YouSaid · the spoken record

KOVANDA

lines on the record: 460
first: 1994-01-06
most recent: 1996-01-24
sittings or episodes: 65
sources: un-security-council

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“We warn Pale: they do not have a free hunting licence to perpetrate any imaginable outrage in the territory they control. The Bosnian Serb leadership spits in the face of public opinion and international diplomacy in other ways as well. Time and again, international mediators have come up with proposals for a peaceful settlement of the fighting in the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina. These proposals may not have been perfect; but realistic, workable solutions of problems are seldom perfect. Indeed, one sign of a good bargain is that nobody is completely happy with it. Even so, the Bosnian Serbs have rejected every single proposal international negotiators have come up with for ending the war. Most recently, they have rejected the territorial settlement proposed by the Contact Group. This proposal, too, is not perfect.”
1994-09-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3428 (1994) · source
“Not only has ethnic cleansing not ceased, it has escalated in recent weeks, so much so that The New York Times, for one, has described its recent episodes, in the areas of Banja Luka and Bijeljina, as the worst in almost two years. The Council reiterates the personal responsibility of the perpetrators of ethnic cleansing. The International Tribunal on the former Yugoslavia, slowly though it may be grinding its way to justice, will surely get there. Just retribution will be meted out to all those responsible. Perhaps in retaliation for their growing difficulties, Pale has decided to apply a choke hold on Sarajevo and paralyse it by cutting of drinking water, electricity, gas and, as a consequence, as we have just heard, bread.”
1994-09-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3428 (1994) · source
“Having earlier signalled our support for the draft resolution condemning ethnic cleansing, my delegation is proud to co-sponsor the other two draft resolutions as well. Civilized people shudder when reading about the abhorrent practices of "ethnic cleansing". We accord the Bosnian Serbs the dubious distinction of having enriched the vocabulary of our respective languages with this term. The world could have lived with a poorer vocabulary, I am sure. Denouncing ethnic cleansing, wherever and by whomever, is not new for this Council: most recently we denounced it in a presidential statement (S/PRST/1994/50) on 2 September last. Alas, the Bosnian Serbs are deaf and defiant.”
1994-09-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3428 (1994) · source
“Allow me too to congratulate you, Mr. President, on your assumption of office for the month of September and to assure you of the continuing support of our delegation. I should also like to thank Ambassador Vorontsov, the former Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation, for his skilful management of the Council's work last month. His performance was a fitting valedictory after his long years of distinguished participation in the work of our Council, and we wish him all the best in his new assignment. Today we are meeting for perhaps the most significant of the several meetings we have had this year concerning the former Yugoslavia. We have in front of us a collection of no fewer than three draft resolutions, which, to our mind, constitute a package.”
1994-09-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3428 (1994) · source
“And as my delegation has indicated earlier, we demand that all persons who committed, who abetted or who instigated such crimes be brought to justice. Our interest in ensuring an impartial, just and objective investigation of these crimes and the identification of their perpetrators has led us to take an active part in preparing and sponsoring the draft resolution under discussion today. We feel this to be a fitting conclusion to one phase of our work concerning Rwanda. As a Council we will, of course, not stop carefully monitoring the situation. We will be especially looking forward to news about the establishment of the Commission of Experts as called for in the draft resolution and, upon the completion of its work, to the Secretary-General's recommendations for further appropriate steps.”
1994-07-01 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3400 (1994) · source
“We believe that the conflict in Rwanda has led to massive and systematic violations of a whole series of international agreements and conventions - including, to name but a few, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, the Convention on the Rights of the Child - and, it goes almost without saying, of international humanitarian law. Let me also add that we feel that the provisions of the Convention on the Non-Applicability of Statutory Limitations to War Crimes and Crimes against Humanity may well be applicable to circumstances in Rwanda.”
1994-07-01 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3400 (1994) · source
“We appeal for an immediate cessation of the murdering of the civilian population, for an end to the uncontrolled marauding of bandits, and for an end to the incendiary broadcasts of Radio Mille Collines. We also appeal to both sides in the civil war to cease fire, to agree to a truce and to embark on negotiations concerning the future of the country, taking the Arusha Agreement as a basis. Most recently, we welcomed the multinational force organized by France and we are encouraged by news reports about its activities.”
