Witness to War Crimes by Colm Doyle

Author:Colm Doyle [Doyle, Colm]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: History, Military, General, Europe, Modern, 20th Century
ISBN: 9781526736123
Google: R7TNDwAAQBAJ
Publisher: Pen and Sword
Published: 2018-06-30T00:42:38+00:00

Chapter 11

Carrington Comes to Town

On 21 April 1992 Ambassador Cutileiro phoned to let me know that he, Lord Carrington and the Portuguese Foreign Minister, João Pinheiro, would be travelling to Sarajevo in two days’ time. Apparently, Lord Carrington wanted to meet the party leaders in order to emphasize the need to confirm the cease-fire agreement of 12 April. Carrington had also requested a meeting with UNPROFOR’s commanders and, if possible, General Kukanjac. I was asked to make the necessary arrangements. I responded that it might be prudent to let Carrington know that the security situation was pretty dangerous and there could be no guarantee of his personal safety. Cutileiro replied that Carrington would be on a tight schedule and would, in any event, only be in Sarajevo for a few hours. He then asked me if I had a location in mind which might offer the best chance of safety. I expressed my doubt that the Serbs would be willing to meet in the city, given the security situation, and so recommended that the talks be held in the airport complex (though it might prove problematic to persuade President Izetbegović to travel there). Nevertheless, I agreed to begin working on organizing the meeting.

Word spread fast that Carrington was due to visit. I had a meeting with Antonio dos Santos, Vitor Ferreira and Jeremy Brade to discuss the details and the complex logistics. They were ready to provide me with any assistance I required. Jeremy would go to the airport the following morning and pick out suitable areas for reception, conference and catering. However, our preparation for this important visit was interrupted by some heavy artillery fire directed at the vicinity of Baščaršija, where over 100 shells fell.We also learned that many snipers were positioned in high buildings throughout the city, with anybody and everybody now a potential target. It was becoming impossible to determine who controlled the different roadblocks, as their positions were frequently moved. Abandoned trucks and buses were everywhere. Between snipers and roadblocks, taking a drive through the city was certainly not for the fainthearted. I was hoping the tension would ease before Carrington’s arrival, though I had my doubts.

That afternoon, I had a visit from a French official claiming he was working for the French Minister of Health, Bernard Kouchner, and requesting me to facilitate a meeting between Kouchner and Lord Carrington. He told me that his minister would be arriving at Sarajevo airport the same day as Carrington. I had not been aware of this visit, nor, as far as I knew, had the presidency. Although the official pressed me to agree, he was not able to tell me the purpose of the meeting, and I found this surprising; nobody had heard anything about it, nor had any information come through my own channels. Maybe it was being deliberately kept from me, but I now faced an obvious dilemma and was at a loss to know what to do. On the one hand I had no

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