Bosnia's Warring Factions Sign UN Cease-Fire Accord

GENEVA -- Bosnia's warring factions agreed Wednesday to halt hostilities for a month from Friday so United Nations peacekeepers can conclude a more durable truce. The accord, signed by Bosnia's Moslem-Croat alliance and their Serb foes in the form of a simple statement, was the first Bosnia-wide accord in more than two years of war. But it fell far short of the ambitious four-month cease-fire with separation of forces that had been sought by UN envoy Yasushi Akashi in three days of negotiations in Geneva. "What we got was certainly less than what I tried to get at the outset, which was for at least a four-month agreement on cessation of hostilities," Akashi told reporters. "But under the circumstances such a more ambitious undertaking was not within reach."In Paris, Foreign Minister Andrei Kozyrev reacted by calling for another meeting of major power "contact group" to expedite the peace process. The one-page document, a copy of which was obtained by Reuters, was signed first by leaders of the Moslem-Croat federation and then, after pressure from Akashi, by the Serbs. It said "as a first step" both sides agreed not to engage in offensive military operations "or other provocative actions of any kind for one month starting from Friday, June 10 at 12 noon. "This period of military stabilization is required in order to give time for reflection leading to a resumption, within the next several days, under UN Protection Force auspices, of negotiations on a comprehensive cessation of hostilities," the statement said. Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic, his war aims in Bosnia long satisfied, had accepted Akashi's original proposal of a four-month "cessation of hostilities" to allow time for an overall political settlement to be concluded. But Bosnian Vice President Ejup Ganic, a Moslem, and his Croat ally Kresimir Zubak resisted a long cease-fire because they said it would freeze Serb military gains on the ground. They were also afraid that a four-month truce would lift the pressure on Bosnian Serbs to concede territory in parallel political negotiations and would effectively prevent them from recapturing territory if the negotiations fail. Karadzic told reporters after the signature that Serbs had accepted a "moderate result" for the sake of peace and criticized the international community for not putting pressure on his Moslem foes. Karadzic did not sign the document, leaving it to his deputy Nikola Karadzic to do so. Leaders of the Moslem-Croat federation seemed pleased, but warned against great hopes being raised. Akashi said UNPROFOR would reconvene negotiations in Sarajevo or the Bosnian Serb stronghold of Pale or at Sarajevo airport in a few days. The statement provided for an "immediate and complete" release of prisoners of war under auspices of the International Committee of the Red Cross. Diplomats close to the negotiations said the agreement did not constitute a formal cease-fire agreement and pointed out that it had not been signed by military chiefs on either side. They said it was aimed at calming the situation on the ground and giving the United Nations a breathing space in to negotiate a more lasting cease-fire. "It does not mean very much except to let the United Nations off the hook for a few more weeks," said one diplomat. "The beauty is they don't now have to put troops they don't have into places they can't get to." The call for a cessation of hostilities was made by major power ministers meeting in Geneva last month where they formed a new common strategy to end the Bosnian war. In their communique, the ministers called for a rapid four-month cessation of hostilities to be followed by territorial negotiations on the basis of a 49-51 split leaving Serbs with 49 percent of Bosnia. The major power "contact group" on Bosnia left it to Akashi and his military commanders to negotiate the cease-fire while it carried on with the political negotiations. French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said a meeting of the group would be held June 13, but diplomats said it would take place a few days later.