1994-07-01 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3400 (1994) · source
“In his report of 31 May 1994, the Secretary-General corroborated various reports that had been reaching us over the previous week from a number of sources on the extent and the depth of the horror that is Rwanda. We note that it is not all that frequent that one report of the Secretary-General should require two separate resolutions by the Security Council. The fact that the 31 May report is today leading us to seek a second report goes to show the truly exceptional nature of the events in that country. As for the basic humanitarian, political and military framework, let me recapitulate that my delegation has denounced in the harshest terms possible the continuing genocide in Rwanda.”
1994-07-01 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3400 (1994) · source
“Mr. President, allow me to join those who spoke before me in congratulating you on assuming the presidency of the Council for July. I consider it a personal honour and pleasure to be able to thank you, because you have been particularly generous in the friendship you have extended to me. I would be greatly remiss if I did not take this opportunity also to thank and congratulate Ambassador Al- Khussaiby for the work he did in June. Indeed, it appears that the tempo of our work had increased to a remarkable degree. On previous occasions the Czech delegation fully and, we hope, eloquently enough presented its evaluation of what has been going on in Rwanda.”
1994-07-01 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3400 (1994) · source
“There will be more work later connected with mitigating its consequences, with restoring law and order in the country, with the return of displaced persons and refugees, with building State structures, and so forth. This Council and a number of other organs and specialized agencies of the United Nations system will still have a lot of work ahead of them, and we will be ready to help as best we can.”
1994-06-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3388 (1994) · source
“We recall that in resolution 918 (1994) the Security Council requested the Secretary-General to present a report on investigations of serious violations of international humanitarian law, which is bound, of course, to include genocide. Once this report is available, my delegation will want to look beyond the horizon of where we are going today, beyond the horizon of today's draft resolution. We might wish to request the Special Rapporteur for Human Rights to report directly to the Security Council about his findings. We might want to think about a fact-finding mission established by the Security Council itself. Certain Rwandan organizations might be found to amount to criminal organizations. But right now, our efforts are directed at halting the carnage.”
1994-06-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3388 (1994) · source
“The regime in Rwanda has been attempting to do something similar - with machetes instead of gas chambers; with the notorious interhamwe, comparable to the SS, with the Mouvement Republicain National pour la Democratie et le Developpmenent and the Comite Democratique Republicain, comparable to the Nazi party. It was precisely to forestall the reemergence of such regimes that this Organization, the United Nations, was created almost 50 years ago. Our draft resolution today focuses on what we will do next in the field, what UNAMIR will do to help alleviate the misery of the people of Rwanda. This misery was brought about by acts of genocide, reports of which we recall in the preamble. Genocide is a crime, and, to state the obvious, where there is a crime there are criminals.”
1994-06-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3388 (1994) · source
“The Secretary-General plans to review the reactive capacity of the entire United Nations system, and we would propose that providing timely and unvarnished information might be of some help. Such information would help galvanize, rather than paralyse, the international community. I used the word "holocaust" a moment ago, and one does not use that word lightly. But today, as we commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of D-Day, we reflect upon the Second World War as a war directed against a regime which became anathema to the civilized world precisely because of its having unleashed a holocaust.”
1994-06-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3388 (1994) · source
“My delegation is troubled that it has taken so long for the Secretary-General to use this description in his reports, on which the Security Council bases it work so heavily. We are equally confused that even before the outbreak of the holocaust on 6 April, the United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda (UNAMIR) and its representatives had been aware, for example, of inflammatory broadcasts on the local radio, of suspicious movements of armed groups and of an inflow of arms into Rwanda. My delegation feels that if these facts had been forcefully communicated to the Security Council as soon as the Secretariat became aware of them we might have been a step further today. As it is, we agree with the Secretary-General that the international community has reacted with, in his words, "extreme inadequacy" (para. 43) to the situation.”
1994-06-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3388 (1994) · source
“Let me too congratulate you, Sir, on your assumption of the awesome office of President of the Council for this month, and also express appreciation, thanks and congratulations to your predecessor, Ambassador Gambari, who, supported by his very able team, did such a splendid job in leading the Council last month. The draft resolution before us focuses on what more we can do to help mitigate the terrific carnage in Rwanda. This carnage, in its scale, is almost without precedent. This became clear soon after the massacres started in early April. My delegation had already described it in early May, from this seat, as genocide. And now, even the Secretary-General's report has concluded that "there can be little doubt that it constitutes genocide" (S/1994/640, para. 36).”
