BOSNIA: INDONESIAN PRESIDENT SUHARTO ENDS VISIT

(13 Mar 1995) English/Nat
Indonesian President Suharto held talks with Bosnian government leaders today (Monday), then left on a plane which was shot at as it landed to pick him up.
Suharto left the Bosnian capital unharmed, but the incident ended an otherwise morale-boosting visit on a sorry note.
Indonesian President Suharto arrived in Sarajevo today in the full knowledge that when UN envoy Yasushi Akashi did the same thing the day before, he was shot at.
Safety guarantees were obtained and peacekeepers surrounded the plane to ensure that today's arrival could pass without incident.
Akashi welcomed the Indonesian president at Sarajevo's closely guarded airport before his own scheduled meeting with officials in the Bosnian Serb stronghold of Pale.
UN soldiers remained on high alert as Serbs have scuttled previous visits to the Bosnian capital by threatening to shoot at their planes.
The Indonesian president's exposed motorcade route was now deserted as a result of a sudden upsurge in violence which has killed six people and wounded at least seven over the last two days.
Suharto arrived for talks with Bosnian President Alija Izetbegovic at the capital's presidency building. Indonesia and other Moslem nations are strong backers of the Bosnian government in its quest to recover land lost to the breakaway Serbs since fighting began in April 1992. Suharto had intended this visit as an indication of his continued support.
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