YouSaid · the spoken record

Djokic

lines on the record: 144
first: 1993-02-19
most recent: 1995-09-08
sittings or episodes: 11
sources: un-security-council

Every line below is reproduced as it was said and linked to the record it came from. Nothing here is summarised or generated. Directory · Search · Corrections

“It is unacceptable that unfounded charges against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia should be repeatedly advanced in responsible forums such as the General Assembly and the Security Council. The General Assembly's latest resolution on the situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina is a flagrant example of this. It contains totally unacceptable charges of alleged aggression by the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia against Bosnia and Herzegovina as well as a condemnation of the violation of human and minority rights and breaches of international law. References to the concentration and detention camps in "Serbia and Montenegro" are absolutely ridiculous and senseless.”
1994-11-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3454 (1994) · source
“The Government has asked the Bosnian Serb leadership to show flexibility and take an unequivocal, positive stand on the Contact Group's proposal. The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia has been falsely accused of involvement and territorial pretensions towards Bosnia and Herzegovina, repeated in the latest General Assembly resolution 49/10 on the situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina, despite the fact that it often acknowledged and clearly stated in the Declaration of the Assembly of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia of 27 April 1992 that it did not harbour any territorial pretensions towards any of the republics of the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. As is well known and has been confirmed by the Secretary-General, there have been no soldiers of the Army of Yugoslavia in Bosnia and Herzegovina since May 1992.”
1994-11-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3454 (1994) · source
“The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia has continuously invested efforts with a view to reaching a peaceful and negotiated solution to the crisis in Bosnia and Herzegovina, firmly convinced that the only solution to the Bosnian crisis is a peaceful one and that there can be no winners in the civil war. Yugoslavia is ready to accept any solution agreed to by the warring parties on the basis of full equality and respect for the legitimate rights of all three Bosnian peoples. Consequently, it stands ready to recognize the former Yugoslav republics after all outstanding issues are resolved in negotiations by the parties concerned. It should be recalled that the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia supported all peace plans regarding Bosnia and Herzegovina, including the latest one put forward by the Contact Group.”
1994-11-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3454 (1994) · source
“It is particularly disturbing that the latest agreement between the United Nations Secretariat and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) on increasing targets in the Bosnian theatre is exclusively aimed against the Bosnian Serbs, despite the fact that the Muslim side has been constantly violating Security Council resolutions on safe areas. Even though UNPROFOR has recently called upon NATO to adopt an even-handed attitude towards all sides that attack UNPROFOR forces and violate the safe-areas regime, NATO has flatly refused to do so at the insistence of the United States, which has been openly siding with the Bosnian Muslims and thus encouraging them to persist with the military option.”
1994-11-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3454 (1994) · source
“The lifting of the arms embargo would most certainly necessitate the withdrawal of major elements of the United Nations Protection Force (UNPROFOR) from the region and would no doubt place the remaining United Nations forces on the Muslim side in the civil war, something which runs counter to all basic principles of peace-keeping. Even though it is well known that the Muslim side is already receiving substantial shipments of arms, particularly after the creation of the Muslim-Croat Federation, a fully fledged lifting of the arms embargo would certainly aggravate the situation further, with unforeseeable consequences.”
1994-11-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3454 (1994) · source
“The Federal Government expresses its deep concern at the open support given this flagrant violation of the cease-fire agreement by certain countries, including, unfortunately, a member of the Contact Group. Such actions constitute a 32 premeditated blow to peace and a calculated effort to undermine the peace process. Calls for the lifting of the arms embargo against the Bosnian Muslims and carrying out offensive air strikes against the Bosnian Serbs can only lead to a very dangerous and uncontrollable escalation of the conflict, with increased risks of its spreading to the neighbouring regions.”
