Thomas P. Broughan
Ceist:39 Mr. Broughan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs his views on the latest US/British/French plan for Bosnia-Hercegovina, involving as it does the virtual extinction of that State.
Written Answers. - Bosnian Conflict.
The Government welcome the efforts of the members of the Security Council, notably Britain, France, Russia, Spain and the United States, to build on the united approach to the conflict in Bosnia-Hercegovina which the international community has been pursuing.
This united approach has been based on the plan for Bosnia-Hercegovina which was developed by International Conference co-chairmen Mr. Cyrus Vance and Lord Owen. The plan has been accepted by the Bosnian Muslims and Bosnian Croats, but not the Bosnian Serbs. It was made clear by the Presidency of the European Community on 27 March that the Twelve fully support the Vance-Owen plan and that it remains the only viable road to a just and lasting peace in Bosnia-Hercegovina.
The Joint Action Programme on Former Yugoslavia, agreed on 22 May by five members of the Security Council, should be seen as complementing rather than replacing the provisions of the Vance-Owen peace plan. It contains a series of immediate measures which are necessary in light of the tragic situation which exists on the ground in Bosnia-Hercegovina and the dangers which this poses for the region as a whole.
All the principal elements are already central to the approach being followed by Ireland and the European Community. They include a commitment to continue providing humanitarian assistance; the rigorous enforcement of sanctions against Serbia and Montenegro to bring about the withdrawal by the Bosnian Serbs for territories occupied by force; the sealing of Serbia's border with Bosnia-Hercegovina to this end; action to ensure that the many thousands of Bosnians who are living in appalling conditions in towns, designated earlier by the Security Council as "safe areas" can be given the protection from Bosnian Serb aggression which they most urgently require.
Specific decisions on a number of these questions are currently under consideration in the Security Council.
The five have also warned that assistance to Bosnian Croat forces engaged in ethnic cleansing in Bosnia-Hercegovina could result in the international community imposing sanctions on Croatia.
The action programme fully supports the work of the Security Council on the establishment of an international tribunal for the purposes of prosecuting persons responsible for serious violations of international humanitarian law committed in former Yugoslavia. The Security Council, by its Resolution 827 of 25 May, decided to establish this Tribunal.
In addition, the five are supporting further steps to prevent overspill of the conflict. These include the reinforcement of the international presence in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and in the Serbian Province of Kosovo.
The Government are gravely concerned about the latest fighting in Bosnia, including that in Sarajevo and Gorazde. These recent developments underline the need for a continuing united international approach to the conflict.
Ireland will, in conjunction with its EC partners, continue to work actively for the implementation of the Vance-Owen plan, which remains the best hope for the survival, with peace and respect of human rights, of Bosnia-Hercegovina as an independent state.