1994-06-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3388 (1994) · source
“In our experience, we have found that guarantees of democracy include a free press, a market economy, respect for private property and initiative and a civic society - a society of citizens. This, too, is the direction in which we sense South Africa is heading: the emergence of a society based on citizenship, not on one's mother tongue, not on one's tribal affiliation, least of all based on one's skin colour. The Czech Republic, and Czechoslovakia before it, has always supported the struggle of the people of South Africa for a free, multiracial society. We are honoured to have been able to vote today to remove one of the last shackles barring the Republic of South Africa from joining the family of nations as a fully fledged emancipated member. We look forward to completing this process later this year in the General Assembly.”
1994-05-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3379 (1994) · source
“The leaders of South Africa played their important part, and we salute the perseverance, steadfastness and patience of President Nelson Mandela, as well as the courage and determination of Deputy President Frederik de Klerk. And we, the family of nations, played our own modest role in ostracizing the regime of apartheid and imposing sanctions on it, thereby driving it into an isolated corner reserved for pariahs of the world community. Today we are witnessing a new South Africa emerging. For most of its population, it represents the dawn of democracy. This is an experience which people of my country can relate to very well, having themselves brought about a democratic transformation less than five years ago.”
1994-05-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3379 (1994) · source
“My delegation congratulates Nigeria on having seen fit to have you personally, Sir, preside over this particular meeting of the Security Council with this particular agenda, though I assure you that we equally enjoy seeing our good friend Ambassador Gambari in the chair. Sitting at the table with the First Executive Deputy President, Mr. Thabo Mbeki, is a particular honour and pleasure, and my delegation subscribes to the warm welcome you, Mr. President, extended to him on behalf of the Council. Apartheid has fallen, and history will judge who played what role in bringing about its demise. In our estimation, the people of South Africa themselves played the critical part, and we pay homage to those who lost their lives in the process.”
1994-05-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3379 (1994) · source
“Our first concern was for the safety of our vastly outmanned, outgunned, out-macheted and out-mandated UNAMIR. We reduced its strength, but not before losing 10 brave young men. Even with its reduced strength, UNAMIR has managed, among other things, to protect the lives - though hardly much more - of thousands upon thousands of wretched souls in Kigali. My Government salutes the courage of UNAMIR, the martyrdom of its lost comrades and the coolness of its commander. We also salute the indefatigable work of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) continuing efforts of non-governmental organizations, which have done so much to apprise us of the true nature of the conflicts in Rwanda.”
1994-05-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3377 (1994) · source
“After we get the report, we will want to know who is responsible for the atrocities. Then we will want to know how those responsible will be brought to justice. For surely they cannot avoid justice. Today, my delegation cosponsored a decision to move back into Rwanda - too late, for sure, for the hundreds of thousands who have lost their lives already, but in time, we hope, to curtail the continuation of brutalities. We are deciding to strengthen UNAMIR's numbers and to strengthen its mandate. Its first priority is to help the unfortunates who are in distress and danger in the hinterland. UNAMIR will not get involved in the civil war, even though a cease-fire would surely make its humanitarian job easier. Last month, the Security Council was in absolute shock, stunned with disbelief at the viciousness of the massacres that broke out.”
1994-05-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3377 (1994) · source
“They have been committed by elements of the Rwandese Government Forces loyal to him. They have been committed by the militia, the Gendarmerie. They have been committed on orders of people close to President Habyarimana and at the instigation of the incendiary broadcasts of Radio Milles Collines. This radio station is private but it is owned by people close to the late President. Let there be no mistake: The mass media incitement to ethnic hatred mentioned in the preamble to our resolution has Radio Milles Collines specifically in mind. 16 We have requested the Secretary-General to present a report on investigations of the atrocities. Ambassador Ayala Lasso, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, is already actively involved with this issue.”
1994-05-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3377 (1994) · source
“Hence the real innocence of those whom we all too automatically describe as "innocent civilians". The Arusha agreements of 1993 pointed a way to resolving the civil conflict. As a consequence of the Arusha Agreement, the Government controlled by President Habyarimana was expanded to include noted personalities who had opposed him politically. Foremost among them was the Prime Minister, Mrs. Agathe Uwilingiyimana. It bears recalling that she and other Hutu opposition personalities were among the first to fall victim to the horror unleashed by President Habyarimana's supporters after his death. By whom? Who is it who has been committing these unspeakable atrocities? Certainly not the Rwandan people at large, Hutu or otherwise. These atrocities have been committed by the Presidential Guard created by President Habyarimana.”
