Bosnia aid chaos adds to UN gloom

UNITED NATIONS diplomats were still stunned yesterday by the decision by Sadako Ogata, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, to suspend aid convoys in Bosnia. 'It's really quite flabbergasting,' said one diplomat, referring to the fact that the decision was taken without consultation with the UN Secretary-General, Boutros Boutros-Ghali, or the two mediators on the Balkan peace plan, Lord Owen and Cyrus Vance.

Diplomats could not recall such a high-level decision concerning UN activities being made before without consultations, at least with the UN secretariat. Under normal circumstances, the Secretary-General would be consulted first, and would then inform the countries concerned - in this case Britain, France and Spain - that have troops in the area. The US would also expect to be told, but it heard nothing either. After a private meeting of the Security Council last night Sir David Hannay, the British ambassador to the UN, said the 'single overriding priority was to get the humanitarian aid renewed' in Bosnia. Efforts were being made to clarify the situation in Bosnia so that the aid could be delivered, he said. The 'disconnect' between the UN's headquarters and its Balkan operations came on top of gloomy prospects for a resumption of the UN-sponsored talks in New York between the three warring parties in Bosnia. It is still doubtful if the principals involved will ever meet.

Last night the Serb delegation said it would attend the talks only if they were shifted to Geneva, claiming discrimination by the US government and New Yorkers. Repeated anti-Serb protests greeted the negotiators when they were last in New York, prompting two hotels to ask them to move.

President Alija Izetbegovic of Bosnia is due to pay an official visit to Washington at the end of the week as a guest of the Vice-President, Al Gore, and then proceed to the UN. But it is not clear in what capacity he will appear there. So far he has said he will not lead his government's delegation.

It seems unlikely that Mr Vance and Lord Owen could now report to the Security Council on their efforts to devise a Bosnia peace plan before the end of next week.

Officials on dozens of aid convoys inside Bosnia were bewildered by Ms Ogata's announcement. UN peace-keepers escorting more than 150 trucks were left in the dark, and did not know whether they should continue with their missions to get food and medicine to besieged communities, or turn round and head back to base.

General Philippe Morillon, the French commander of the UN Protection Force (Unprofor) in Bosnia, added to the confusion over who controls aid distribution in the republic with a suggestion that he would personally lead a convoy to the besieged Muslim town of Gorazde, in eastern Bosnia. Serbian forces have held up a 10-truck convoy of food destined for the town's 70,000 Muslims for two days at nearby Rogatica. Gen Morillon criticised Ms Ogata's action. 'Without humanitarian aid no one will survive in Sarajevo,' he said. UN officials laid some of the blame for the collapse of the aid operation in eastern Bosnia on an unfolding power struggle between Bosnian Serb leaders. Larry Hollingsworth, the leader of the failed UN convoy to Cerska, found verbal permission from Mr Karadzic to cross Serb-held territory was worthless. In Sarajevo, Bosnian Serb attacks threatened to break through the western gateway to the city.

NEW YORK - The five permanent members of the UN Security Council agreed yesterday on a draft resolution to create an international tribunal on war crimes in former Yugoslavia, AFP reports.