HU OSA 350-1-1:564/1

World News Tonight

Item

Moving Image

English (Original)

March 8, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 26, And April 1, 1996

Not Restricted

television program

March 8, 1996: A holiday of women turned into an angry demand to know what happened to their sons and husbands. Mike Lee reports from Tuzla. A crowd of several thousand women marched to the Red Cross headquarters demanding to know what happened to their husbands and sons who stayed behind in Srebrenica after the town was overrun by Bosnian Serb forces. Among the refugees, some of the villages surrounding Tuzla are known as "women's towns." In the village of Rosulje, there are only 15 men, and 500 women and children. Some of the children have shown signs of mental trauma. Three refugee women give statements about having to fend for their family without their husbands. Other footage includes refugee women and children in Rosulje village. March 18, 1996: Serbia's President Slobodan Milosevic has agreed today to hand over two Bosnian Serb soldiers who had made admissions to participating in the mass executions of Bosnian Muslim men in Srebrenica. Garrick Utley reports on Milosevic's promise to extradite the two soldiers by the end of the month. Erdemovic stated that after Bosnian Muslim were taken out of Srebrenica, got orders from this superiors to shoot around 1,200 of them. The Tribunal hopes to learn from how high up the orders came. Both the Bosnian Serb General Ratko Mladic and Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic have been indicted for war crimes. A statement is made by U.S. Secretary of State Warren Christopher. Footage included: Milosevic shaking hands with Christopher, a picture of Drazen Erdemovic, and Zoran Petrovic-Pirocanac footage taken after the fall of Srebrenica. Linda Patillo reports from Grbavica where the last stage of the peace process was met with violence. On March 19, the last Serb-held suburb falls into Bosnian government control. NATO forces intervened as Bosnian Serb arsonists and looters went on a rampage to destroy as much property as they could. Apartments and houses were set on fire with the goal to leave as little as possible for the former enemies and to intimidate other Bosnian Serbs to flee. Statements are made by a Bosnian Serb woman and an unidentified man. UN refugee officials opened a safe house for people too afraid to stay in their houses. Other footage available: NATO soldiers detaining arsonists at gunpoint, burning apartment buildings, women trying to stop the fire, a NATO soldier carrying a child out of a burning building, and two women guarding their home. March 19, 1996: Linda Patillo reports on the reopening of Sarajevo. After four years of being trapped in the center of Sarajevo, Bosnian Muslims, Croats, and Serb were finally able to return to their homes. Grbavica, the suburb many Sarajevans returned to still smoldered from the fire set by Bosnian Serbs as they fled. Some buildings have been booby trapped, and the frontlines which ran through Grbavica are still heavily mined. U.S. soldiers greeted the returning people with leaflets warning them not to enter buildings before they were checked for traps. Other footage included: people crossing the bridge of "Brotherhood and Unity," women crying, people looking at their destroyed apartments, a man breaking into his apartment, and people going through family photographs. The major military goals of the peace agreement have been realized. However, there are still more than 200 Iranian soldiers supporting the Bosnian government who have not yet left, and U.S. aid is withholding $200 million of reconstruction money until they do. Civilian life is dangerous and the small international police force is not enough. The level of mistrust between Bosnian Muslims, Croats, and Serbs is so high that long term cooperation on many issues presents nothing but problems. This includes POW’s to be exchange, civilians who want to go home, an acceptable central government, and free elections. Other footage: mujahedin para-military soldiers, a destroyed bridge, Bosnian government police, Omarska detention camp, and civilians hurdled in a field (Srebrenica ?). March 20, 1996: John MCWethy reports on the life of 1,200 U.S. soldiers in the area of Olovo, Bosnia. As time goes by, they get to feel the effects the war has had upon the local people. Statements are made by U.S. Army Sergeant Charles Nichols, U.S. Army Sergeant Kelly Endsley, and Battalion Commander Lieutenant Colonel Randy Anderson. Footage included: U.S. soldiers detaining a Bosnian soldier at a checkpoint, U.S. soldiers in their tent, two U.S. soldiers watching TV in a warehouse, Olovo locals, a Bosnian Muslim graveyard, and children playing soccer. March 21, 1996: Madeleine Albright, U.S. Ambassador to the UN, was driven out of Vukovar, Croatia. Vukovar was a Serb-held city during the war, but under the Bosnia peace accords, the Serbs have had to surrender control to the Croatian government. Her convoy was stoned on the way out of town. March 22, 1996: On her way through Bosnia, Madeleine Albright, U.S. Ambassador to the UN, has seen first-hand evidence of mass murder. The UN says that at least 3,000 people, perhaps as many as 8,000, were killed by the Bosnian Serbs. Garrick Utley reports on the UN findings of one mass grave behind a farm in Branjevo village, where at least 1,000 Bosnian Muslim men were executed. Ambassador Albright stated that the sight of human bones and an actual decomposing body was disgusting and horrifying. U.S. aerial reconnaissance photos provide further confirmation of the full extend of the graves. The photos show bodies and earth-moving equipment for burying the bodies. Investigators determined the location of the farm from a drawing done by Drazen Erdemovic, a Bosnian Serb soldier who participated in the five and a half hour long executions. NATO Commander for Bosnia Admiral Leighton Smith issued a warning to the Serbs by stating that they (?) know that atrocities took place. Footage included: mass graves, human bones, aerial photos, Erdemovic's map, and a picture of Erdemovic. The Tribunal issued indictments for atrocities committed against Bosnian Serb civilians. Three Bosnian Muslims and one Bosnian Croat have been charged for their involvement in the torture and murder of inmates, men and women, at a prison camp in Central Bosnia. One U.S. soldiers was killed and one injured after their truck slid off of a portable military bridge. March 26, 1996: For months, NATO commanders said that they would only conduct military operations because of the fear of "mission creep." This refers to the shift in focus of the mission, which can prove dangerous. John McWethy reports on NATO's new work in Bosnia. The U.S. military and its allies are expanding efforts to repair roads and bridges, to repair hospitals and power plants, and to clear minefields. The change is due, in part, to growing worry regarding the slowness with which the civilian agencies are approaching the rebuilding of infrastructure that is considered crucial to the success of the peace agreement. Statements are made by NATO Spokesman Major Simon Haselock, Pentagon Spokesman Ken Bacon, and U.S. Secretary of Defense William Perry. Footage included: U.S. soldiers clearing land mines, patients in a hospital, destroyed buildings, and U.S. soldiers building housing (?) infrastructure. April 1, 1996: Tihomir Blakcic (sp), a Bosnian Croat commander, turned himself in to face charges of crimes against humanity. He is accused of leading his soldiers through Bosnian villages, killing hundreds of Bosnian Muslim civilians. Three of the 57 indicted men are in custody in the Hague. A couple was buried today. Admira Ismic, a Bosnian Muslim, and Bosko Brkic, a Bosnian Serb, were murdered by a sniper. This report continues on tape 715.