1994-05-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3377 (1994) · source
“So we have some 200,000 Tutsi lives lost, out of a total population of about 1 million - 20 per cent of all of Rwanda's Tutsis. Each of us can figure out how many lives such a percentage would represent in his own country for his own people. This situation is being described as a humanitarian crisis as though it were a famine or perhaps a natural disaster. In the view of my delegation, the proper description is genocide. Now, as is well known, a civil war has been raging in Rwanda as well since 1990. But even a civil war, however awful by itself, is no excuse - never mind justification - for genocide. And, civil war or not, the hundreds of thousands of civilians who have fallen victim to the butchers were not at the front lines but far in the hinterland, with no visible connection to the RPF except for their ethnic background.”
1994-05-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3377 (1994) · source
“These are just some of the massacres which we know of, thanks mostly to human rights organizations and the Catholic Church. One can only extrapolate the total number of victims. The Secretary-General has offered the estimate of 200,000 dead. All reports indicate that these atrocities have been committed by Hutu cutthroats - and seldom has this word been so literally the right one - against their Tutsi neighbours. Now, there are those who would apportion blame "evenly"; those who would argue that there must also have been Tutsi atrocities against Hutus in this past 15 month. And indeed, human rights organizations have assiduously sought direct evidence of massacres in territories controlled by the largely Tutsi Rwandese Patriotic Front (RPF). So far, they have found very little such evidence.”
1994-05-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3377 (1994) · source
“The crocodiles in the Kagera river and the vultures over Rwanda have seldom had it so good. They are feeding on the bodies of the thousands upon thousands of children and women, hundreds of whom were pregnant, and men who have been hacked to death during the past six weeks by what has turned out to be a most vicious regime. The massacres include 4,000 killed in Kibeho; 5,500 butchered in Cyahinda; 800 assassinated in Kiziguru; 500 slain in Rukira; 2,500 slaughtered in Kibungo; another 4,000 have been murdered in Shangi, a parish in Cyangugu, and 2,000 in Mibirizi, also in Cyangugu. This is the same Cyangugu where many thousands have apparently been trapped for weeks on end in a stadium without any relief. Surely one wonders whether the dead are not better off than the living.”
1994-05-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3377 (1994) · source
“The Czech Republic is one of the 19 countries whose officers are serving as military observers with ONUMOZ, one of the total of 30 countries that provide ONUMOZ with personnel. We are proud to be able to make our modest contribution to the peace process in that country, and I pay a tribute here to the entire United Nations operation, including troops, military observers, civilian police and, last but certainly not least, the United Nations humanitarian assistance programme.”
1994-05-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3375 (1994) · source
“With the experience of South Africa behind us, we point out the importance of voter education, the pitfalls in voter registration and the need to ensure voting opportunities even in the most remote parts of the country. The continuing role of the United Nations in assisting Mozambique's passage from virtual chaos to elections is unmistakable. It is very encouraging to see that the end of this passage is in sight. In the last couple of years, the United Nations has launched a dozen or so peace-keeping operations. Successfully closing down an important operation, which our resolution foreshadows for ONUMOZ, will be an important marker not only for Mozambique but for the Security Council and the United Nations system as well.”
1994-05-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3375 (1994) · source
“Indeed, leaders of both sides have recently met and agreed that the Government would accelerate the assembly of its troops and that RENAMO would accelerate the pace of its own demobilization. All of this is encouraging. The overall question perhaps is: Is the glass half full or half empty? My delegation thinks it prudent to watch for deeds rather than words, and looking at deeds - that is to say, at the situation in the field - we fear that the glass is still only half empty. We will be carefully watching the speed with which more content dribbles into it. The Secretary-General's thorough and well-balanced report also points out the practical difficulties that the National Election Commission might face.”
1994-05-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3375 (1994) · source
“Its creation is critical not only as a symbol of a new country but also practically, for example in combating the alarming rise in banditry and in protecting the transport corridors which are essential for Mozambique as well as for neighbouring land-locked countries. On the other hand, there is a political side to developments in Mozambique. In this context it is particularly important that an election date has been set for 27 and 28 October. This gives us a firm point to aim for. The speed of military and organizational developments preceding the elections has to be geared towards meeting that date, and the expressed determination of the parties to accelerate the implementation of the Accordos da Paz creates a helpful milieu for the elections to be successful.”
