ZAGREB, Croatia A new Bosnian Serb peace offer that would requirethe mediation of former President Carter was widely viewed Thursdayas a calculated ploy to further undermine the internationalcommunity's teetering resolve in Bosnia.
But after three years of civil war and failed peace efforts, fewwere willing to dismiss the offer for fear of missing an opportunityto end the conflict.
UN officials said they were taken by surprise by the late-nightproposal from Serb President Radovan Karadzic, which was disclosed ina telephone interview with CNN Wednesday. Karadzic talked with CNNafter speaking by telephone to Carter. Earlier, Karadzic sent twoLos Angeles-area Serbian-Americans to meet with the former presidentand lay the groundwork, diplomatic sources said.
Karadzic said in the CNN interview that he was willing to imposea cease-fire in the Sarajevo area, free detained UN troops, allow themovement of humanitarian relief, release teenage Muslim prisoners ofwar, reopen Sarajevo airport and guarantee human rights. In return,he wanted Carter to fly to Bosnia to begin negotiations for apermanent settlement, possibly as early as this weekend.
UN officials were clearly miffed by the Bosnian Serbs' end-run,particularly because Yasushi Akashi, the UN special envoy in theformer Yugoslavia, had met with Karadzic earlier Wednesday and theBosnian Serb leader had made no mention of a new peace initiative.Akashi's spokesman, Michael Williams, said Karadzic refused in themeeting to accept several demands by Akashi that turned up inKaradzic's offer to Carter.
UN officials and Western diplomats said they feared Karadzic wasattempting to drive a wedge into the peace plan already approved bythe Muslim-led Bosnian government and neighboring Serbia. The planwould give the Bosnian Serbs 49 percent of Bosnian territory.
Bosnian Prime Minister Haris Silajdzic said Carter'sparticipation would constitute a "destruction" of the peace processif it focused on anything but gaining Bosnian Serb approval of theexisting peace plan.
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