IFOR AFSOUTH TRANSCRIPT Oct. 21, 1996

In the interest of speed transcripts of IFOR press briefings are issued in unedited format Transcript of the press conference held on 21 October 1996

Major Simon Haselock: good morning everybody. There has been no significant factional activity over the weekend as far as the military are concerned. There were, however, two mine strikes in MND North yesterday that resulted in two civilian fatalities in fact. The two civilians were killed and two injured when one of the group stepped on a mine near Gradacac, on the federation side of the zone of separation. In the second incident, one civilian was killed and five others injured and three escaped injury when the tractor that they were riding on struck a mine. This was also on the federation side of the ZOS, about 15 kilometers away from the other incident, near the village of Spionica. IFOR troops assisted obviously in the removal of the victims from both of the mine strikes. Again, these incidents are an obvious and tragic reminder that there are far too many mines -- in fact, in the region of some tens of thousands we are led to believe by the experts, that pollute this country and continue to maim and kill innocent civilians. Now, IFOR will do all it can to assist the parties in what is a long effort to mark and remove these mines, but in the end, it is a problem whose solution lies in the hands of those people who live here. They should and must, like us, press their government officials to work diligently to make Bosnia mine-free. On to Jusici and the Sapna thumb. The areas have remained quiet with MND North continuing to carry out security operations in the area focused on possible areas of tension. And yesterday the Commander of MND Southeast, General Xavier de Lambert and the ARRC Chief Engineer, Brigadier Moore-Bick formally opened the Gorazde access track. Now as you know, the track provides a 125 km route through federation territory joining two existing blacktop-surfaced roads with about 75 kilometers of single lane gravel track, which has been built by IFOR. It's taken nine months to complete. It has been a truly and genuinely multi-national achievement involving more than 600 soldiers from 10 separate nations. As you also know, two soldiers lost their lives whilst engaged in the construction work on the track. The track has now been handed over to the federation authorities and the maintenance of the track will therefore be the responsibility of the federation using Abih engineers and continuing, we think, finance and international community. That's all I have for you. Patrick. Patrick Svensson: thanks Simon. Good morning. Two points this morning. We have initial reports that seem to indicate that there are four new prisoners that have been brought to the central prison in Sarajevo. The first two are Mr. Zvukadin and Mr. Mandic, that have been missing... Who have been missing since July. This... The latter two are Mr. Radenko and Mr. Matkovic who were reported to be kidnapped from the Trnovo-Kula corridor after an armed attack on their car some time ago in quite an appalling incident where a woman was killed. These are initial reports. We will endeavour to find out everything possible during the course of the day about the status of these prisoners. Second point; today there will be meeting up in the Sapna thumb regarding the situation in Jusici, Dugi Dio and Mahala villages, involving IPTF, IFOR, federation and RS police will be present for this meeting. Thank you. M. Nyberg: good morning ladies and gentlemen. I would like to draw your attention today to a project which started in September here in Bosnia and which is unique in its kind. That is the Bosnian women's initiative. The government of the United States has earmarked five million dollars which is managed by UNHCR. The programme is designed to promote the social and economic reintegration of those women who have been the most affected by events of the recent war years. Over half of the 1.3 million displaced people in Bosnia and Herzegovina are women and girls -- many of them from a rural background with very little education and few skills. The most important part of the Bosnian women's initiative will therefore be business development loans, so called micro-credits, and vocational training. This is intended to promote the establishment of co-operatives and small businesses and help women to become economically independent. The funds of the initiative may also be used for psycho-social support and medical care, day-care facilities for children, and elderly and women's centres. The intended beneficiaries should be amongst the most vulnerable women in Bosnia Herzegovina -- internally displaced and other war affected women, particularly those who are widowed or whose husbands have become incapacitated, and war-traumatised women. The programme will be implemented by local and international non-governmental organisations. This programme is the first of its kind in the world. The UNHCR believes it could be the forerunner of other internationally supported programmes to benefit women in war-torn countries. And for those interested, there is a fact sheet and the list of already approved projects within this initiative, that will be available after the press-conference. Thank you.

