Bosnian peace faces uphill road

U.N. reports Serbs expelling Muslims;
171 in U.S. House urge no deployment

December 7, 1995
Web posted at: 3:30 p.m. EST (2030 GMT)

>From Correspondent Brent Sadler

SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herzegovina (CNN) -- One week before the scheduled signing of a U.S.-brokered Bosnian peace agreement, Serb demonstrators Thursday stomped on an American flag and burned Bosnian symbols to protest the plan, which would force Serb sections of Sarajevo to submit to Muslim and Croat rule.

Meanwhile, in northern Bosnia, Serbs have begun expelling Muslims again in the last few days before NATO peacekeepers are expected to arrive in force, the United Nations reported. American ground troops, 20,000 of them, are to make up one-third of the international peacekeeping mission.

'We urge you not to send ground troops to Bosnia.'

-- Letter to President Clinton signed by 171 House Republicans and 13 Democrats

American involvement also faces fierce resistance in Congress, where nearly half the members of the House of Representatives have signed a letter to President Clinton opposing deployment of U.S. forces. In the one-sentence letter released Thursday, 171 Republicans and 13 Democrats told Clinton: "We urge you not to send ground troops to Bosnia." The administration wants congressional support, but insists the mission will go ahead without it if necessary.

Thursday's demonstration by five thousand Sarajevo Serbs was the most recent of a series of protests against the planned reunification of the Bosnian capital. The peace deal initialed in Dayton, Ohio, last month gave the Serbs a separate state and almost half of Bosnia. But the accord deprives them of any claim to the capital, and many people in Serb-held neighborhoods say they would rather leave than submit to Muslim control. "Why should we leave?," said one woman . "We fought for it. This is a Serbian district and I'm not leaving." Another Sarajevo Serb threatened to burn down his own house.

Speeches at the demonstration made no mention of reconciliation. The Sarajevo Serbs said their losses and hardships at the hands of the Muslims add up to a level of suspicion and bitterness that can't suddenly be overcome. "Mr. Clinton and the Western presidents think it's possible for us to live together, but that's not possible," said one of the Serb protesters. A U.N. spokesman said the demonstrators do not necessarily represent all Serbs. "The Bosnian Serb leadership has never been united," said Alexander Ivanko.

"(The Serbs) are completely stupid. They've got more than they deserve already."

-- a Sarajevo Muslim

Across the cease-fire line, the Bosnian government Thursday rejected any renegotiation of the Dayton agreement or any last minute concessions. And the reaction to the Serb demonstration was equally blunt. "They're completely stupid," said one young Muslim man. "They've got more than they deserve already."

The Bosnian peace agreement divides the country into two entities -- one Serb-run, the other controlled by a Muslim-Croat federation. For several weeks, the Serbs had stopped expelling Muslims from land assigned to the rebels. But Thursday, the United Nations reported that up to 250 Muslims had been evicted over the past few days from their homes in Dubrave, 20 miles north of Banja Luka. In addition to the expulsions, Serbs, Croats and Muslims have been destroying property on lands they must yield to their enemies once the peace accord is signed.

In short, there was little sign Thursday of Bosnia functioning as a multi-ethnic society, as envisioned by the Dayton agreement.

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