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