[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 104 (Friday, June 23, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Pages S9011-S9012]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          BAD NEWS FOR BOSNIA

  Mr. DOLE. Finally, Mr. President, I have made a number of statements 
over the past couple of years on Bosnia. I keep thinking maybe someday 
there will be some good news about Bosnia; that people who do not 
really focus on it very much--Democrats, Republicans, it is not a 
partisan issue--maybe there is some good news that people might feel 
good about if they watch TV or listen to the radio or watch television.
  But I am afraid there is more bad news on the Bosnian fronts.
  First, word leaked out of a letter from Boutros Boutros-Ghali's 
Special Envoy, Yasushi Akashi, to Radovan Karadzic, the Bosnian Serbs' 
militant leader, intended to assure the Bosnian Serbs that despite the 
deployment of the European Rapid Reaction Force [RRF], the United 
Nations. would continue business as usual in Bosnia.
  I have obtained a copy of that letter. I would note that the letter 
is addressed to H.E. Dr. Radovan Karadzic--the H.E. stands for His 
Excellency--a term usually reserved for dignitaries and government 
officials, not alleged war criminals.
  The letter reads, and I quote:

       I wish to assure you that these theatre reserve forces will 
     operate under the existing United Nations peace-keeping rules 
     of engagement and will not in any way change the essential 
     peace-keeping nature of the UNPROFOR mission. While the 
     reserves will enhance UNPROFOR's security, the understanding 
     and cooperation of the parties themselves will be the best 
     guarantor of the force's continued effectiveness as an 
     impartial force. The United Nations, troop contributing 
     states and the Security Council have all recognized that the 
     reserve force cannot and will not be a substitute for a 
     political process aimed at an overall peaceful settlement of 
     the Bosnian conflict.

  Once again, Yasushi Akashi did what he does best as the United 
Nations' appeaser on the front lines: delivers good news to the Serbs, 
and bad news to the Bosnians.
  This morning, we read that the French held secret negotiations with 
the Serbs--in Pale and in the ethnically cleansed city of Zvornik. 
Reportedly, the French promised that in return for the release of the 
U.N. hostages, NATO would not conduct any further airstrikes on Serb 
positions. A lot of people suspected that and maybe this now makes it a 
fact.
  Mr. President, the message is crystal clear: The United Nations has 
abandoned its mandate of protecting the so-called safe areas and 
intends to continue to bend to the will of the Serbs. And, it has done 
so not in the Security Council through a vote, but in back rooms with 
Serb militants whom French President Jacques Chirac publicly called 
``Terrorists.''

  When President Chirac met with congressional leaders he called for an 
end to the humiliation of the peacekeepers. In my view, letting war 
criminals blackmail the leaders of the Western World is humiliating--
and an absolute outrage.
  This brings us to the matter of the rapid reaction force, which is 
intended by the British and French to protect the U.N. forces in 
Bosnia. From these reports it is obvious that the rapid reaction force 
will not change the way UNPROFOR conducts its business. In other words, 
UNPROFOR will not do the job it was tasked to do by the Security 
Council in numerous resolutions--whether or not the rapid reaction 
force is deployed. In fact, the rapid reaction force appears designed 
to protect UNPROFOR so that it can continue not doing its job.
  And this brings us finally to the question of why the United States 
should subsidize the rapid reaction force, let alone the entire 
UNPROFOR operation. We know that the taxpayer's dollars are being 
dumped in a big black hole because international leaders do not have 
the courage to do what is right and what is smart--and that is to 
withdraw the U.N. forces and lift the arms embargo on Bosnia. Can we in 
good conscience continue to appropriate funds for such a failure?
  Well, the administration appears committed to this massive 
multilateral mess. In today's New York Times, administration officials 
were cited as considering the use of funds designated for humanitarian 
aid to pay for a U.S. contribution of about $100 million to the rapid 
reaction force. While there are budgetary reasons such a shift would be 
difficult, congressional opposition would likely be strong. The fact 
that anyone in the administration is thinking along these lines is 
shocking. People in Sarajevo and elsewhere in Bosnia are hungry--they 
cannot eat European pride. Furthermore, virtually the only effective 
United States activity in Bosnia and Herzegovina has been the provision 
of emergency humanitarian assistance.
  Mr. President, the U.N. operation in Bosnia is in a meltdown. Now is 
the time to cut our losses, not sink more resources into a failed 
investment.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent a letter I referred to be 
printed in the Record at this point.
  There being no objection, the letter was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

