Bosnia’s 3 Presidents Meet, Make Strides Amid Strife

The Muslim member of Bosnia’s presidential triad ventured into Serb territory Friday for a meeting amid new troubles: a wave of anti-refugee violence and a dispute that stalled a U.S. arms shipment.

President Alija Izetbegovic and his Serb and Croat counterparts discussed foreign policy and other issues in the private session, said Carl Bildt, the chief civilian administrator in Bosnia.

The meeting, only the second formal session since September elections, was held in Lukavica, a Serb-controlled suburb of Sarajevo. Izetbegovic had not been in Lukavica since May 1992, when he and his entourage were taken hostage by Serb rebels and held for several hours in a military barracks.

Bosnian Serb and international police were in heavy presence at the meeting site.

Illustrating the kind of divisions that must be overcome if Bosnia is to survive in its present form, dozens of homes in northwestern villages were destroyed Thursday in what officials said appeared to be efforts to keep refugees from returning.

Anti-tank mines were used to demolish 94 homes belonging to Muslims who fled ethnic violence at the start of Bosnia’s 3-1/2-year war. The explosions occurred in three villages west of the Serb-controlled town of Prijedor.

Two mosques also were razed, NATO spokesman Maj. Brett Boudreau said.

In the nearby village of Ljeskovica, 30 houses were set afire. The village formerly was dominated by Serbs but now is under Bosnian Croat control, said Maj. Simon Haselock, a spokesman for the NATO-led peace force.

“Using mines to blow up houses that refugees might want to fix up and move into is clearly designed to keep fear alive and intimidate refugees who might have wished to return to their homes,” Haselock said.

The presidency meeting Friday produced progress on some issues crossing ethnic lines. Bildt said the presidents made advances toward setting up common institutions such as a constitutional court, a central bank and a council of ministers.

“It’s step by step,” he said. “Moving forward. It was good atmosphere and good results.”

Izetbegovic and his Croat partner in the Bosnian federation, Kresimir Zubak, agreed on a flag, coat of arms and power-sharing in the Bosnia capital.

However, problems kept the Bosnian federation from receiving a U.S. arms shipment meant to bring its arsenal up to a level comparable with the Bosnian Serb faction.

State Department spokesman Nicholas Burns said the unresolved issues included implementation of a joint Muslim-Croat defense law and other problems which he declined to discuss.

But a U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said delivery of the arms is being held up until the Bosnian government sacks Deputy Defense Minister Hasan Cengic. Washington suspects Cengic, an Islamic cleric and associate of Izetbegovic, has maintained close ties to Iran.