Maj. Haselock: Okay. Questions, please. Christine... Thought we were going to get away with it. Q: can you describe more about that meeting today over Mahala... Mahala, Jusici and where else? P. Svensson: Dugi Dio. Q: OK, can you explain more what are they going to be doing and talking about? P. Svensson: I don't know exactly what will they talk about, but of course, the general situation in that area and the problems that have been present there in the last couple of days and last couple of weeks. And general security situation. Q: and what is the... Where do they want to get with it? P. Svensson: well, of course, they want to... Just, kind of analyse the situation in my estimation and try to improve the security situation overall. Maj. Haselock: right at the back... And then... Q: yes, Simon, I am little unclear on what's going to happen with the actual finished road that is supposed to be built to Gorazde. As I understand this is just an access track which is meant to facilitate construction, and the actual road was described in Dayton as being a road, and not access track. What's going to happen? Maj. Haselock: well the... My understanding, I mean, is that we have built the access track, certainly as... As precisely that -- one to link the road along the route that's probably going to be used and also to provide a facilitator for the civil engineers who may come to actually construct the main metalled thoroughfare . And my understanding is that a "recce," etc, has been done for that route -- that the plans are in place for the construction of that road. But as yet, international finances have to be released to build that road. That road will built by civil contractors; it's a major civil engineering undertaking. Q: what civil contractors? I mean, we're looking at IFOR pulling out in December so who is going to supervise this? Maj. Haselock: it will be a civil contractor. It's nothing... It won't be an IFOR task. It won't be IFOR... It will be straight construction by civil construction engineers. Q: so there, will there be IFOR engineers remaining to supervise, or its just straight... Maj. Haselock: IFOR engineers will be here until the end of the mandate. If they are here after that remains to be seen. The access track itself is now being completed by us and handed over to the federation authorities. The construction of the final road will be done by civil contract. If we are required to assist in some reconnaissance or providing engineering advice, we may do, but at the moment that is not the plan. The plan is that this is a civil contract, which will be built by civil... And the road will be built by civil engineers. Matt. Q: good morning: two points. The continuing, continuing press reports, you know, about the... What the OSCE is doing about the weapons reductions program, and what I’d like to know: is IFOR confident that all the weapons of both sides are, of both warring factions, are in cantonment sites, and those are all the weapons that are in this country? I mean that they are all accounted for? That there are no major numbers of say, heavy artillery or tanks, sort of hidden somewhere in the forests of... Or in the mountains, caves or whatever? Maj. Haselock: I mean, both sides have been declared compliant in that regard. We have a fairly... We have a very rigorous inspection regime. As far as we're concerned, what they have declared to us, what they have cantoned broadly correspond. I don't think there is any issue as far as that is concerned. However, we continue to search outside those cantonal areas; we continue our surveillance and patrolling. Occasionally we find the odd small unauthorised weapon system. We have no evidence to suggest that there are any... Anything more than that, but clearly one always has to keep on the lookout. But as far as we're concerned, they're compliant, and we are broadly confident that they have met their obligations in that regard. Q: on a totally different topic. It has come to my attention, and I don't know if you can confirm this, you may recall the incident, a shooting incident, of the chief of police of Prijedor who fired over the heads or into the air in the vicinity of IFOR soldiers and he was removed from his position. It is apparently that he is back at his post and is co-ordinating, ordering his senior officers, police officers in the Prijedor area. So he's back in his position. Do you know ... Maj. Haselock: I’ve heard rumours of him possibly being re-employed by the minister of interior. I’ve certainly heard no suggestion that he's back in Prijedor in charge of the police. If that is the case, it will be an extremely serious development, and we would wish to actually ensure... And I’m sure the IPTF would support that and make sure that he wasn't. I mean, it was clear that he should have been removed from that position and he should not be re-employed. And so if that turns out to be the case, we'll take a very strong line of it. Q: it's interesting that every time a strong line is taken it's because it's a reaction -- generally speaking, to evidence that comes to the fore when, in fact, you have this evidence because the ECMM monitors saw him in the building chairing a meeting in the same building that he worked in. It's not the ministry of interior; he's functioning as a senior police official ordering people... Telling them what to do. You have these reports, OHR has them, OSCE has them. Now its coming to light because a few journalists are mentioning it, but in fact he's been functioning for several days now. Maj. Haselock: well, that may be the case according to you. As far as I’m aware, I have not seen these reports. I