Bosnia: end the embargo
In Bosnia today we see another example of how the so-called "international community's" insistence on being the prime agent for imposing solutions on "world trouble spots" almost always increases the suffering and hardship that people are already enduring.
Firstly, in an attempt to prevent Germany emerging as the main power broker in the region, the US successfully lobbied to get the UN to postpone recognition of Slovenia and Croatia following big votes for independence at referenda in the two countries. At the same time, an arms embargo was imposed on a Yugoslavia that no longer existed. This meant that Serbia, which inherited the old Yugoslav army's military equipment, was able to wage war against an underequipped Croatia. As a result, Serbia annexed large parts of eastern Croatia, "ethnically cleansing" the region at the same time.
The later stationing of UN troops in Croatia simply legitimised the Serbian encroachments and made it clear that even "ethnic cleansing" would be tolerated.
As soon as Bosnia also declared its independence, the Serbian regime, concerned about losing control over the large armaments industries in Bosnia, launched another military drive aimed at annexing large areas of Bosnia. Again the UN, under US pressure, maintained an arms embargo against the victim and an "equal" embargo against an aggressor who didn't need additional arms.
The UN's Vance-Owen plan set a framework for an even worse escalation of violence inside Bosnia. The scheme proposed dividing Bosnia into Serbian, Croatian and Muslim sections. This automatically played into the hands of the conservative and chauvinist wings in each of the three communities, but especially the Bosnian Serb chauvinists.
There are, in fact, more Serbs in the Bosnian armed forces than in the chauvinist forces of Rodovan Karadzic. There remains a large section of the Bosnian population who favour a multi-ethnic, independent Bosnia. However, the UN policy of maintaining an arms embargo on Bosnia has meant that the numerically much smaller forces of Karadzic, equipped as they are with heavy armaments and tanks from across the border in Serbia, have been able to gobble up even more territory, widening even further the brutal policy of ethnic cleansing.
This situation has encouraged the chauvinist elements among Croatians to also use violence to make sure they get something in the carve-up.
Having helped exacerbate the conflict, the US now starts talking about how it may be necessary to use force to resolve the situation!
Any intervention by US or NATO forces (including under the guise of the UN) would really be aimed at increasing US influence in the region. Such intervention would only fan the flames of Serbian ng their hold on Serbian public opinion.
However, the calls from the Bosnian government and the majority of the Bosnian people, from all ethnic groups, to be allowed to defend themselves should be heard. The arms embargo against Bosnia should be lifted. Only by giving the Bosnian government and people the ability to defend themselves can we expect there to be real peace talks and real cease-fires.