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SARAJEVO, April 23 (ONASA) - U.S. Ambassador to BiH Thomas Miller said on Monday that for the first time since he was appointed to this function, he witnesses a full consensus inside the international community when approaching some problem, in this case the solving of the Croat issue in BiH. "I think that one of the tactics of the Croat Democratic Union (HDZ) is searching different stands at the international community, but so far they failed and that is probably frustrating for them," Miller told journalists in Sarajevo. Ambassador Miller last week visited Washington and met senior U.S. officials engaged on the Balkans problem, including Secretary of State Colin Powell and Secretary of Defense Ronald Rumsfeld on the future policy of the U.S. government in BiH, especially regarding HDZ. Miller said that he presently does not consider a possibility of requesting the abolishment of HDZ, as he did with the Serb Democratic Party (SDS) last year, but will focus attention on radical leaders of this party. "The legally elected authority in BiH, which is for the first time a partner to the international community, should conduct dialogue with HDZ, and not anyone from the international community." "We clearly distinguish the Croat nation in BiH on one and some of HDZ leaders on other side, who work on damage of their people. The government of my country understands the needs of Croat nation, but strongly condemns terrorist acts of HDZ," Miller said. Commenting the violence in Herzegovina, initiated by the action of SFOR and the Office of the High Representative in the seat and branches of Herzegovacka Banka, Ambassador Miller said that "no violence would have occurred if HDZ did not have something to hide and that the goal of this violence is provocation of the international community." "But, the provocation will not succeed. I am convinced that time is against them," he said, adding that Croat nation abides the biggest damages due to the HDZ reactions. "You don't have to be a neurosurgeon or atomic physician to see that HDZ did not bring much good to Croat nation. Finally, they (HDZ officials) have only withdrawn from the authority institutions and were not expelled. When 190,000 people who voted for HDZ complains that they fail of their representatives in the authority, they will have to turn to the party." Speaking on total situation in BiH and the announcements on withdrawal of the U.S. forces from BiH, Ambassador Miller said the situation significantly changed in terms of "natural threat to stability" in last few years, due to which it is necessary to accommodate the U.S. presence in the actual situation. He said the new U.S. administration is equally decisive as the one earlier in intention to persist in the request for arresting suspected for war crimes, especially Radovan Karadzic, former leader of Bosnian Serbs. "I have explained the new administration that Karadzic's arrest is not just the question of justice. As long as he is free, it is a sign to the SDS members and supporters, especially those in eastern Republika Srpska, that they can further use the state-owned companies for the needs of SDS." Regarding the new RS government, Ambassador Miller said it presents a positive change when the word is on the efforts of economic revival, but the U.S. are further dissatisfied with the return and privatization process in RS, as well as cooperation with the Hague tribunal. He rejected claims of RS officials that this entity is presently much more stabile than the Federation. (SRNA) The US government welcomes the commitment of the RS premier, Mladen Ivanic, to the revitalisation of the RS economy, but also objects to his relations with the Serbian Democratic Party (SDS) and the role this party plays in the whole process, said US ambassador Thomas Miller. In an interview for SRNA, BiH Press, Onasa, AP and Reuters, Miller said that Ivanic is faced with an exceptionally difficult situation, and added that he has succeeded in certain areas though the US government is dissatisfied with his results in other areas. Asked by SRNA if RS is the more stable part of BiH, Miller said that he didn't know, and added that "the Entities trade places in this, and still have a long road to travel before we can speak of true stability."
Reuters: Bosnian Croat nationalists stir violence-U.S. envoy SARAJEVO, April 23 (Reuters) - Bosnian Croat nationalists, unable to find a chink in the international community's political armour, are trying to provoke violence to achieve their goals, the U.S. ambassador to Bosnia said on Monday. Thomas Miller said the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) party, which launched self rule moves last month that threaten the future of Bosnia's joint Muslim-Croat federation, would soon run out of money and so was looking to raise the political temperature. "What the HDZ is trying to do is provoke violence because I think their tactics are that if they can get violence they can breathe more life into this movement," Miller told a news briefing in Sarajevo. "They're using fear and intimidation and bribery and all the rest of the stuff...and so far neither the government nor the international community is going to take the bait. So my sense is time is working against them," he added. He described the situation in Croat barracks, where some soldiers have removed their insignia in support of self-rule, as "delicate" but said the strategy of separating the rank-and-file from the hardline leadership was working in some areas. But he noted that one Croat commander who had expressed loyalty to the government had disappeared, calling it a "perfect example of the campaign of intimidation that the HDZ has used". The HDZ alleges that the commander fled Bosnia to escape intimidation by the international community, which the party says is biased against Croats, citing Western support for a new government which excludes the HDZ, the biggest Croat party.
Miller said that while the international organisations trying to heal the wounds of Bosnia's 1992-5 war did not always agree on tactics, in this instance they did.
If the HDZ leaders want more rights for Croats, they should negotiate with the government, not international officials.
"I think one of the tactics of the HDZ is to try to see if they can find splits and they just haven't been successful at all and that's got to be pretty frustrating for them," he said.
Miller, recently returned from a week of talks with senior officials from the new Republican administration, said it was as committed as their predecessors to arresting war crimes suspects like wartime Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic.
And he said the U.S. was closely watching the new government of Bosnia's Serb half in which the party founded by Karadzic plays a strong role, adding that its record of allowing Muslim and Croat refugees to return to the entity was "abysmal".
He declined to comment on whether Washington was thinking of withdrawing more peacekeepers at its next review in May, after pulling out 800 of some 4,000 U.S. troops in Bosnia's 20,000-strong Stabilisation Force earlier this year.
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