Professors Appalled By Bosnian Atrocities

Harvard experts on international relations expressed horror this week at the most recent violence in the former Yugoslavia and offered their own perspectives on the conflict between the Bosnians and the Serbs and the retaliatory measures proposed by NATO Wednesday.

A mortar attack, allegedly perpetrated by the Bosnian Serbs, which killed 66 civilians in the Bosnian capital of Sarajevo Saturday drew much attention from the media and sparked debate among international political leaders this week.

Several Harvard government professors described the attack as "horrifying" and "disgusting."

"The events speak for themselves; they're horrific," said Assistant Professor of Government .Lawrence J. Broz.

In response to Saturday's attack and to the 22-month siege of Sarajevo, NATO issued an ultimatum on Wednesday which called for withdrawal of all heavy artillery from Sarajevo within 10 days. According to President Clinton, NATO is "ready to act," possibly with air strikes, against those who defy the resolve.

Harvard experts on the Serbian conflict and international relations expressed different opinions about the NATO resolution and the current problems of international policy making.

Stanfield Professor of International Peace Robert O. Keohane supported the NATO resolution, saying: "I am in favor of a credible threat of air strikes."

He added that although he hopes force will not have to be used, empty threats have been ineffective in the past and NATO must be prepared to enforce whatever rules it sets out.

Assistant Professor of Government Grzegorz Ekiert also said that if the Western world hopes to succeed in eliminating the violence, leaders must be willing to take action.

"Everyone's talking about complicated policy issues," he said. "I think that Western governments should react to [The Bosnian conflict] and punish [the Serbs]. [The shelling] deserves a very firm military response from theWest, which includes lifting the arms embargo."

Force in the form of air strikes, such as wasproposed by the NATO resolution, is necessary ifthe disagreeing groups are to take interventionseriously and genuinely seek a solution, Ekiertsaid.

But others said they doubt that air strikeswill be an adequate expression of force.

Loeb Associate Professor of the Social SciencesLisa L. Martin said the conflict would bedifficult to resolve on a purely military basisunless Western countries were willing to becomemore deeply committed and install ground troops inaddition to an air strike.

Several of the professors interviewed noted thecrucial distinction between short-term andlong-term solutions, explaining that currentmilitary intervention will not eradicate alltension in Bosnia.

"Policy makers have been focusing on short terminterests, on the costs and benefits ofintervention," said Broz, who is an expert in theeconomic aspects of international affairs. "We'retoo focused on narrow costs in the immediateterm."

Ekiert said that short term solutions, such asmilitary intervention, are necessary to punishunacceptable behavior.

But, he added, these actions must be coupledwith attempts to establish permanent peace.

"Long-term solutions are negotiations," Ekiertsaid. "But there is no way around that."

Keohane agreed that general discussions areimportant to lasting peace, but said that he couldnot speculate on the outcome of this specificconflict.

"In the long run, there has to be a deal," hesaid. "They're not going to go back to the oldboundaries of Bosnia.

Force in the form of air strikes, such as wasproposed by the NATO resolution, is necessary ifthe disagreeing groups are to take interventionseriously and genuinely seek a solution, Ekiertsaid.

But others said they doubt that air strikeswill be an adequate expression of force.

Loeb Associate Professor of the Social SciencesLisa L. Martin said the conflict would bedifficult to resolve on a purely military basisunless Western countries were willing to becomemore deeply committed and install ground troops inaddition to an air strike.

Several of the professors interviewed noted thecrucial distinction between short-term andlong-term solutions, explaining that currentmilitary intervention will not eradicate alltension in Bosnia.

"Policy makers have been focusing on short terminterests, on the costs and benefits ofintervention," said Broz, who is an expert in theeconomic aspects of international affairs. "We'retoo focused on narrow costs in the immediateterm."

Ekiert said that short term solutions, such asmilitary intervention, are necessary to punishunacceptable behavior.

But, he added, these actions must be coupledwith attempts to establish permanent peace.

"Long-term solutions are negotiations," Ekiertsaid. "But there is no way around that."

Keohane agreed that general discussions areimportant to lasting peace, but said that he couldnot speculate on the outcome of this specificconflict.

"In the long run, there has to be a deal," hesaid. "They're not going to go back to the oldboundaries of Bosnia.