An Alliance of One

At the end of a day of bombing, on the evening of Wednesday, August 30, with authority from the President of Serbia, Serbian Information Minister - Ratomir Vico announced that the political leaders of the Bosnian Serb republic (RS) agreed to fully adapt their approach to the peace process to the approach of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, that the agreement means the victory of peace and "it includes mechanisms which prevent any kind of obstruction and delays".

There are indications that Milosevic managed to break Karadzic's resistance before a shell massacred civilians in central Sarajevo and raised the level of disgust in the international community. That massacre is perhaps the result of someone's effort to destroy the agreement at any cost.

The agreement is dated August 29, but Beta news agency discovered that Bosnian Serb Army Commander - Ratko Mladic, Bosnian Serb leader - Radovan Karadzic and Bosnian Serb Assambly Speaker - Momcilo Krajisnik were in Belgrade on August 27 when they met representatives of the authorities.

Later the previous week, Radmilo Bogdanovic, a high-ranking Serbian Socialist Party (SPS) official and secret police emminence grise, went to Banja Luka, Bijeljina and Zvornik in the RS and met political and military leaders. Soon afterwards, the RS Home Affairs Ministry issued a a statement which was interpreted as support to Karadzic against General Mladic.

Few people at a special session of the RS parliament on the Jahorina Mt. on August 28, who listened to it welcome the US peace initiative and decide on a rapprochement with Milosevic or Krajisnik, say all the rifts between RS political and military leaders and the Pale-Belgrade rift were gone because the scenes of the massacre overshadowed everything. What can a document which will cover Serbia's entire media space and suppress the images of NATO air strikes mean in the future? That there is no limit to how far the Belgrade regime propaganda machine will go.

The agreement was released after talks in Belgrade between Milosevic and Richard Holbrooke who changed from pessimist to someone who has seen progress as he left for Zagreb. Milosevic immediately sent his representative to announce the agreement to show the American that he delivers on his promises more than to calm the public which was depressed over the penal expedition in Bosnia. An hour before the announcement, the opposition was busy drafting a statement on the air strikes. Most were moderately bitter and wanted to negotiate except for Seselj's radicals (who demanded retaliation on Moslems) and Montenegro's liberals who were the only ones here to welcome the bombings.

As for Karadzic, Milosevic now has carte blanche and formally its all his responsibility.

ANTRFILE

The Five Points

1. The RS leadership agrees to fully adapt their approach to the peace process with that of the FR Yugoslavia leadership in the interest of peace.

2. In that sense, the RS will delegate three members to the single six-member delegation which, headed by Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic, will negotiate on a comprehensive peace process for Bosnia-Herzegovina: RS president Radovan Karadzic, parliament speaker Momcilo Krajisnik and BSA Commander General Ratko Mladic.

The delegation is authorized on behalf of the RS to sign those parts of the peace plan which relate to the RS and with the obligation of strictly implementing the agreement.

3. The RS leadership agrees to reach obliging decisions on the peace plan in a plenum with a simple majority. If the vote is a draw President Milosevic's vote decides.

4. The FRY government will decide the Yugoslav delegates.

5. President Milosevic will decide on changes in the FRY delegation and president Karadzic on changes in the RS delegation but the changes must not affect this agreement.

This agreement was signed by all the participants in the Belgrade meeting: for the RS - Radovan Karadzic, Vice Presidents - Nikola Koljevic and Biljana Plavsic, Assembly Speaker - Momcilo Krajisnik, Bosnian Serb Prime Minister - Dusan Kozic, Foreign Minister - Aleksa Buha and Bosnian Serb Army Commander - Gen. Ratko Mladic.

For the FRY: Yugoslav President Zoran Lilic, Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic, Montenegrin President Momir Bulatovic, Federal Prime Minister Radoje Kontic, Defence Minister Pavle Bulatovic and Yugoslav Army Chief of Staff General Momcilo Perisic.

The agreement was also signed by Serbian Patriarch Pavle and Bishop Irinej Bulovic as witnesses.

ANTRFILE 2

Meeting in Dobanovci

Reliable sources in Belgrade said the rapprochement happened on Friday, August 25, when Krajisnik, Karadzic, Mladic and General Milan Gvero on one side met with Milosevic, Dobrica Cosic and Patriarch Pavle in Dobanovci. That was when the agreement was reached. The guests returned to the RS by helicopter that night and an RS parliament session was called suddenly for Monday, August 28, to endorse the US peace plan. The Bosnian Serbs came back to Belgrade on Tuesday, August 29, and on Wednesday the Bosnian Serb leaders spent hours in Zvornik just in case they were needed in Belgrade.