scanning * Includes photo editing software * includes OCR software 199°? should guard — not just monitor — polling places and other areas whereviolenceagainst votersis a possibility. Temporary check points, which often are usedto ob- struct movement andcheck eth. nicity, should be abolished. Police activities along roads should be limited to traffic control, closely supervised by the international police force. IFOR should deployin signifi cant numbersalong the inter-enti. ty boundaryline where mobs of. ui itweight Notebook # 4B6 DX4/7 + 8MB RAM © 540MBharddrive 5° color screen 'MCIA Typelil slot red technology * Built-in sound (16-bit stereo) * Built-in microphone * Upgrade your meriary & run advancedsoftwareapplications without replacing your current system GoldStar ten gather. More important, IFOR should be instructed by NATO and the U.N. Security Council to intervene, with force if necessary, to prevent direct attacks on citi- zens. OSCE Ambassador Robert Frowick should inform all parties that the international community will not recognize election results in those towns and municipalities where there is interference with freedom of movement, manipulation of election procedures or threats against international monitors, police or troops between now and the period immediately after the elections. The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees already has identi- fied eight towns where repatriation has been impossible because of obstruction by the local authorities. The OSCE should move to decertify obstructionist candidates y political “i in.these Color lessor * 8MB RAM ive 10.4* DSTN display * PCMCIA type lil slot ¢ Track Point pointing device eel DISCOUNT SUPERCENTERS PCa UCRa Ate Appliances * Music CDs way P.ng RNRORS NCS ar Pe Armen Rammer SAL ae Wer me Plug & Play for easy installation © MPC-tli comoliant ts Ce os Era |