Speech #1030130927

There is such an ongoing mess and such an ongoing tragedy that is still far from being resolved. my particular words in that last sense. not from the Action Councils statement. Quoting from the Action Councils statement again. "On the humanitarian side. there appear to be no assurances from unrestricted access of humanitarian aid into Sarajevo. the other U.N.-mandated "safe havens." or other key areas of need. including Mostar." I might say that expert reports are that Mostar may be the most suffering community on the planet. particularly in the socalled Moslem east end. This was raised very well by Lionel Rosenblatt. president of Refugees International and a Council member: "The plan also appears to actually disarm the Bosnian government. denying it the means to defend its own capital. actually increasing the overwhelming Serbian advantage and the Serbs ability to continue the seige of Sarajevo indefinitely." The statement also raises concerns: "There will be no retaliation for last Saturdays attack. despite U.N. and NATO agreements last August to use air strikes to stop the strangulation of Sarajevo. and Serb forces can opt to retain control of their heavy weapons. which can be repositioned or redeployed to continue the bombardment of other Bosnian safe havens. "The ultimatum calls for Serbian heavy artillery to be withdrawn only 12 to 13 miles from Sarajevos center. despite the fact." and we all know this. the artillery has a range of 25 miles. "There will be no withdrawal of Serbian forces that attack civilians on a daily basis. including snipers and those that use handheld mortar. "There will be no automatic response to future shelling of Sarajevo. initial authorization to launch air strikes rests. as before. with the U.N. Secretary General. "The plan does not address the strangulation of other Safe havens. including Tuzla and Bihac. which were shelled on Wednesday. "The ultimatum provides an exclusion for Serb forces in Pale. the capital of the Bosnian Serb forces. as a result. the aggressors can keep their heavy weaponry in their capital while the victims--the people and legitimate government of a U.N. member state. must surrender their meager means of defense." Continuing the quote from the Action statement. "The diplomatic emphasis is clearly on pressuring the victimsthe Bosnian governmentto capitulate and sign the Serbdictated partition plan. "Current negotiations and mediators are part of the problems. not the solution. "The current partition plan. even with slightly better redistribution of territories." and this is also very Important. "will legitimize aggression and genocide and violates U.N. charter UNSC resolutions. and London Conference declaration." Also. it still remains a fact that the Bosnian Government continues to be denied the right to defend itself and its citizens. and now is being denied the right to defend its besieged capital. I might say. as so many of us know. in conclusion. the problem is Serbian aggression and genocide.