1994-11-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3454 (1994) · source
“Unfortunately, recent developments in the field unequivocally confirm that one of the major reasons for the establishment of the Muslim-Croat Federation was the creation of an anti-Serb military coalition with the ultimate goal of completely denying the basic rights and vital interests of the Serbs in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Government of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia most resolutely condemns the escalation of the civil war, which it sees as a direct consequence of the intentional gross violation of the cease-fire agreement by the Muslim side and by Bosnian Croat forces, supported by the units of the regular army of the Republic of Croatia.”
1994-11-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3454 (1994) · source
“The intrinsic inequality in the approach to the three peoples of Bosnia and Herzegovina is particularly evident in the fact that great emphasis was put on the creation of a Muslim-Croat Federation with the guaranteed right to establish confederation ties with Croatia, whereas the right of the Bosnian Serbs to establish an equal entity that could establish ties with the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia still have not been clearly and publicly acknowledged by the Contact Group. Without taking fully into account the equal and legitimate interests of all three sides, there can be no just and lasting solution to the crisis and the civil war in Bosnia and Herzegovina.”
1994-11-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3454 (1994) · source
“Izetbegovic and his Democratic Action Party never departed from these aims, despite rhetorical calls for the preservation of a multi-ethnic and multireligious Bosnia and Herzegovina, is the continuous drive towards the full Islamization of Bosnian society. Such a policy is illusory, as it is unacceptable to the other two constituent peoples of Bosnia and Herzegovina and represents the major cause of the outbreak of the tragic civil war.”
1994-11-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3454 (1994) · source
“Igman area, and the extensive "ethnic cleansing" and atrocities committed in the offensive against Kupres and Bosanska Krupa have met with absolutely no response by the Security Council. Should the Security Council continue to act in this way, it runs the risk of not only losing its credibility but 31 also taking full responsibility for the escalation of the civil war and its possible spill-over to the entire region. The latest Muslim offensive vindicates the position that the Government of Federal Republic of Yugoslavia has taken from the very outset of the civil war in Bosnia and Herzegovina: that the extremist Muslim leadership is firmly committed to the war option, with a view to materializing its long-sought goal of creating a united, Muslim-dominated state. A clear confirmation that Mr.”
1994-11-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3454 (1994) · source
“Throughout the whole crisis, acting in a one-sided manner, the Security Council placed the blame almost exclusively on the Bosnian Serb side for whatever atrocities were committed, deliberately ignoring the very same acts committed by the Muslims and Croats. It is particularly disturbing that the Security Council was unacceptably tolerant of the recent large-scale breach of the cease-fire and of the offensive launched by the Muslim side, massively assisted by the Croat forces. The constant violation of the exclusion zones for the purpose of arming and launching massive attacks in the Sarajevo and Bihac areas, the brutal murder of Serb soldiers and nurses in the Mt.”
1994-11-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3454 (1994) · source
“Ever since the onset of the conflict, a number of important members of the international community and of the Security Council have taken a biased and partial position, one that does not take into account the basic principle of full equality of the three constituent peoples in Bosnia and Herzegovina - the Muslims, the Serbs and the Croats. By opting to recognize the unconstitutional secession of Bosnia and Herzegovina as an independent State, the international community ignored the legitimate constitutional right of the Serb people who wished to remain a part of Yugoslavia. The recognition of the Muslim-dominated Government as a legitimate representative of all three peoples also confirmed an unequal approach to the three Bosnian peoples.”
1994-11-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3454 (1994) · source
“Mr. Djokic: Today's meeting is an opportunity to emphasize the gravity of the situation in the wake of the new developments in Bosnia and Herzegovina as well as the highly inadequate approach of the Council to the crisis since the beginning of the civil war. The seriousness and complexity of the situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina must not be a reason for certain international factors to consistently abuse the General Assembly and the Security Council in order to pursue their own interests and thus create further obstacles to the attainment of a just and lasting peace in the region.”
1994-11-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3454 (1994) · source
“Such positions, the purpose of which is primarily to satisfy domestic political and propaganda needs - and which indeed deserve no answer - do not contribute to ending the ethnic and civil war in Bosnia and Herzegovina. On the contrary, they generate a further fanning of the flames of war, the consequences of which are increasingly being felt by the innocent civilian population. Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina cannot be achieved through one-sided accusations and irrational demands to lift the arms embargo from one party to the conflict. The only solution is a political one based on the interests of all three constituent peoples in Bosnia and Herzegovina, reached through three-way negotiations, since, as I have stated, there is no alternative to peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina.”