1994-05-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3375 (1994) · source
“One would expect, though, that in view of its late start demobilization would progress at an appropriately accelerated pace. Instead, it has recently slowed down. Assembly of the remaining troops is at a near standstill. Delays in the disbanding of over 150,000 militia and paramilitary forces are worrisome. There are problems with verifying military equipment at various installations. Both sides are in control of certain military bases, which they are keeping off-limits to the United Nations Operation in Mozambique (ONUMOZ). The creation of the new Mozambican Defence Force is also continuing more slowly than anticipated.”
1994-05-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3375 (1994) · source
“Elections were held, but one party refused to abide by their outcome, and fighting in the country resumed. Protracted negotiations between the antagonists are continuing in Lusaka. With protracted negotiations, the fighting has been protracted as well. There is one lesson we have learned from developments in Angola - namely, it improves the chances of an orderly transition if the armed antagonists are demobilized prior to elections. This lesson is being applied in Mozambique. Some progress has been made since we discussed the situation in that country last time. Still, we are troubled by continuing signs of laxity in meeting the pre-election commitments of the parties. Demobilization started only in March, rather than in January, and nothing can be done about that now.”
1994-05-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3375 (1994) · source
“My delegation is appalled by the situation in that country and has been shocked by the fact that neither the Security Council nor the Secretariat has so far managed to describe the massacres in Rwanda by the only word that fits them - namely, genocide. On the other end of the spectrum, there are the heartening developments in the Republic of South Africa. Despite all their flaws, we feel that the recent elections, which some of our own officials observed, will be certified as having been free and fair. We are encouraged that the level of pre-election violence, however tragic, was manageable, and we congratulate the new leadership of the country and wish it well. Somewhere between these two poles are Angola and Mozambique. The situation in Angola continues to be unclear.”
1994-05-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3375 (1994) · source
“My delegation would first wish to congratulate you, Mr. President, on assuming office. You have successfully steered several other bodies of these United Nations, during which time you have amply demonstrated your leadership abilities - abilities which include your much-appreciated sense of humour. Allow me too to thank my good friend Ambassador Colin Keating, who last month dealt with several vexing, important and difficult questions with enthusiasm and with great dedication. Different countries of the cone of Africa south of the Equator are facing an exceptionally broad array of political circumstances at this moment. On the one end of the spectrum, there is the hell of Rwanda.”
1994-05-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3375 (1994) · source
“And yet the bottom line remains a_ peaceful settlement through negotiations: negotiations of parties that do not use negotiations as a military ploy; negotiations in good faith; negotiations directed at ending the war, not at creating a smokescreen for furthering it. Some time from now, perhaps for its fiftieth birthday, the United Nations might be presented by the Government of Bosnia and Herzegovina with a piece of art called, for example, "The Fall of Gorazde". It could, for example, be exhibited in the vicinity of Picasso's "Guernica", which, of course, commemorates the fall of another city, in another country, in another war, some 60 years or so ago. It was, of course, only coincidental that by the time Guernica fell the League of Nations had become quite moribund.”
1994-04-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3367 (1994) · source
“We do not see air strikes as automatically expanding into an all-out ground war of the rest of the world against the Serbian party. The key to what happens is, and always has been, in the hands of Bosnian Serbs and their allies. Their future depends on their behaviour. Latest developments give us hope that measures taken by the Security Council will finally, perhaps, acquire some punch, that resolutions will finally be worth more than the paper they are written on and that assaults by Bosnian Serb forces, if they continue, will be answered by more than words, by more, even than pinpricks.”
1994-04-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3367 (1994) · source
“In this regard, we are delighted with the Secretary-General's letter to Secretary-General Wormer of NATO, even though we wish it could have been written earlier, and we are heartened by the initial positive signals from Brussels. We have also noted as very encouraging the latest turn in the United States position concerning the situation. The Russian Federation has an important role to play as well. The extent of its influence on the Bosnian Serb party remains to be gauged accurately, but we rather hope that this influence is considerable and do not doubt that it will be used to further an overall peaceful settlement. We do not see air strikes as being a possibility which, if made available to the United Nations, would be used automatically.”
