Ultimatum for Karadzic

International officials presented Serb hardliners loyal to war crimes suspect Radovan Karadzic with a tough choice: bow to imposed changes on broadcasting or stay off the air. A formal plan to revamp broadcasting from the half of the Bosnian Serb substate led by Karadzic cohorts will be presented today, the office of High Representative Carlos Westendorp said.

His spokesman, Duncan Bullivant, suggested that the plan would ask for the firing of some of the hardliners responsible for broadcasts deemed inflammatory and destructive of Western peace efforts. Broadcasts from Pale, Mr Karadzic's stronghold south of Sarajevo, were pulled from the air on Wednesday, after Nato-led peace troops seized four key transmitters across Bosnia. Since then, Bosnian Serbs have only had broadcasts from Banja Luka in the west by anti-Karadzic supporters of Bosnian Serb President Biljana Plavsic.