Word: bosnia
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...Peace in Bosnia may now demand a permanent Western presence, following the apparent triumph of Serb hard-liners in presidential elections. "Although the European election supervisors are holding back the result until next week, it does appear that [radical nationalist] Nikola Poplasen has beaten [moderate] Biljana Plavsic," says TIME Central Europe bureau chief Massimo Calabresi. "And that's a serious blow for the West...
...Victory by supporters of Bosnia's most-wanted war criminal, former president Radovan Karadzic, undermines what has been the West's optimistic strategy: move the country toward democratic stability by building a moderate political center (while dangling the carrot of financial aid). With the triumph of separatism, all that remains is to keep the two warring factions apart. "This challenges the idea that Bosnia is a situation from which the West will be able to withdraw at some point," says Calabresi. "It's starting to look more like Cyprus, where keeping the peace demands a long-term commitment...
...where is Radovan Karadzic? Probably in Serb-held Herzegovina, a barren wedge of land running from eastern Bosnia south toward the Adriatic. "He's here," says Bozidar Vucurevic, formerly of Karadzic's Serb Democratic Party in the region, "And he's defended not by any special troops but by the people." Says a local party member: "It's not easy to make an arrest in Herzegovina. We're not cowards. It wouldn't happen without consequences...
...priest says of the NATO troops in the region. Also convenient for Karadzic is the region's extended, porous border with Serbia and Montenegro that provides ample escape routes in case of a snatch attempt. Most important, the entire region is in the French sector of NATO operations in Bosnia. Statistically, that is the safest place to be: of the 12 indicted war criminals detained by NATO troops, only one was taken in the French zone...
Such boasts carry little weight with the NATO forces. Says a well-placed officer in Trebinje: "If we detain Karadzic, nothing will happen. They have too many other problems." The only impediments to his capture, say those working for peace in Bosnia, are in Washington, Paris and other capitals. Says U.S. diplomat Jacques Klein: "There won't be real justice until these people have their day in court...