ambassador rudolf v. perina - Association for Diplomatic Studies and ...

Q: And this was not an idle comment.
PERINA: True. And we also did not want them wandering all around Dayton. That was
the whole point of conducting the talks on a military base. But we did forget about one
thing—the PX. We learned that the Serbs had started visiting the PX and buying things
there, including U.S. military gear and uniforms in fairly large quantities. We had not
thought of this, and the image came of Serb troops outfitted in U.S. gear that the Serbs
had procured in Dayton. Holbrooke got really upset, and we had to tell the Serbs that they
could not do any more shopping at the PX.
Q. Were the Europeans present at Dayton?
PERINA: The key ally and contact group countries were there but with a very symbolic
presence. Most countries had just one person to report on events. These people were
largely observers—they were not involved in the negotiations, and generally they were
out of the loop. Of course, most people continued to be out of the loop because that was
still Holbrooke’s negotiating style. On the big issues, he would report to Warren
Christopher and through him to the President but try to keep as much of a close hold on
information as possible. The Europeans were allowed to be there symbolically because
we all knew that in the end we would need the Europeans. NATO would have a post-
Dayton role, a vast amount of reconstruction assistance would be required, and so on. But
by and large, Dayton was a U.S. show, and really Holbrooke’s show. I think Holbrooke
deserves a lot of credit for what was accomplished in Dayton. Certainly the agreement
did not bring love and everlasting peace to the Balkans, but it did stop the fighting and
the bloodshed, and that in and of itself is a very significant accomplishment.
Now I also think—and I believe Holbrooke would agree with this—that Milosevic did a
lot to make Dayton possible. This does not absolve him of his complicity in starting the
whole conflict but it is a reality that should be understood. Milosevic operated much like
Holbrooke in keeping a lot of information to himself and not sharing it. He cut the final
deal in Dayton with Holbrooke, making an agreement possible. Many members of the
Serb delegation did not know what was in the agreement until shortly before it was
signed. In fact, there was a rumor that I cannot confirm that at least one member of the
Serb delegation, a person from Sarajevo, passed out when he saw the final text. There
was a lot of unhappiness with parts of the agreement that Milosevic had agreed to but
none of the other Serbs could do anything about it.
Q: What essentially were the parts that made the Serbs unhappy?
PERINA: Well, there was a lot that made them unhappy, including the basic fact that
Republika Srpska would not become independent but remain a part of Bosnia. But this
was not a surprise to anyone, and all the Serbs knew this was coming. What really upset
them were some of the more detailed provisions on return of refugees, property rights and
restitution of property. Basically, the agreement said that all of the Muslims who had
been ethnically cleansed could go back to their homes and reclaim their property. This
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