Path: bloom-picayune.mit.edu!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!americast.com!americast.com!americast-post Newsgroups: americast.twt.news From: americast-post@AmeriCast.Com Organization: American Cybercasting Approved: americast-post@AmeriCast.com Subject: Yugoslavia faces sea blockade Date: Wed, 18 Nov 92 16:10:35 EST Message-ID: \SE A;WORLD \SS (WS) \HD Yugoslavia faces sea blockade \SH U.S. to assist European force \BY Robert J. Wielaard \CR ASSOCIATED PRESS \DT BRUSSELS BRUSSELS - Western European countries armed with new shoot-to-stop orders from the United Nations will set up a sea blockade of Yugoslavia to catch smugglers breaking a trade embargo, diplomats said yesterday. U.S. ships and planes will help enforce the blockade. A senior U.S. official said yesterday the United States plans to make a "substantial" commitment, but the Europeans are likely to provide most of the ships and aircraft. The United States has two surveillance ships monitoring air traffic over Bosnia-Herzegovina and could commit more from the 6th Fleet's 19-ship task force in the Mediterranean. The developments stem from the U.N. Security Council's vote Monday to use force to seal cracks in its 6-month-old ban on almost all trade with Yugoslavia, now comprising Serbia and Montenegro. The embargo, imposed to punish Yugoslavia for fomenting war in Bosnia-Herzegovina, has been widely broken by trucks and by ships on the Danube River and the Adriatic Sea. State Department spokesman Richard Boucher in Washington said America is "evaluating the specific steps that we should take" and conferring with other governments. He said the North Atlantic Treaty Organization will discuss the issue today. U.S. officials said it will take about 10 days to work out details. An official in Brussels said the nine-nation Western European Union will announce in Rome on Friday that its warships in the Adriatic will impose the blockade. The 16 NATO nations began talks about participating in the blockade, said an alliance official who demanded anonymity. Each of the security groups has five frigates in the Adriatic, but until Monday they were authorized only to monitor, not board, ships. Diplomats at the United Nations said Western ships on the Adriatic may now intercept suspected smuggling ships, order them to stop for inspection and, if necessary, fire warning shots to force them to halt. Ambassador Alexander Watson, the No. 2 U.S. diplomat at the United Nations, said in Washington that the United States will press to cut off Yugoslavia completely if the naval blockade fails to halt smuggling of strategic supplies. The resolution adopted Monday does not ban all shipping, only that of crude oil, petroleum products, coal, energy-related equipment, iron, steel, other metals, chemicals, rubber, tires, vehicles, aircraft and motors. Greece relies on shipments through Serbia and Montenegro because they lie between it and Western Europe. Before Monday's resolution, countries could send any goods through Yugoslavia by marking them "transit." No inspections were conducted, and smuggling was rampant. The United Nations plans to post U.N. border guards in Bosnia-Herzegovina, and Mr. Watson's threat raises the possibility of ringing Yugoslavia with guards on its borders with Bulgaria, Albania, Greece, Romania, Hungary and Italy. Bulgaria and Romania will be key players in enforcing the sanctions because they share the Danube with Yugoslavia. A senior U.S. official said U.S. surveillance ships will help Bulgaria and Romania pinpoint suspicious ships on the river. In Yugoslavia yesterday, Serbs protested the new effort to enforce sanctions. Milan Panic, the moderate prime minister of Serbian-dominated Yugoslavia, told farmers the U.N. vote will not have its desired effect. "Sanctions cannot topple the regime; their effects are felt most by innocent people," he said, according to the Tanjug news agency. This article is copyright 1992 The Washington Times. Redistribution to other sites is not permitted except by arrangement with American Cybercasting Corporation. For more information, send-email to usa@AmeriCast.COM