World News Tonight

Call Number
350-1-1:561/2

General information

Call No.:
350-1-1:561/2
Part of series
HU OSA 350-1-1 Records of the International Monitor Institute: Europe: Balkan Archive
Located at
BetaSP NTSC #561 / No. 2
Digital ver. identifier
HU_OSA_00000561
Date of production
1995
Date
1995
Level
Item
Primary Type
Moving image
Language
English
Duration
22 min.
Notes
October 5, 12, 13, 17, 18, 20, 27, 31, 1995

Content

Form/Genre
Television program
Contents Summary
October 5, 1995:
Brit Hume reports on the cease-fire agreement to terminate all military activities beginning October 10, 1995, if certain conditions are met. The conditions are the restoration of gas and electricity in Sarajevo, and the opening of the Sarajevo-Gorazde road. After the cease-fire goes into effect, peace talks are scheduled to begin in the U.S. on October 25, 1995. The talks will be in the form of proximity talks, led by U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Richard Holbrooke. There is also a report on the withdrawal of UN troops from Bosnia. Statements are made by President Clinton and U.S. Secretary of State Warren Christopher. Footage of U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Richard Holbrooke shaking hands with Croatia's President Franjo Tudjman, heavy guns being fired, and U.S. troops is included.

John McWethy reports on the meeting of NATO defense ministers in Williamsburg, Virginia, where the deployment of NATO troops in Bosnia is discussed. The U.S.'s pledge to send 25,000 troops to Bosnia for a year could cost up to $2 billion. The UN announced the withdrawal of one third of its forces. Bosnia would eventually be separated into peacekeeping areas. U.S. forces would include thousands of special operations troops. Statements are made by U.S. Secretary of State William Perry and U.S. General Anthony Zinny. Footage included: U.S. ground-troops getting into helicopters, U.S. troops on practice fields, and Bosnian government soldiers (?).

October 12, 1995:
Peter Jennings reports on Bosnian government troops trying to capture Sanski Most, despite the cease-fire agreement. Situated near a highway, capturing this town would allow Bosnian government forces to keep tabs on Bosnian Serb troop movement.

October 13, 1995:
Peter Jennings reports on the State Department's claim that Bosnian Serb troops have continued to expel Bosnian Muslim civilians from the Banja Luka area. Many men from Banja Luka have disappeared.

October 17, 1995:
John McWethy reports on Congress' hearings regarding the deployment of U.S. troops in Bosnia. Congressmen are shown addressing various concerns in regard to sending U.S. troops to Bosnia. Secretary of State Warren Christopher argued that there will be no peace without U.S. participation in the peacekeeping force. With a cost of up to $1.5 billion per year, the responsibility of these troops still remains unclear. Sound bites of the following politicians are included: Senator Craig Thomas, Senator Dianne Feinstein, Senator John Warner, Joint Chairman John Shalikashvili, and Senator William Cohen

October 18, 1995:
John McWethy is reporting again from Capitol Hill, on the ongoing debate between Congressmen regarding the possible human and financial costs of sending U.S. troops to Bosnia. Though the President does not need formal approval from Congress, he needs general support from Congress and the American people. Congress does have to vote, though, on the approval of the $1.5 billion needed for the troops. Statements are made by Rep. Randy Cunningham, Secretary of Defense William Perry, Rep. Joel Hefley, Secretary of Defense William Perry, and Rep. John Kasich.

Mike Lee reports on life in the town of Gorazde, a predominantly Bosnian Muslim town of 60,000, but which is surrounded by Bosnian Serb forces. The Bosnian Serb army allows the UN to bring in limited supplies only because NATO threatened them with renewed air strikes if the army tried to starve or attack Gorazde. The report documents how Gorazde's citizens are coping with the lack of basic living supplies. IIjija, a young boy, states that there is no school and no soap. A statement is made by Jean Luc Joliat of the International Red Cross. There is also a brief mention of the two French NATO airmen whose plane was shot down. Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic is shown stating that the Frenchmen were kidnapped from the hospital where they were being treated. Footage includes children in Gorazde waving to UN trucks, people in the streets of Gorazde, UN trucks passing through Bosnian Serb military checkpoints around the city, an empty butcher shop, an empty cafe, Gorazde hospital, makeshift generators, and children getting candy from UN soldiers.

October 20, 1995:
John McWethy reports on new ethnic cleansing which has been going on around Northwestern Bosnia. Muslim women and children are arriving in refugee camps with more accounts of men and boys being separated from their families. Nicolas Burns, White House Spokesman, states that around 6,200 refugees have fled from Banja Luka, and an estimated 2,000 to 3,000 of these people are missing. Officials fear that these men and boys are victims of mass murder, as in the case of the mass grave near Sanski Most. Many Bosnian Muslims living around Banja Luka were forced to wear white arm bands and their homes had white lines painted on them. The following footage is available: Bosnian Muslim women and children arriving in refugee camps, refugees getting off trucks, the bodies of executed men, and an alleged mass grave near Sanski Most.

October 27, 1995:
John McWethy reports on the agreement between Russian Defense Minister Pavel Grachev and U.S. Secretary of Defense William Perry to have their troops serve together in Bosnia. The troops will be members of a special operations unit which will perform special engineering, transport, and construction activities. This unit will not be a part of the NATO forces, as required by Russia. U.S. and Russian governments still have reservations towards each other. Footage of U.S. and Russian troops practicing in Fort Riley, Kansas, teaching each other to dance, and Russian UN troops, are included. Sound bites of U.S. Secretary of Defense, William Perry, and Russian Defense Minister, Pavel Grachev are included as well.

October 31, 1995:
Brit Hume is reporting the day before the beginning of the Dayton Peace negotiations. President Clinton's speech directed at Congress in the hope of gaining support for his mission in Bosnia is highlighted. Administration officials believe that if the Dayton talks produce an agreement, that in itself will change the political atmosphere in Congress.

David Ensor reports on the influence Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic has over Bosnian Serbs in the upcoming Dayton peace talks. Senior American officials asked for Milosevic to be investigated for charges of war crimes. Reports have also come about linking Milosevic's top military commander to the mass killings in the Srebrenica area. Statements are made by Senate Majority Leader Robert Dole and White House Spokesman Nicholas Burns. Footage includes Milosevic meeting the press at Belgrade (?) airport, Milosevic visiting JNA troops, Zoran Petrovic-Pirocanac's footage taken after the fall of Srebrenica, and Milosevic boarding a plane.

Jack Greenfield gives some insight into why the Wright-Patterson Air Base in Dayton, Ohio was chosen as the place for the Bosnia peace negotiations. A brief statement is made by a Dayton native. Footage of the air force base, the town, and President Clinton getting off a helicopter is included.

Context

Associated Names
ABC (Copyright holder, Producer)