1994-09-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3428 (1994) · source
“Despite the fact that the international community has taken an unfounded negative stance towards the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, the Government of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia shall continue, as it has done so far, to make its utmost contribution to the peace process in Bosnia and Herzegovina as well as to the resolution of all outstanding questions in the territory of the former Yugoslavia, deeply convinced that there is no alternative to peace. In conclusion, allow me to state the following. My delegation expresses regret that some countries have taken advantage of this meeting to repeat their well-known allegations against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia based on arbitrary presumptions without foundation.”
1994-09-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3428 (1994) · source
“The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia firmly believes in the ongoing peace process. We appeal to the Contact Group to continue its work in order to reach as soon as possible a final solution that would accommodate the vital interests of all three sides in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Any solution that is not satisfactory to one side will only further escalate the conflict. Any other option is fraught with risks and unforeseeable consequences, not only to the warring parties in Bosnia and Herzegovina but to the international community as a whole.”
1994-09-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3428 (1994) · source
“Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations certainly should not be used for that kind of political manoeuvering. Furthermore, it is even less understandable and is indeed unacceptable to link further suspension of the sanctions with conditions that were not valid at the time they were imposed or that have no connection with the resolution of the crisis in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia rightly expects that, with the adoption of this draft resolution, the process of lifting all forms of sanctions will gather momentum and that the legitimate rights of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in the United Nations and other international organizations will be restored so that it can be fully reintegrated into the international community.”
1994-09-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3428 (1994) · source
“International cooperation in sport, culture and science represents a significant part of the heritage of mankind, and should not be subject to any barriers. What is really needed now is the complete lifting of all sanctions, which the Security Council should consider as a matter of urgency. That would be the quickest and best way of obtaining a final political solution to the crisis in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is therefore very unfortunate that the conditions are set for the ultimate and absolute lifting of all sanctions exclusively in the function of maintaining political pressure. The international community, through the Security Council, continues the practice of punishing the citizens of a sovereign country for events over which it has no control.”
1994-09-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3428 (1994) · source
“The Government of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia considers that a decision to partially suspend the existing sanctions represents an important shift in attitude towards Yugoslavia. However, only partial lifting of the sanctions does not represent an adequate response to the constructive role and contribution of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in the process of a search for a just and lasting solution to the crisis in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The decision to open for civilian transport the airport in Belgrade and the ferry service between Bar on the Montenegrin coast and Bari in Italy and suspend the sanctions in sports and culture is certainly a step in the right direction, though very modest in scope.”
1994-09-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3428 (1994) · source
“At a time when the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia wholeheartedly supports the plan of the Contact Group, even though it is not a party to the conflict, and is making the utmost efforts to reach a peaceful solution to the crisis in Bosnia and Herzegovina, it stands to reason that the Security Council should lift the sanctions as a matter of urgency. Further insistence on the collective punishment of the people of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, coupled with the insistence of certain countries on the lifting of the arms embargo on Bosnia and Herzegovina, is an absurd policy. It would inevitably further inflame the conflict, with unforeseeable consequences, not only for Bosnia and Herzegovina, but for the region as a whole, which, we are confident, cannot be the goal of the Security Council.”
1994-09-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3428 (1994) · source
“It is indeed this reasoning and logic that has prompted the Government of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia to sever political and economic relations with the Bosnian Serb leadership and to close the border with them. In order to simplify procedures for the unimpeded dispatch of humanitarian assistance to Bosnia and Herzegovina along the borders of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, the Federal Government proposed that the representatives of international humanitarian organizations, together with the Red Cross of Yugoslavia, jointly cooperate at the border crossings. This offer of the Yugoslav Government has been accepted, and members of the humanitarian Mission of the International Conference on the Former Yugoslavia are already in the field.”