                               U.N. Peace Forces Headquarters,

                                            Zagreb, June 19, 1995.
     Dr. Radovan Karadzic,
     Special Representative of the Secretary-General for the 
         Former Yugoslavia.
       Dear Dr. Karadzic: I wish to inform you that the Security 
     Council has recently reviewed the latest report of the 
     Secretary-General on the implementation of the mandate of 
     UNPROFOR. On 16 June 1995, it adopted resolution 998 (1995), 
     a copy of which is attached for your information. This 
     resolution covers a number of different issues, including the 
     status of the safe areas, and makes provision for the 
     establishment of a rapid reaction capacity to enable UNPROFOR 
     to carry out its mandate in a secure and safe environment.
       Despite the recent intensification in hostilities, the 
     United Nations and troop contributors remain committed to the 
     continued presence of UNPROFOR in order to alleviate the 
     suffering of all the people of Bosnia, and to facilitate the 
     earliest possible end to hostilities through peaceful means. 
     However, risks to UNPROFOR have increased dramatically and 
     there has been a marked lack of respect by all sides with the

[[Page S9012]]

     security, safety and freedom of movement of UNPROFOR 
     personnel. The Security Council has accepted the offer of a 
     number of countries to provide flexible and mobile reserve 
     military reinforcements in order to reduce the vulnerability 
     of UNPROFOR personnel and to enhance the Force's capacity to 
     carry out its humanitarian tasks.
       I wish to assure you that these theatre reserve forces will 
     operate under the existing United Nations peace-keeping rules 
     of engagement and will not in any way change the essential 
     peace-keeping nature of the UNPROFOR mission. While the 
     reserve will enhance UNPROFOR's security, the understanding 
     and cooperation of the parties themselves will be the best 
     guarantor of the Force's continued effectiveness in an 
     impartial force. The United Nations, troop contributing 
     states and the Security Council have all recognized that the 
     reserve force cannot and will not be a substitute for a 
     political process aimed at an overall peaceful settlement of 
     the Bosnian conflict.
       I would like to emphasize that assistance for the delivery 
     of humanitarian aid, and the protection of civilians from 
     deliberate attacks, continue to be central to UNPROFOR'S 
     mandate. Alleviation of the very serious humanitarian 
     situation created by recent events in Sarajevo and other 
     enclaves will be one of UNPROFOR's primary objectives. In 
     this regard, the Security Council has demanded that all 
     parties respect the status of the safe areas and has 
     underlined the need for their demilitarization by mutual 
     agreement, in order that attacks both into and out of the 
     safe areas cease forthwith. I am confident that urgent action 
     to achieve progress in this direction would be of enormous 
     benefit to all parties. It would go a long way towards 
     realizing an overall stabilization of the current situation.
       The Secretary-General has, in his recent report on 
     UNPROFOR, emphasized that the United Nations cannot operate 
     in a political vacuum. In the past few days, leaders of the 
     international community have also repeatedly emphasized that 
     there can be no military solution to the conflict in Bosnia 
     and Herzegovina, and the measures set out in Security Council 
     Resolution 998 (1995) should be seen in this light. In view 
     of the critical situation facing us all, I would urge you to 
     take advantage of the current international climate in order 
     that we may promote initiatives favourable to a dynamic and 
     comprehensive peace settlement.
           Yours sincerely,
     Yasushi Akashi.

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