Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, December 4, 1993 TAG: 9312040045
SECTION: NATL/INTL PAGE: A-6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: SARAJEVO, BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA LENGTH: Medium
Just hours before President Alija Izetbegovic spoke, mortars killed five Sarajevans and wounded at least 10.
During the president's news conference, shelling could be heard and the presidency building was darkened twice by power failures.
Izetbegovic said his delegation at peace talks in Geneva listened to Serb proposals for the besieged capital, but flatly rejected them.
"To eliminate any doubt, we shall never accept dividing Sarajevo," he told reporters just 20 minutes after returning from Geneva.
Three days of peace talks collapsed Thursday, leaving beleaguered Bosnians with little hope of escape from another deadly winter of war. In Sarajevo, word that the Muslim-led government might consider dividing the city in exchange for territorial concessions elsewhere had caused consternation.
Izetbegovic seemed intent on dispelling such concerns. He promised Sarajevans that defense forces in government-held suburbs would never abandon them.
"We will continue to seek a permanent solution to Sarajevo, to prevent our children from being killed on the way to school, to prevent our people from starving," he said.
Participants at this week's talks, sponsored by the European Community, initially spoke of a possible breakthrough on a stalled plan to divide Bosnia among its Serb, Croat and Muslim communities. But the talks bogged down on old issues.
"Instead of moving forward, we in fact stepped back from an overall solution of the Bosnian crisis," said Bosnia's U.N. ambassador, Muhamed Sacirby.
by CNB