1994-09-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3428 (1994) · source
“The plan in fact makes official the Bosnian Serb entity by acknowledging the Serb Republic and guaranteeing its borders with the 16 Croat-Muslim federation. The sacrificing of peace was considered by the Government of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia to be leading to a new and even bigger disaster. It is of particular importance that it has been agreed that the Bosnian Serb entity can establish confederal ties with Serbia and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, just as the Croat-Muslim federation has been allowed to establish confederal links with the Republic of Croatia. There is, however, no doubt that a compromise is necessary, that peace is fairer than war and that life and reason must prevail over death and devastation.”
1994-09-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3428 (1994) · source
“The Yugoslav Government and the leaders of its two republics have publicly urged the Bosnian Serbs to accept the plan of the Contact Group as a way of enabling the resumption of the peace process. The Federal Government has asked the Bosnian Serb leadership to show its commitment to peace and the peace process by taking an unequivocal, positive stand on the Contact Group's proposals. In the choice between accepting a compromise peace or an escalation of the war, the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia has never hesitated to choose the option of peace. Although it cannot be said that the Contact Group took into consideration some major interests of the Serb people in Bosnia and Herzegovina, equally it cannot be said that it has turned against them.”
1994-09-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3428 (1994) · source
“The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia used all its influence with the Serbs in Bosnia and Herzegovina to persuade them to accept the Plan of Action of the European Union, based on the Juppe-Kinkel initiative, which they did. The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia gave full support to the efforts of the Contact Group for Bosnia and Herzegovina in its search for a peaceful solution within the framework of the Geneva Declaration. The following question should be asked: how was it possible, then, that the sanctions were imposed only against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, while Croatia has deployed its regular forces in the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina with total impunity?”
1994-09-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3428 (1994) · source
“However, even though the Muslim side accepted the plan at the beginning, it subsequently withdrew its approval, under the influence of certain foreign Powers. The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia did everything in its power to have the Serbs in Bosnia and Herzegovina accept the Vance-Owen Plan. Ignoring this fact and in spite of it, by its resolution 820 (1993) the Security Council decided to tighten the sanctions against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia supported, and the Bosnian Serbs accepted, the so-called Owen-Stoltenberg Plan, which actually replaced the Vance-Owen Plan, subsequently abandoned by its authors. That plan was also rejected by the Muslim side.”
1994-09-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3428 (1994) · source
“Even though the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia has never accepted the reasons for which the sanctions were imposed in the first place, it fully cooperated with the international community and has met all the conditions contained in the Security Council resolutions. The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia has continually made efforts to reach a peaceful and negotiated solution to the crisis in Bosnia and Herzegovina. 15 It should be recalled that the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia supported the so-called Cutileiro plan for the political and territorial arrangement of Bosnia and Herzegovina, signed by all three ethnic communities of Bosnia and Herzegovina, before the onset of the tragic conflict.”
1994-09-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3428 (1994) · source
“The international community acknowledged soon after the imposition of sanctions that the crisis in Bosnia and Herzegovina is not a consequence of involvement by the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, but a true civil war, with elements of inter-ethnic and inter-religious conflict. Unfortunately, all those facts were deliberately ignored. The sanctions against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia were not only kept in place, but were strengthened, although as was widely recognized the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia clearly supported all major peace initiatives of the international community.”
1994-09-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3428 (1994) · source
“The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia has been falsely accused of involvement and territorial pretensions towards Bosnia and Herzegovina, despite the fact that it repeatedly acknowledged and clearly stated in the Declaration of the Assembly of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia of 27 April 1992 that it did not harbour any territorial pretensions towards any of the republics of the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. At the time when the sanctions were imposed against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia for alleged aggression, not a single member of the Army of Yugoslavia was outside its territory.”
