International Heralb Tribune

Monday, February 23, 1998

Serbs Set An Example

(The Washington Post )

At last, the Serbs in Bosnia have a leader of whom they can feel proud. Milorad Dodik is recently elected prime minister of the Serbian portion of the tripartite Bosnian state constructed by the Dayton accords. And Mr. Dodik, who visited Washington last week, has pledged to fulfill those accords, which sets him apart from previous Serbian leaders who profited from war and have obstructed paece.

In just a couple of weeks, Mr. Dodik has allowed the international war crime tribunal to open an office in his capital and has encouraged Serbian indictees to turn themselves in; three have done so. He has promised to help non-Serbian refugees return to their homes, pleding to reseattle 70,000 in the coming year. He has wrested control of the police from the war criminals hiding out in the eastern town of Pale.

All of this takes courage and cunning, and Mr. Dodik deserves the West's support. That means, most immediately, money. Police, teachers and others have not been paid in months, and Mr. Dodik's survival depens on showing that he can deliver more than the outlaws he replaced.

More generally, it meas giving Mr. Dodik a little room as he finds his way. Human rights groups greeted him in Washington with a host of demands and concerns. As reminders, these are well placed; but, given the precarious perch of the pro-peace party, this is a time to show some patience as well.

The early progress in Republika Srpska, as Mr. Dodik's realm is known, opens oportunities for and puts new responsabilities on his Muslim counterparts in Sarajevo.

Until now they have enjoyed a fairer reputation than the Serbs, anf for good reasons; crimes were committed on all sides of the Yugoslav war, but the Muslims suffered most. But now the Muslim side of Bosnia, mostly former Communist bosses, resist opening the media opposition politicians. They block the return of refugees. They refuse to share information or cooperate with their Croatian partners.

Until now, Serbian intransigence offered some justfication, questionable but understandable, for this stanca; the Bosnians did not want to let down their gurd as long as the shadowy Radovan Karadzic was in charge of the Serbs. And Mr. Karadzic and his gang provided political cover for the Muslim, too - who could criticize them as long as Serbian war criminals were still effectively in power? Now both the pretext and the political cover are gone. Republika Srpska has opted for peace. It's time for the Muslims to get serious about Dayton, too.