Bosnia after Dayton - Anthony Lake, Asst. to the President for National Security Affairs - Transcript

US Department of State Dispatch, June 24, 1996

Six months ago today in Paris, the leaders of Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, and Serbia made a fateful decision: to turn Bosnia from the horror of war to the promise of peace.

Many of you in this room closely followed the Dayton negotiations that produced the peace accord. You know that literally until the last minute the outcome was in doubt--indeed, our negotiators had their bags packed and in the early morning hours were ready to head home without an agreement. But the Balkan leaders decided in the end to make peace. They did so because in the cold light of that Dayton dawn the alternative simply was too terrible to pursue: renewed war, with all the horrors that come with it--skeletal prisoners, mass graves, endless lines of refugees, economic chaos, international isolation, a wasted future.

Understanding the alternatives makes it easier to take difficult steps, and since Dayton, that is what has kept the parties moving forward along the path to a lasting peace--slowly, grudgingly, sometimes two steps forward and one step back, but moving forward. For 3 1/2 years, the people of Bosnia lived the day-in, day-out destruction of war. These past six months, they have begun to enjoy the quiet blessings of peace. The more they understand the choice between war and peace--the starker it seems--the more likely peace will endure.

With that dynamic in mind, I'd like to discuss with you today what we've accomplished since Dayton, what we haven't accomplished, and the hard work that lies ahead. I don't want to play down the disappointments we've encountered so far or the difficulties we still have to face. Freedom of movement, of expression, and of association are not nearly as free as they should be. Indicted war criminals, most notably Radovan Karadzic and General Mladic, have not been turned over to the War Crimes Tribunal or fully withdrawn from authority. Fewer refugees have returned home than we would like. Economic activity is just resuming.

But I would ask everyone here first to step back for just a moment and look at the central facts: One year ago, war raged in Bosnia--the worst war in Europe since World War II. Today, there is peace--a very fragile, imperfect peace, to be sure, but peace. That change--from war to peace--is the single-most important fact of life for the people of Bosnia. It means that killing fields are once again playgrounds; that cafes and marketplaces are full of life, not death; that running an errand doesn't mean running a death race against snipers and shells; that women are no longer prey to systematic campaigns of rape and terror; that the water and lights are on; and that there is shelter from the wind and the cold. Peace means all these very basic things. As we work to make sure peace endures, we must not lose sight of its reality.

Thus far, the peace has held because IFOR--the NATO Implementation Force--has done its carefully defined job--and done it very well. In the days after Dayton, when President Clinton committed 20,000 American troops to lead a 60,000-strong IFOR force, the skeptics predicted gloom and doom. They warned of terrorism, renewed fighting, American casualties, and embarrassing retreat.

The reality has been the opposite. IFOR has maintained the cease-fire and compelled the parties to pull back their forces and weapons from a three-mile-wide separation zone without significant incident. Nearly all heavy weapons have been placed under IFOR supervision, and many will be destroyed as part of the arms control agreement to be signed in the next few days. Already, more than 100,000 soldiers not based in barracks have been demobilized. And hundreds of square miles of territory were transferred from one entity to another without a shot being fired.

IFOR also has stopped the widespread killing of civilians and restored security to Sarajevo, where people now walk the streets in safety. Virtually all prisoners of war have been released, and those few still in custody are being held as war crimes suspects. IFOR has moved aggressively to take down internal checkpoints and, while far from perfect, freedom of movement has improved--between 10,000 and 15,000 people cross the boundary between the Bosnia-Croat Federation and the Serb Republic every day.

As the climate in Bosnia becomes more secure, humanitarian assistance and reconstruction efforts have begun--slowly--to improve the lives of its people. On the American side alone, we've already spent $86 million in "Quick Impact" aid the President announced after Dayton--restoring heat, hot water, and electricity and providing medicine and winter clothing for hundreds of thousands of Bosnians. The recent Donors' Conference in Brussels added $1.2 billion to the $600 million raised earlier for Bosnian economic recovery--including an American pledge of $200 million in reconstruction aid for this fiscal year, in addition to over $350 million in humanitarian aid, support for elections, demining, and other initiatives.

As I speak to you, dozens of projects are underway--to build new housing; to rehabilitate utilities, schools, community centers; to fix roads and factories--that will have a tangible impact on the way people live. To cite just a few examples, we have a program up and running to repair 2,500 homes for 12,500 people in 44 villages which will also provide 2,000 new jobs. Next month, we will begin spending $70 million to rebuild Bosnia's economic infrastructure. And we'll start disbursing an equal amount in loans to small businesses and industrial enterprises to jump-start the economy, create jobs, and spur growth.