UN Protects Servian War Criminals Even Today

[Barry S. Marjanovich]

U.N. EXPERT ON YUGOSLAVIA MISSING PERSONS QUITS IN PROTEST
__________________________________________________________________________

GENEVA (Mar 26, 1997 11:43 p.m. EST) -- The top U.N. missing persons
investigator for the former Yugoslavia quit Wednesday, complaining he
hadn't received enough international support accounting for the 20,000
people still missing after the Bosnian war.

Manfred Nowak's resignation comes at a time of mounting frustration
among the international civilian officials charged with implementing
the Bosnian peace accord.

He and his counterparts say they need more money for their work and
more help from NATO-led forces, which stopped the fighting but have
hesitated in aiding the return of refugees, the apprehension of war
crimes suspects and the exhumation of mass graves.

Bosnian President Alija Izetbegovic told President Clinton in
Washington on Wednesday that NATO troops could go home next summer as
scheduled only if refugees are back in their homes and indicted war
crimes suspects in custody. Otherwise, he indicated, renewed war
looms.

Nowak contends the investigation into the fate of the war's missing is
essential to bringing justice and lasting peace to Bosnia after its 3
1/2-year war. Most of the missing are Muslim men believed massacred by
Serbs; some of the victims are buried in an estimated 300 mass graves
around the country.

"In view of the fact that most of the missing persons have most
probably been killed (there is an) urgent need for excavating mass
graves and exhuming and identifying the mortal remains," Nowak told
the U.N. Commission on Human Rights, which created his position in
1994.

"If we are to tell the women of Srebrenica and others whose relatives
are missing the truth of what happened and facilitate a decent burial
of their loved ones, then the international community should take the
lead," Nowak said.

Nowak said he had requested $6 million for forensic examinations of
graves, but that donor countries had contributed just $300,000.

The peacekeeping force in Bosnia refused to provide security for his
work, and the NATO-led force that replaced it -- while more eager to
provide security -- has been unable to help in other ways, he said.

NATO officials have insisted that these jobs should fall to unarmed
international police or civilian officials. But they lack the kind of
military muscle that might impress the extremists who still wield
power across much of Bosnia.

Nowak also complained of a lack of coordination among international
agencies and a lack of cooperation from leaders of Yugoslavia, which
now consists only of Serbia and Macedonia.

Nowak said about 20,000 people are missing in Bosnia. Another 5,000
people are missing in Croatia, he said.

sssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss
CCCC SERVIAN EVIL STILL RULES CCCC
sssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss

[lashir]

A cartoon at this site accurately portrays what the UN blue helmets
were really protecting.
http://www.interlog.com/~voxpop/overseas.html