SRNA: Today, the agreement in Dayton was reached. Could you tell us about the details?
Mr. Krajisnik: At the meeting our group attended, an agreement has been reached between the part of negotiation team from FR Yugoslavia [Serbia & Montenegro], the two mediators, and other two sides in this conflict [Muslims and Croats] on the subject of the plan; it must be said that the plan doesn't accomodate neither our basic interests nor requirements the Assembly of the Serbian Republic set out for before these negotiations. We have warned the President Milosevic and others from his team that no one has a right to sign such an agreement nor endorse those maps by which one loses more than one gets in return. This being said, I want to stress that OUR group has not accepted the agreement; we have not signed it and we will not accept the suggested maps. Right now, we don't know how things will turn out. As we speak, the ceremony of signing, that our group declined to attend, is taking place. We are unanimous in our decision, and determined to inform the Assembly and the people of the Serbian Republic about everything. There is no need for panic. The maps are so bad, so uncompromising and servile, that we can only regret not having more strength and patience to reach a better solution. Our primary objection is that we were not allowed to see the maps until 10 minutes before the signing. Thus, having taken no part in creating the maps, we could not have offered any suggestions about possible corrections.
SRNA: According to what Bill Clinton said, Sarajevo will become a unified city. Who will be controlling it? The news from Dayton so far have been contradictory.
Mr.K: A big mistake has been comitted. The plan makes room for a corridor to Gorazde, while, for the most part, the Serbian part of Sarajevo is handed over to the muslim entity. We did not accept that, and we made it clear that no one had a right to accept it. I am saddened to see anyone make deals on behalf of others. However, this is just an outline of the final agreement that is to be signed in Paris. There is still enough time until that signing, and our people will be informed in the meantime. No one has a right to give away the territories our people defended in blood. Before the negotiations, we have made a map along with President Milosevic, which, in our 49% of the territory includes Krupa na Uni, Sanski Most, Drvar, Petrovac, Mrkonjic, Kljuc, Sipovo and a part of Jajce, in the west. In the Sava valley, we opted for a corridor 20 kilometers wide. According to that map, Gorazde remained under Muslim rule, and for the sake of Serbian Sarajevo, exits to the sea were given to the Moslem side. Thus, all major principles were satisfied. However, we have not been able to take part in negotiations in Dayton , and everything seems to have taken place on relations unknown to us. We kept being given this explanation: that the maps were not ready yet, and that the Americans will submit them for our approval once they are drafted. Well, the maps have been submitted to us now, 10-15 minutes before the ceremony, so we clearly said we could not accept that.
SRNA: So, the group from the Serbian Republic was kept on the margin of things?
Mr. K.:No, we were not marginalized. We participated in negotiations including those regarding many annexes. We did most on the constitutional draft, with the exception of the part pertaining to the military. As for the remaining eight to nine annexes, we held, for the most part, to the same stance, and the group was completely unanimous.
SRNA: It has been voted to send NATO to Bosnia. What was our group's opinion on that point?
Mr. K.: Our Assembly had given its opinion on that very point. To the negotiators, we have presented the fact that only our Assembly has the legal power to allow entrance of foreign troops on the soil of the Serbian Republic, and that only for the troops from the countries outside NATO. There was, actually, a great division on that subject. Our part of the group, prof. Buha, prof. Koljevic and myself, voted against the deployment of NATO troops in Serbian Republic, while the part of the group from Yugoslavia voted affirmatively on the subject. We (our part of the group) have not questioned that, since such a move entails certain procedures. But now, having seen the maps, and realizing that we are worse off with them than we really are, we refused to sign any of the peace documents.
SRNA: Can it be said that President Milosevic abused the Patriarch's endorsement?
Mr. K.: I will not comment on that, nor will I rush into conclusions, because it is not a time for conclusions. I want our people, our Assembly and the governement of the Serbian Republic to take a stand on this issue. At any rate, we, the members of this group have our own opinions that will be presented once we come back.
SRNA:What is happening in Dayton right now?
Mr. K.: The ceremony is on, but our group is absent. That is an awkward situation, but we made it clear to the mediators that we have not signed, nor accepted the plan. At any rate, I appeal to our people not to panic. We have had far more difficult points in this war; we weathered the Owen-Stoltenberg plan and the Vance-Owen plan, and Contact Group plan. We want peace, we want a solution, but we emphasize yet again that no one has the right, neither we not those that lead this state and its people to sign the agreement. That right belongs either to the people (on a referendum) or, perhaps, the Assembly.
SRNA: White House Press Secretary, Nicholas Burns, claims that Milosevic was given power to decide on the fate of Bosnian Serbs, and that his decisions may not be questioned by the Assembly of Serbian Republic?
Mr.K.: That is not true. That is a fallacy, aimed at undermining the agreement we have reached through mediation of the Patriarch Pavle. President Milosevic is a member of the joint delegation, in which all delegates are equal. Only when there is a tie, President Milosevic's vote can be decisive. But even President Milosevic has to abide by certain rules that both we [Bosnian Serbs] and the Yugoslav part of the delegation have agreed upon. According to these, Kozara and Grmec regions must be retrieved; a Corridor has to be established; there are also other goals I cannot name now. Therefore, that document by itself is not the only part - we can consider it only in conjunction with the second one. However, this is just an agreement n general; there is still enough time until signing in Paris to mend all the unacceptable terms. Our people should not worry. We must defend our freedom. Had there been more wisdom and perseverance, a better solution would have been reached, since the Muslims had no chance of taking a single piece of our territory. Actually, they had to return some territory to us. We regained, however, only that territory controlled by the Croatian Military Defense (HVO), in return for which the Croats of Herzeg-Bosnia received a part of Sava Valley; that is unconceivable. No one has a right to sign such a map. I am sorry that we diverged among ourselves, but it simply is impossible that for myself or anyone else to sign this agreement. I have already talked to the President Karadzic. Only he can make a decision about the signing of this agreement. It is clear, then, that this general acceptance has no weight unles the agreement in Paris is signed by the legitimate representatives of the Serbian Republic. And it shall not be signed until our minimums are met. That was the principle we reached in Belgrade, upon agreeing to form a combined negotiating team, under the auspices of His Holiness, Patriarch Pavle.