950828

Bosnian commander calls

US peace moves 'incoherent

SARAJEVO: The Bosnian army's commander has dismissed a U.S. peace initiative as incoherent and told his troops the only direction forward was more war.

General Rasim Delic, in remarks on Sunday reported on Bosnian government television and radio on Monday, said the U.S. initiative "still doesn't have either a head or a tail".

"We cannot expect a lot from the international community. We have only one direction -- to continue fighting," he told the Bosnian Army's 4th Corps in the Konjic region, west of Sarajevo.

Delic, who directs the Moslem-led government's war against separatist Serbs, made his comments on the eve of efforts to restart the U.S. peace drive. U.S. envoy Richard Holbrooke is due to meet Bosnian President Alija Izetbegovic in Paris on Monday in their first substantive discussions.

The initiative, begun this month, faltered when three U.S. envoys died in a road accident near Sarajevo. Holbrooke, who leads the U.S. team, acknowledged last week that its chance of success was slim.

Delic suggested the impetus for the initiative came out of embarrassment over past failures rather than fresh inspiration.

"Governments who have been concealing numerous crimes against our country are now in a position where they have to explain what is happening to the people in Bosnia-Herzegovina," government radio quoted him as saying.

"That's why many solutions are being hastily proposed."

One new element emerging with the initiative is a U.S. threat to step up NATO's military intervention in Bosnia.

Holbrooke warned Serbs in the former Yugoslavia on Sunday that NATO would intervene "heavily" unless progress was made towards a negotiated settlement in a "week or two".

He suggested that NATO was set to use heavy air strikes to force the rebel Bosnian Serbs to negotiate. He identified them as the chief stumbling block to his mission.

While details of the peace plan have not been revealed, Holbrooke has said it would preserve Bosnia within its current internationally recognised borders while allowing for separate Bosnian government and separatist Serb administrations.

The sticking point is territory, with the U.S. and the Bosnian governments holding firm to a 51:49 division of the country in the government's favour, something the Serbs -- who hold 70 per cent now -- have rejected.

Holbrooke may also encounter difficulties with the United States' European allies and Russia, who are reported to prefer a more generous settlement for the Serbs and less reliance on NATO air strikes to punish Serbs should they reject the plan.-Reuter