1994-09-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3428 (1994) · source
“Henry Kissinger, former United States Secretary of State, said in a commentary in The New York Times of 25 February 1993, that Bosnia was not a nation except in a geographical sense. He added that there were no Bosnians per se and that it remained unclear why it should ever have been thought that the same ethnic groups which had refused to coexist in a relatively large Yugoslavia would be able to coexist in tiny Bosnia. These statements, though belated, confirmed the position that the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia has advocated from the very onset of the Yugoslav crisis.”
1994-09-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3428 (1994) · source
“Numerous statements of other leading political figures, including Lord Carrington, former Chairman of the Conference on Yugoslavia; Cyrus Vance, special representative of the Secretary-General; former Italian Foreign Minister Gianni De Michelis; Lord Owen, Co- Chairman of the International Conference on the Former Yugoslavia; former United States Secretary of State James Baker; Jacques Delors, President of the European Union; and Roland Dumas, former French Foreign Minister, to mention but a few, have all underlined the mistake of the premature recognition of the former Yugoslav republics before the overall political settlement was reached, which, indeed, triggered the civil war. Mr.”
1994-09-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3428 (1994) · source
“The international community is well aware of the fact that the key decision-makers on the recognition of Bosnia and Herzegovina subsequently conceded that such a decision was wrong and premature and that it directly contributed to the tragic chain of events that followed. In a recent interview given to the French paper Le Figaro, President Mitterrand of France stated "that the international community made a mistake because it allowed the break-up of Yugoslavia before the problem of internal republican borders was addressed". President Mitterrand also wondered "why internal administrative borders should automatically become internationally recognized ones".”
1994-09-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3428 (1994) · source
“By choosing to recognize the results of the referendum that sanctioned the unconstitutional secession of Bosnia and Herzegovina from the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, in which one of its constituent peoples did not take part, the international community, disregarding constitutional provisions, granted the Croats and Muslims the right to decide on the fate of the Serbian people in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Thus, the constitutionally guaranteed right to self-determination - one of the fundamental human rights granted to all other peoples of the former Yugoslavia - was denied only to the Serb people. That was one of the major causes of the outbreak of the civil war.”
1994-09-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3428 (1994) · source
“The peoples of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia were condemned to total isolation from the contemporary world and thus became victims of collective punishment, which is in contravention of international humanitarian law. The sanctions against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia have been politically motivated and were imposed on the basis of a biased and one-sided identification of the causes of the Yugoslav crisis and on the basis of false premises and misconceptions concerning the nature and origin of the conflict, and concerning ways to resolve it.”
1994-09-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3428 (1994) · source
“Mr. Djokic: The Security Council is considering today the partial suspension of the sanctions imposed against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. We see this as an important step that is opening new prospects for the acceleration of the peace process in the area. On 30 May 1992, by resolution 757 (1992), the Security Council imposed sanctions against the citizens of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, unjustly singling them out as the sole culprits for the civil war in Bosnia and Herzegovina. One hundred and twenty weeks have gone by since this unprecedented verdict was passed on an entire nation, without even a right of appeal.”
1994-09-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3428 (1994) · source
“The responsibility lies with those countries which encouraged and recognized the unconstitutional secession of the breakaway republics and supported the pursuance of a military option.”
1994-04-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3370 (1994) · source
“The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia categorically rejects the uncorroborated allegations and charges directed against it in today's debate. It is particularly disturbing that a number of non-aligned countries have drastically departed from the fundamental principles of the policy of non-alignment. Instead of urging the use of peaceful means to resolve the conflict, which is what non- alignment stands for, they openly call for the military intervention of the strongest military alliance against a founding member of the Non-Aligned Movement. The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia bears no responsibility either for the outbreak or for the continuation of the war in the former Yugoslavia.”
1994-04-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3370 (1994) · source
“The decision to send Turkish troops to Bosnia and Herzegovina is not only against the interests of easing the situation in the region, but can also have a direct bearing on the escalation of the conflict, contrary to all the efforts made towards achieving lasting peace and ending the conflict. Those who base their positions and take stands on the conflict in Bosnia and Herzegovina exclusively on religious and highly biased and partisan grounds cannot make a meaningful contribution to the peace process. Instead of making efforts to help calm the conflict and end the hostilities, the Organization of the Islamic Conference has, by its one-sided and unobjective position, excluded itself as a potential honest broker and participant in any forum set up with a view to accelerating the peace negotiations.”
