Letters: Bosnia embargo cut both ways
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Sir: Dr Salah Ezz (letter, 15 July) may be correct to claim that the UN-imposed arms embargo on the states of the former Yugoslavia "tied the victims' hands". However the question that those who opposed the arms embargo have not answered is what influence it had on the ability of the Bosnian Serbs to acquire weapons and other military supplies.
It is frequently claimed that the Pale regime had unlimited access to the supplies and stores of the old Yugoslav People's Army (JNA) but so far this remains unproven. Why did Mladic's men so frequently seize UN military equipment and remove their heavy weapons from UN storage sites if they had full access to JNA supplies? This suggests that the arms embargo helped to weaken the military effort of the Bosnian Serbs.
It may be that the forthcoming case brought by the Bosnian government at the World Court in The Hague will provide new information on this matter.
MALCOLM HARPER
Director, United Nations Association
London SW1
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments