July 1993: Bosnia v
World
Francis A. Boyle
From: FBOYLE@LAW.UIUC.EDU
(Boyle, Francis)
It was the last Friday in July 1993.
The entire world's news media had
descended on Geneva in order to cover the predicted demise of
the Republic
of Bosnia and Herzegovina-- vultures looking for the carrion of
a UN Member
State. That evening Owen and Stoltenberg--with the full support
of the
United States, the United Nations and the European Union--gave
their plan to
President Izetbegovic to carve up the Republic of Bosnia and
Herzegovina
into three pieces, destroy Bosnia's Statehood under
international law, rob
Bosnia of its UN Membership, and subject 1.5 to 2 million more
Bosnians to
ethnic cleansing. But immediately thereafter, President
Izetbegovic and
Foreign Minister Haris Silajdzic instructed me to fight back.
The three of
us (joined by Vice President Ejup Ganic) continued to do so
throughout the
rest of 1993 against Owen-Stoltenberg and then the so-called
European Union
Action Plan, which was a euphemism for Owen-Stoltenberg. Of
course the
heroic defense mounted by the Armija of the Republic of Bosnia
and
Herzegovina made our legal and diplomatic efforts possible.
Later, President
Izetbegovic publicly stated that we almost lost our State during
the Fall of
1993. For the historical record, I can assure you that the
President is
correct: We barely got out of 1993 alive--no thanks to Owen,
Stoltenberg,
Boutros Ghali, Clinton, Christopher, the United Nations
Organization, the
European Union or its Member States. Bosnia is still alive and
fighting
today. We will not go quietly into that dark night.
Professor of International Law
Citizen of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Counsel for the Mothers of Srebrenica and Podrinja
Francis A. Boyle
Law Building
504 E. Pennsylvania Ave.
Champaign, IL 61820 USA
217-333-7954(voice)
217-244-1478(fax)
fboyle@law.uiuc.edu <mailto:fboyle@law.uiuc.edu>