End-of-year cease-fire signed, further negotiations urged: tightened sanctions against FRY vetoed.

• Position: Federal Republic of Yugoslavia - Yugoslav crisis

Following complex, start-stop negotiations, agreements on a cease-fire and on a complete cessation of hostilities in Bosnia and Herzegovina were signed by its President Alija Izetbegovic and Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic on 23 and 31 December, respectively. In welcoming the accords, the Security Council commended the efforts of "all who worked to achieve them" and urged an "immediate and full compliance".

A comprehensive settlement in Bosnia was pivotal to large-scale return in "safety and dignity" of refugees and displaced persons, Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali reported on 6 December. Negotiations were also needed on the Tuzla airport, which "cannot be safely used if its opening is achieved by force".

Humanitarian access continued to be "intermittently denied to several safe areas", particularly the Bihac enclave, where it had been "obstructed since May 1994", the Secretary-General observed.

The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), which was providing thousands of tonnes of aid to 2.7 million people in Bosnia and Herzegovina, remained concerned over "several problem areas", including Sarajevo, Gorazde, Srebrenica, Zepa and Bihac, where access was still a major problem. Also, Bosnian Croat authorities had demanded a "tax" on fuel shipments into Bosnia--a demand rejected by the UNHCR. Bosnian Serbs had also blocked fuel deliveries to some areas, including Sarajevo, the agency reported.

On 19 November, High Commissioner Sadako Ogata expressed "outrage" at the "vicious attacks" on densely populated civilian areas of Bihac. Those "horrific attacks must be stopped", and the "deliberate starvation of civilians in the Bihac enclave must not be allowed", she stated.

In a 6 January statement by its President, Emilio J. Cardenas of Argentina, the Security Council supported "efforts in train" to strengthen the UN Protection Force (UNPROFOR) and encouraged Member States to provide the personnel and equipment needed for the Force to "supervise and monitor the agreements".

Full support for intensified efforts to achieve an "overall settlement on the basis of the acceptance of the peace plan" prepared by the Contact Group--France, Germany, Russian Federation, United Kingdom and United States--was also pledged.

The cease-fire agreement had been announced on 20 December by former United States President Jimmy Carter after his meeting with Dr. Karadzic in Bosnia and Herzegovina. In welcoming the announcement, Secretary-General Boutros-Ghali on 21 December said Mr. Carter's visit to the former Yugoslavia had created a "new momentum which can be built upon".

Two accords

The two agreements provided for a "general cease-fire along all lines of confrontation" for an "initial period of seven days and four months", to be monitored by UNPROFOR through the "establishment of joint commissions", the Secretary-General reported (S/1995/8) on 6 January.

The seven-day cease-fire took effect at 1200 hours on 24 December, while the four-month cessation of hostilities became effective from 1200 hours on 1 January 1995.

The parties agreed, among other things, to: enable the passage of UNPROFOR and humanitarian convoys; release promptly and unconditionally all detainees; separate their forces and position UNPROFOR units for "observation and monitoring, to include interpositioning"; and "comply immediately and fully" with all existing accords between them.

On 2 January, the Bosnian Croats agreed to sign the two pacts on the understanding that Croats and Muslims should "not be forcibly conscripted" into the Serb armed forces, and that ethnic cleansing of Croats and Muslims ceased, it was reported.

'War not an answer'

Negotiation was the only solution to the "web of conflicts" in the former Yugoslavia, Secretary-General Boutros-Ghali told the Budapest summit meeting of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE) on 5 December. "A continuation of war is not an answer and will never be an answer. One must negotiate and promote dialogue."

The effectiveness of negotiation had been demonstrated by a 2 December economic agreement between Croatia and the Krajina Serbs, he observed. It led, among other things, to a reopening of the Zagreb-Belgrade international highway on 21 December.

Battle of Bihac

By the end of October, the Bosnian Government forces had "achieved their largest...