1994-04-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3367 (1994) · source
“Any New York policeman would have seen through this ploy, for surely the "good cop-bad cop" trick was not invented in the former Yugoslavia. But the time for tricks is rapidly coming to an end, and some members have expressed this very eloquently in 46 recent days. Our draft resolution, too, pillories the Bosnian Serb leaders for their failure to negotiate in good faith and to uphold their commitments. As_ the Secretary-General observed recently to the Council, the Bosnian Serb authorities are using negotiations as a military ploy. It is time now for the international community to be serious about using military force as a negotiating ploy.”
1994-04-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3367 (1994) · source
“My delegation, for one, is not at all sure that the information the Council has been receiving has always been the best, the most accurate, the timeliest or even the most objective possible. But, of course, the limits to what the Security Council does and can do are determined principally by other factors. We are glad to see that more and more countries that are members of the Security Council are waking up to the true character of the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina and to the true character of the Bosnian Serb leaders. The bizarre picture of a President hiding behind a doctor and a doctor hiding behind a general has served, for a time, to sow confusion and to disorient the United Nations and its representatives on the spot - only for a time, though.”
1994-04-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3367 (1994) · source
“This is the third time - or is it the fourth? - in as many months that we are discussing the situation prevailing in one or another city of Bosnia and Herzegovina: the massacre of Sarajevo, the strangulation of Maglaj, and now the pounding of Gorazde. Is it going to be Zepa next time? Or perhaps Srebrenica? Or perhaps another part of Bosnian geography which has not yet become a part of our political vocabulary? My delegation is chagrined that we always seem to have to get to the brink, if not beyond the brink, of a specific tragedy before we can get our act together in this room. Haven't Bosnian authorities been heralding the danger to Gorazde for weeks already? Have we forgotten how, before the Serbian forces put a choke-hold on the city, the information that officially reached the Security Council pooh-poohed the danger?”
1994-04-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3367 (1994) · source
“This was again brought to our attention by President Izetbegovic in letters addressed yesterday to you, Mr. President, and to Mr. Akashi. My delegation cannot but regret that some of the energy the Council devoted to the almost moot issue of Maglaj was not spent on what appears to be an even worse situation - if only because it is taking place outside the spotlight of international attention - in Banjaluka. This is a good time to recall that "ethnic cleansing", with all its barbaric brutality, has not stopped. As war efforts collapse in Bosnia and Herzegovina and in Croatia, the international community will be facing the difficult challenge of deciding how to rectify its abhorrent results. The time for that is not far off.”
1994-03-31 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3356 (1994) · source
“However, my delegation came to realize that certain delegations found it impossible to make the distinction between the military view of what is safe and the political and psychological view of what it means to declare an area safe, and we therefore did not insist that Maglaj be declared a safe area. Moreover, it transpires that this city is no longer besieged and that, on the contrary, Bosnian Government troops have actually been engaged in counter- offensive moves from Maglaj. On the other hand, my delegation has been distressed by reports, mostly in the press, concerning Banjaluka. This city which, like Sarajevo, used to be a true crossroads of ethnic groups, cultures and religions, has been firmly in the hands of ethnic Serbs for some time now, and "ethnic cleansing" apparently continues unabated there.”
1994-03-31 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3356 (1994) · source
“In response, the Secretary-General averred that no fewer than 1,500 additional troops would be needed to turn Maglaj into a safe area. Frankly, this came as a surprise to us. Of the safe areas other than Sarajevo, which one is being protected by a force comparable to that wanted for Maglaj? Certainly not Srebrenica, with its 300 men, and certainly not Zepa with perhaps eight. Or, to turn the question around, how many more troops would be needed to give other safe areas the protection that the 1,500 troops would have afforded Maglaj? Experience has shown that declaring an area safe contributes, in and of itself, to its safety, whether or not it is truly safe from the military point of view.”
1994-03-31 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3356 (1994) · source
“Last summer members of the so-called Central European Initiative - then including Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia - made this point in a letter addressed to the President of the Security Council. We are delighted that our draft resolution today reiterates the importance of this pipeline, and even more delighted that the time is more propitious for its possible reopening. War has not touched it, and only political will is needed to have it operational in a couple of days. My delegation followed with extraordinary interest the debate over declaring the area of Maglaj a safe area. This possibility was foreshadowed in Security Council resolution 900 (1994).”