1994-04-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3370 (1994) · source
“Bringing even more weapons into former Bosnia and Herzegovina would only ignite the Balkan powder keg and would certainly spread the flames of war throughout the region, and probably beyond. The complex nature of the civil, inter-ethnic and religious conflict in Bosnia and Herzegovina and its deep historical roots and underlying causes make it necessary that no former occupying Power of the territories of the former Yugoslavia or any neighbouring States should be involved with their forces in peacekeeping efforts. Though it is commendable that the United Nations has so far respected the historical sensitivities on the ground, it is indeed disturbing that these basic principles of peace-keeping have now been disregarded and that the United Nations has succumbed to pressure to engage a Turkish force within UNPROFOR.”
1994-04-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3370 (1994) · source
“As the Government of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia has stated on many occasions, Bosnia is replete with arms, and more weapons can only fuel the conflict and incite an arms race leading to even greater sacrifice and destruction. The supposition that the lifting of the arms embargo on one of the warring parties can lead to a cessation of hostilities is absurd. More weapons always mean more war and more victims. As is well known, despite the arms embargo, both the Bosnian Muslims and the Bosnian Croats have been supplied with offensive weapons on a regular basis and have been aided by mercenary forces. This has not contributed to a peaceful settlement.”
1994-04-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3370 (1994) · source
“It would be illusory to presume that a resolution of the conflict in Bosnia and Herzegovina can be reached by exposing one side to relentless pressures, threats and ultimatums while there is a tolerant attitude towards the resistance of the other sides, particularly the Bosnian Muslims, to start negotiating seriously and come out with their bottom-line positions. Negotiations cannot be successful unless the parties are treated on a footing of equality. The frantic calls for the lifting of the arms embargo on the Bosnian Muslim side and for air strikes against the Bosnian Serbs, calls which have, unfortunately, been repeated in today's debate, give rise to overwhelming concerns.”
1994-04-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3370 (1994) · source
“Yugoslavia welcomes the renewed efforts at the beginning of this week directed towards the resumption of the peace process and the active participation of the United Nations, the European Union, the Russian Federation and the United States in the search for a lasting and just solution. The activities of the newly created Contact Group could be a step in the right direction. However, the reservations of some countries regarding the initiatives for resolving the conflict in Bosnia and Herzegovina by peaceful means and the persistence of threats and punitive measures against the Bosnian Serbs give rise to major concerns.”
1994-04-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3370 (1994) · source
“Unfortunately, encouraged by the biased stand of some influential members of the international community, the Bosnian Muslims rejected this opportunity for peace and chose to pursue their war option. By constant provocations designed to entice a Bosnian Serb retaliation, they sought to provoke a foreign military intervention. The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia will continue to do its utmost to contribute to a peaceful and just solution to the crisis and to bring about an end to this tragic war. The leadership of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and its two Republics has, throughout the conflict in Bosnia and Herzegovina, invested efforts towards finding a peaceful solution, and, within their powers, towards influencing the Bosnian Serbs to make bitter compromises and concessions.”
1994-04-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3370 (1994) · source
“Only the urgent and unconditional cessation of all hostilities, without prejudice to the final political solution, can pave the way for the resumption of the peace process and the renewal of the negotiations. The Bosnian Serbs have throughout shown a willingness to negotiate seriously and accept painful compromises so that a fair and lasting political solution can 32 be reached. In order to reach such a result, it is necessary that the other sides approach the negotiations in the same manner. At the end of 1993 and at the beginning of this year the Bosnian Serb leadership accepted the European Union plan of action as a basis for the resolution of the conflict.”
