Word: croatia
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...days last week, the Croatian city of Knin was drenched in a fiery rain of artillery shells, mortars and bombs. The self-styled capital of Krajina, the stronghold of nearly 200,000 rebel Serbs who seceded from Croatia in 1991, found itself the focus of a massive assault by the forces of Croatian President Franjo Tudjman. Within the first half-hour of the offensive, more than 200 shells fell on Knin. By Saturday panic had descended as well. As Croatian tanks began rolling through the streets, Knin's Serb leaders placed a last-minute call to the U.N., requesting...
...weeks Tudjman's generals had been massing troops around Krajina, threatening to retake the breakaway province unless the Serbs agreed to rejoin Croatia. Then three weeks ago the Bosnian Serbs began attacking Bihac, a pocket bordering Krajina and controlled by the Muslim-dominated Bosnian government. The Croats helped the Bosnian Muslims and took two towns in Bosnia controlled by the Serbs. Following that action, the Croats seemed to gear up for a full-scale offensive. There was a brief moment of hope when the U.S. ambassador to Croatia, Peter Galbraith, announced concessions by the Serbs. The U.S. had been trying...
...offensive struck along a 700-mile line, penetrating Krajina in 30 places. Tudjman threw 100,000 soldiers--the full battle strength of Croatia's army--against about 50,000 Serbs. For the most part, the Croats have been armed from stocks of Soviet weapons that were supposed to be destroyed after the cold war but instead found their way to the black market or were sold to Croatia by Ukraine, despite the U.N.-mandated embargo against trading in arms with the former Yugoslavia. "There is no stopping this now," says one military expert, referring to the offensive. "It is what...
...positive effect on the balance of power in the area. It is the only effective international mechanism and should not be traded away at any cost. Instead, sanctions should be given time to work. While keeping and even strengthening the sanctions against Serbia, the international community should help Croatia and the Croat-Muslim entity in Bosnia and Herzegovina refocus their energies and resources on economic development. Clearly the solution for the region is not with Belgrade. It rests in sanctions, assistance and, most of all, patience. MARIO NOBILO Permanent Representative to the United Nations from Croatia New York City...
Lift the arms embargo on Croatia and Bosnia. Only an equity in weapons and force will draw the Serbs to the bargaining table. Moreover, the West must punish those responsible for atrocities; a lasting peace cannot be achieved unless those whose lives have been ripped apart by Serbia's rulers see justice done. It is long past time for the U.S. to take its stand as a world leader instead of a subordinate member of the U.N. Without American guidance and support to the democratic governments of Croatia and Bosnia, will peace ever come? ANDY DECKER Alexandria, Virginia...