Reunification of Sarajevo

Re “Sarajevo Deeply Split Amid Reunification,” March 18:

It is an outrage that innocent people in Sarajevo were burned out of their homes, beaten, raped and even murdered, and civilian as well as government property torched, stolen and carted away by the Serbs, while NATO stood idly by.

Since the international civilian police force, too small to start with, has no powers of arrest and does not even carry arms, it was ridiculous to expect them to stop this carnage. NATO certainly has the power and should be empowered to use it.

Also, the more damage the Serbs inflict, the more will it cost the international community to help rebuild Bosnia. For this reason alone, since it seems humane considerations are not being applied, it is unconscionable to let this go on without interference.

HILDA M. FOLEY

Santa Ana

* Re “Muslims Return to Sarajevo Suburb With a Vengeance,” March 14: The Serbs were right when they said four years ago that as Christians they would have no future freedom and democracy in Muslim Bosnia. The events of the last few days, when a few thousand remaining old, sick and helpless Serbs have been beaten, robbed and kicked out of their Sarajevo homes in front of the world media, just prove the point of the Serbs. Independent Bosnia is anything but a multiethnic state. This should open the eyes of everyone who thought that the Serbs were exaggerating and should be a reason to deny the Bosnian Muslims any more help, including the $100 million promised for the Bosnian Muslim army.

BRANKO PILISER

San Diego

* The Times’ March 14 letter by Val Rodriguez, under the heading “Dayton Accord Compliance,” was mostly about the usual Serb exaggeration of “600,000 massacred at the Croatian death camp Jasenovac.” Of late, even Serb scholars have put the World War II Serb loss from all causes throughout Yugoslavia at a little over 500,000, including Serb collaborator victims. Rodriguez has added Croats as victims of the Croatian fascist collaborators. But when will Rodriguez finally write that partisans who freed Croatia from that regime by a large majority were Croatians?

ANTHONY F. BAZDARICH

Regional Coordinator

Natl. Fed. of Croatian Americans

Santa Barbara