1994-04-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3370 (1994) · source
“As the Government of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia has stated since the beginning of the conflict, peace can be achieved only through a negotiated, comprehensive solution which takes into account the vital interests of the three constituent peoples on a basis of equality. At this very delicate and volatile stage, the Security Council should resist the attempts by some delegations to use it as a springboard for propaganda purposes intended to satisfy domestic political needs. This type of exercise will not contribute to an urgent cessation of the hostilities. All efforts must now be concerted to establish a comprehensive cease-fire throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina.”
1994-04-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3370 (1994) · source
“To succumb to any temptation to try to resolve the conflict by resorting to foreign military intervention, punitive air strikes or lifting of the arms embargo can only lead to an uncontrollable escalation of the war. It has been said on many occasions in the Security Council that the conflict in Bosnia and Herzegovina cannot be resolved by military means. It is therefore surprising that in today's debate there are still those who keep alive the illusion that a solution can be achieved in this way. There can be no winners in a civil war, and no party can possibly hope to impose its will on the others. The pursuit of such goals can only result in further pain and suffering.”
1994-04-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3370 (1994) · source
“Mr. Djokic: Less than a week ago I had the opportunity to address the Security Council and put forward the views of the Government of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia concerning the situation in former Bosnia and Herzegovina. At the time it was said that the Security Council once again found itself at a crucial juncture in addressing the very tragic situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It can either pursue the path of peace and work towards a comprehensive negotiated settlement or it can opt for the escalation of the war, with unforeseeable consequences. In this critical phase it is indeed imperative that the international community and the Security Council do everything in their power to facilitate a negotiated settlement of the tragic and complex civil war in Bosnia and Herzegovina.”
1994-04-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3370 (1994) · source
“On the contrary, such outbursts against and vilification of the whole Serbian people are designed to incite a foreign military intervention and align the United Nations on the side of one party in the civil war. By constantly fuelling the hopes of lifting the arms embargo, of air strikes and even of full-scale intervention, these delegations are not contributing to ending the ethnic and civil war, but are, on the contrary, generating a further escalation of the flames of war. Peace in Bosnia cannot be achieved through military means or by threatening and punishing one side with air strikes while encouraging the other side to continue with its provocations. The only possible solution was, still is and must be a political and negotiated one.”
1994-04-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3367 (1994) · source
“To that end, the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia will continue to render necessary support to all constructive efforts in finding a just political solution to the crisis. In connection with some of the statements made during our debate this evening, my delegation would like to make the following comments: We categorically reject the untrue and malicious qualifications and unsubstantiated allegations that have been expressed by certain delegations during this debate. The situation in Bosnia is far too serious for this Council to be manipulated for the satisfaction of domestic political propaganda. Those delegations that have chosen to advance uncorroborated allegations have by their biased position shown their true intentions, which are not directed towards reaching a just and lasting peaceful solution.”
1994-04-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3367 (1994) · source
“What is the most important in this moment is that the Security Council give full support to an urgent, unconditional cessation of all hostilities and that a comprehensive cease-fire be reached without prejudice to the final political solution, which can be arrived at only through negotiations on the basis of equality, and this implies also the lifting of sanctions. Instead of the policy of double standards, it is necessary for all international factors to take impartial stands. Consistent with its principled and peaceful policy in solving the crisis in former Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia is vitally interested in the easing of the present tensions and the attainment of an unconditional and urgent cessation of hostilities.”
1994-04-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3367 (1994) · source
“Calls for the lifting of the arms embargo against the Bosnian Muslims and offensive air strikes against the Bosnian Serbs can only lead to a very dangerous and uncontrollable escalation of the conflict, with increased chances of its spreading to other regions. If this were to be accepted, the United Nations would become fully engaged on one side in the civil war. Once again the Security Council finds itself at the crucial juncture. Either it can pursue the path of peace and work towards a negotiated settlement or it can opt for an escalation of the war with unforeseeable consequences. In this very dangerous and delicate phase, it is vital that the Council demonstrate wisdom and statesmanship as well as restraint. Any hasty measures might provoke an uncontrollable chain of events, which should certainly be avoided.”
1994-04-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3367 (1994) · source