June 30, 1996

Bosnia's Serbs, Defiantly, Re-Elect Leader

ALE, Bosnia-Herzegovina -- Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic was re-elected as the leader of the ruling Bosnian Serb party Saturday, defying calls by the international community for him to relinquish power or face renewed economic sanctions.

The congress of the Serb Democratic Party voted 354 to 1 to re-elect Karadzic to another four-year term as party chairman, Bosnian Serb officials said.

The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that Karadzic indicated Saturday that he may not run for president in Bosnia's nationwide elections September 14.

The Bosnian Serb leader, who has been indicted by the international war crimes tribunal in The Hague, is prohibited from holding elective office under the Dayton peace agreement. He has threatened to run in defiance of the ban.

As leader of the party, Karadzic retains his grip on the Bosnian Serb police, administration and news media. Even if he does not run for office, he will continue to wield enormous influence, the officials said.