THE WAR in Bosnia has reached a new stage. The Bosnian government has decided to try to relieve Sarajevo before the winter.
Much of their ambiguity towards UN forces has yult.
Instead of trying to play the UN off against Serbian forces they have realised. at long last, that the UN has is own agenda and Is nol going to be trapped into theirs.
Direct
An important result of this policy shift is that they are calling for the lifting of the arms embargo in alar more direct way, and telling the UN that if the price of lifting the embargo is that the UN would leave then they should go as soon as possible - and take the embargo with them!
It is impossible to tell if the BH army is capable of population this winter. breaking the seige of Sarajevo since the balance of heavy weapons remains heavily against them.
Recapture What is clear is that they are closed. feel that despite new supplies of arms from by the UN in any of its Milosevic to the Bosnian Serb forces they now have the military capability to begin taking back some of the ready realised that this occupied lands This will be bolstered further if as expected Croatia fence. launches a campaign before the end of the summer to recover the almost one third of Croatia still occupied by the Serbs.
sooner the better.
What is also clear is that unless there is a dramatic change in the political and the Balkans Tony Benn and military situation far worse Tam Dalyell argued that the horrors await the Bosnian war in Bosnia is simply a civil war between the differAlready there is actual Cent nationalities. starvation in some of the enclaves, particularly Bihac. We should oppose sending Sarajevo itself is little bet- more U.N. troops and should ter. There is no electricity demand maintenance of the and little water. Both the arms embargo. The only peoairport and all aid routes ple who will benefit from lifting the arms embargo are the Nor will this be improved 'merchants of death'. All we can do is argue in favour of guises - UNPROFOR or the humanitarian aid. so-called rapid reaction All of this was accompanied force. The Bosnians have al- by stridently anti-German sentiments, including from Tony force is not rapid nor is it Benn. For Benn the war in Bosgoing to react in their denia (and previously in Croatia) was the result of a German plot Its purpose is better proto break-up the former Yugotection for the UN forces themselves and/or to cover slavia.
Micnael Foot's support for a UN withdrawal - and the the people of Bosnia was reINITE of what has happened to the document once considered central to the programme of Protected on his left flank by his SACP allies, Mandela has been able to throw it into This is by no means all. Forgotten are the demands of the Freedom Charter for the nationalisation of key sectors Last October the cabinet announced a six-point plan to COSATU fighting anti-union laws, transform the public sector. It Reign investment and stock exincluded the possibility of prichange activity. Meanwhile, vatisation of government assets the economy continues to - ranging from surplus cars, other equipment and buildings, stagnate.
In the Eastern Cape, the cradle of the liberation moveOf course, national and inment, with 23 per cent average ternational capital are enthusi- unemployment, each person astic about these developments. in work supports four other They see a chance to revive people. Life expectancy is 59 the previous regime's pro- years. Infant mortality is 58.2 gramme of privatisation of the per 1,000 live births. major parastatals, giving them Buthelezi is still stirring new opportunities to take over things up with his spurious deprofitable functions of the namand for self-determination tionalised sectors, greater for-