1994-03-31 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3356 (1994) · source
“Let us salute UNPROFOR and its commanders for the marvellous job they are doing under tough and changing circumstances, pay homage to those who have sacrificed their lives and extend our best wishes for speedy recovery to those who have been injured. One paragraph of our draft resolution urges the Republic of Croatia and Serb authorities in the regions of Krajina to reactivate their so-called Joint Commission process. The Joint Commission would logically pick up where the cease-fire agreement left off. One logical next step includes confidence-building measures, in particular attention to communications and infrastructure. In this context, the Adria pipeline is of especial importance, not only to the economy of Croatia, but to the economies of other countries of the region.”
1994-03-31 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3356 (1994) · source
“Yet it is equally hard to imagine that these countries anticipated that an overall peace agreement would be reached in one fell swoop, rather than piecemeal, in an arena where even the casual observer detects at least seven distinct adversaries. With just short of 1,000 men as part of UNPROFOR, the Czech Republic is making its modest contribution to peace in Croatia. Our original infantry battalion is being transformed into a mechanized infantry battalion, one company of which stands ready to be transferred to Bosnia and Herzegovina. We subscribe to the appeal of our resolution that States assist the Secretary-General in finding the resources needed to beef up UNPROFOR. And, by the way, we would also hope that Member States meet their financial obligations in this respect.”
1994-03-31 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3356 (1994) · source
“The dynamics of peace is faster than the dynamics of troop authorization, not to speak of troop deployment. The Security Council is facing a novel pitfall: too much peace all at once. We're choking on too much peace. This idea is of course absurd, but my delegation does not understand the position of some countries which have been pushing for a peace agreement, indicating all along that they would be prepared to support it with a major troop deployment. Now, with pieces of peace at hand, they seem to be reluctant. It is hard to imagine that these countries would have been ready to send thousands of troops if an overall peace were established today.”
1994-03-31 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3356 (1994) · source
“It is appropriate here to acknowledge the remarkable role played by United States and Russian diplomacy, the European Union as well as by the Co-Chairmen of the Geneva Conference and the Special Representative, Mr. Yasushi Akashi. The rub of peace breaking out is that UNPROFOR is faced with a new situation. Let us recall that this is the largest force that the United Nations is fielding anywhere today. Even so, it has been stretched thin, as the Secretary- General never fails to remind us. It has been stretched thin to do the protection job which is a part of its name. And today it is about to be stretched even thinner as parties call on it to help implement the various cease-fires they are agreeing upon both in Bosnia and Herzegovina and in Croatia.”
1994-03-31 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3356 (1994) · source
“Then came the Washington agreements between the Bosniacs and Croats of Bosnia to forge a federation, and between those two communities and the Republic of Croatia to form a confederation. During these encouraging past few weeks, however, the question that troubled many of us concerned the attitude of the Serbs. Was the January agreement between the Republic of Croatia and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro) just a flash in the pan or was it a harbinger of things to come? Now it seems that truly major progress has been accomplished in Croatia with the cease-fire between the Republic of Croatia and the Krajina Serbs. This agreement seems at first blush to be too complicated not to be meant seriously. We can only welcome the earnestness of the parties and their obvious determination.”
1994-03-31 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3356 (1994) · source
“We are considering today the fifty-fifth resolution on matters related to the former Yugoslavia and we are considering it in an atmosphere very different to that to which we are accustomed. With hindsight, it appears that the world's reaction to the Sarajevo marketplace massacre on 5 February was a turning point in the war. The exhaustion of economic power and manpower, and of willpower to continue the fighting, has undermined the resolve of the belligerents and cooler heads appear to have gained the upper hand. The determination of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization to support the peace process has been splendid in its results. As a consequence, peace is breaking out. First Sarajevo experienced a respite, and how gratifying it was to see United Nations troops soundly beaten there in soccer.”
1994-03-31 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3356 (1994) · source
“Another one is southern Ossetia, where the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE) is very much involved. The two situations, of course, cannot help but influence each other. This in turn underlines the importance of cooperation between the United Nations and the CSCE. The early appointment of a liaison officer between the two organizations on the spot, as recently recommended by the CSCE's Committee of Senior Officials, should be the next practical manifestation of that cooperation.”
1994-03-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3354 (1994) · source