have heard reports of him being back in Prijedor, and I can guarantee you that if he has been employed back in Prijedor in the capacity of the chief of police or anything to do with the Prijedor police force, we will intervene, and he will be removed. That was the agreement and that's what will happen. Q: right, just to make it clear, because at... When he was removed, it was stated that NATO and the international community would not tolerate any other position. So even if he is in a position that doesn't have the title of police chief, if he's working in the police department, you're opposed to that and you'll put an end to it? Maj. Haselock: I think we've made our position quite clear on that position. As far as we're concerned, he should not be re-employed. He should not be the chief of police in Prijedor. If it turns out that he has been, we shall take an extremely dim view of it, and I’m sure the IPTF would reiterate that. P. Svensson: yeah exactly, I mean, you're right. The agreement was that he would not be back in any function whatsoever, and if he is, we will look into that for certain, and take action against that. He should not have any function there. Maj. Haselock: any others? Yeah. Q: Simon, on those weapons limits, when you say that you don't have any evidence that the parties do not comply, does it mean that Ray Bonnic's article over the weekend suggesting that there was a special NATO meeting which revealed that, for instance, heavy artillery, VRS has probably as much as the... Double the given limit, is untrue? Maj. Haselock: I haven't seen the article. The only article that I’ve seen recently is the one that was written in the Herald Tribune, which I think is based on the same sort of thesis, and we have gone out of our way to explain the figures; that as far as we're concerned, we don't believe... We are aware of the total figures of equipment held by all the factions. We have declared those figures to shape, and those figures are shared with the OSCE in Vienna. Where the argument... And I’m not... I can't speak for the OSCE is concerned, but my understanding of where the disparity lies, if any, is between the figures which parties are declaring as their destruction liability and those which they are going to keep over and above the overall limits set by the OSCE, and this is "loophole playing" rather than any attempt to pull the wool over the eyes of... Our eyes or the OSCE eyes about the overall numbers of equipment. We all are quite aware, including ourselves and the OSCE, of the numbers of total equipment that they have. The argument, as I understand it, and you need to speak to the OSCE about this, is about what their liability to actuality destroy is. And there are various categories, and you need to speak to the OSCE about that. Q: on the Jusici... Surrounding villages of Jusici, is it true that the Serbs now have moved into these villages and their police are armed, and in fact, that they responded to a suggestion that General Walker made to madame Plavsic which is that , well these are your villages, you should occupy them because we don't want any similar security incidents evolving as Jusici. Is it necessary that these men be armed given that they are going to villages that are not even occupied by villagers? Maj. Haselock. The first thing is, I mean I don't know, I mean, its a very general question. I mean, I understand, and the UNHCR would be the people to talk to more specifically about who are living in the villages. There are, I understand, some movements of Serbs into some of the villages... Empty villages in that area, but I think you need to speak to mans about that. As far as policing, and this is an IPTF question, is concerned ... But they are entitled to police the area which is the Republika Srpska. They are also entitled to carry sidearms as authorised, ... By IPTF. Patrick. P. Svensson: yeah, exactly. I mean, they cannot bring long barrelled weapons into the villages, into the ZOS. They can carry sidearms. Its their territory. M. Nyberg: on Friday we got a report from our office in Zvornik that 32 displaced Serbs had been moved from a collective centre in Zvornik to one of the villages close to Jusici. The authorities tell us that these people are not being moved into... Relocated into Muslim houses. We are now looking into this matter. Maj. Haselock: there's certainly no agreement or suggestion by General Walker that they should occupy villages in the zone of separation. Q: well, when armed men go into villages in the zone of separation, they need... A, they need authorisation from NATO to take even sidearms in, if I’m correct. Maj. Haselock: the police on either side of the IEBL, operating in the zone of separation, are authorised to go into that area to police it, carrying sidearms. The only difficulty and any restriction that has been in the past, about policing, has been in the village of Jusici. My understanding, and again you need to speak to the IPTF about this, is that they have been encouraged to go into Jusici but it is they themselves who are not going into Jusici at the moment with IPTF returns issue in the Sapna thumb and the difficulties that it's created. And the international community, of which IFOR is a part, is doing everything it can to reduce tensions in those areas. As far as military personnel are concerned, there is certainly no suggestion that we feel any more, in any way greater, under greater threat than we have done in the past. In fact, I would say probably the reverse is true. The situation, if it was ever considered that there was a threat, it is less than it was in the early days. OK? Thank you very much.