ARE THE SERBS BACK-PEDALING ON EASTERN SLAVONIA?
Many Croats suspectthat latest agreement on eastern Slavonia is flawed and that the Serbs will put their own interpretation on it, as they did with Cyrus Vance’s plan for occupied Croatia in early 1992. AFP on 14 November reported that the Slavonian Serbs indeed appear to feel that the agreement gives them the right to decide whether to return to Croatian sovereignty at the end of two years. Zagreb’s interpretation closely reflects the text itself, which views the sovereignty question as closed and provides for a one-year transition with a possible one-year extension and for local elections but not a referendum. Meanwhile in Dayton, U.S., Secretary of State Warren Christopher has returned for what is seen as a last-ditch attempt to save the peace talks, which are deadlocked primarily on territorial questions and the status of Sarajevo.
