Postponing the elections was very disappointing, Cohen said. There has been a lack of commitment on the part of civilian authorities to carry out their obligations, he said. The delay is due to a lack of resources rather than security concerns, he said. Resettling refugees is another necessary aspect of Bosnia's rebirth. About a million refugees are outside Bosnia and another million are within its borders, U.S. military officials said.
Ethnic tensions resurface when refugees attempt to resettle.
Incidents occurred in recent months in northeast Bosnia, where prefabricated housing being readied for refugee families mysteriously exploded in the night, a U.S. Army official said. Nine houses were blown up about two weeks ago in Seferovic. In early March, a crowd of about 100 Serb civilians torched a hamlet northeast of Tuzla rather than allow refugees to move in. By the time NATO forces leave in June 1998, Cohen said, they will have given Bosnia's people three years of stability. If lasting peace is to be achieved, he said, it will be up to the Bosnian people.