Seawards, Hoe!

First was Haris Silajdzic, the Foreign Minister of Bosnia-Herzegovina, ‘‘The future Bosnian republic will have access to Neum, i.e. the peninsula of Klek, a part of which will belong to the Bosnian Republic.'' Silajdzic confirmed a report by AP that Muslims succeeded in negotiating with the Republic of Croatia the using of the port of Ploce for 99 years and obtained a territorial concession in the Neretva Valley from Herzeg-Bosnia, where they will build their own port for smaller ships in the vicinity of Celjevo (between Capljina and Metkovic). Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic was next, ‘‘A belt from the Molunta to Ostri Rt will be the Serbian sea. In return, we'll give Croats an area in the Dubrovnik hinterland. An agreement on this has already been reached and the Croatian leadership pledged to respect it.'' Karadzic stressed that his state had access to the sea according to international law. For reasons of caution towards Croatian leaders and perhaps to speed up the deal Karadzic also pointed out that his team ‘‘did not only demand a part of the coast, but also offered the exchange of territories.'' The only statement from the Republic of Croatia came from the country's Foreign Minister Mate Granic who said that nothing had been signed on the ship.

In any case, it seems that the leaders of all three sides in Bosnia will have a chance to go for a swim in their own sea. Bosnian Croat leader Mate Boban has got Neum, Bosnian Muslim leader Alija Izetbegovic has got fresh-water Celjevo, while the Bosnian Serb leader can choose a spot between Molunat and Ostri Rt. It should be pointed out that Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic refused that Croatia give up the tip of Prevlaka to Montenegro within the framework of normalization of relations between the Republic of Croatia and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Karadzic's request was that it goes to the Serb Republic in Bosnia, which will later be negotiated with Montenegro. This is particularly interesting as the only way Bosnian Serbs can get access to the sea is through the territory of Montenegro (unless some corridor has been agreed with Croatia). Who knows, announced agreements might prove more important that the current negotiations.