BOSNIA'S HARDER FACE

By Kevin Fedarko

RICHARD HOLBROOKE WAS IN BUDApest last Thursday when he received Secretary of State Warren Christopher's call informing him that he would be returning to Bosnia. After serving as the primary architect of the Dayton peace plan, Holbrooke might be forgiven if he thought his business in the Balkans was finished (he's rumored to be leaving the State Department and returning to Wall Street later this month). But the arrangement was beginning to unravel, and the man who had knit it together in the first place was being summoned to perform some quick-stitch diplomacy.

The crisis that brought Holbrooke scurrying back was sparked by the Bosnian government's arrest of two Bosnian Serb military officers on Jan. 30 in Sarajevo. Although the two are suspected of committing war crimes, their arrest was the third in a series of detentions that in NATO's view may violate the spirit of the Dayton accords. Last week those actions finally provoked an outcry from the Bosnian Serbs, who threatened to cut off all contact with NATO, thus imperiling the pact.

The detentions come at a time when many diplomats have grown concerned about the increasing influence of hard-line Muslims in a Bosnian government that has long pledged itself to a multiethnic state. President Alija Izetbegovic, a devout Muslim who was twice jailed under the communists for his religious activism, has always nurtured an ideal of Bosnia as a secular society that embraces Serb, Croat and Muslim alike. But now his vision is being challenged by a narrowed nationalistic focus.

The government's bellicose posturing is alienating many Serbs who inhabit the suburbs surrounding Sarajevo. Thousands have already left, and others say they will flee when the Muslims assume full control over their neighborhoods on March 20. Such anxiety is only exacerbated by the government's reluctance to pass an amnesty law for Serbs and Croats who fought against the Muslims in the war. The law, which is essential for reconciliation between the rival ethnic camps, failed to pass muster in Bosnia's parliament last month. It will be reviewed this week.

Izetbegovic's ruling Party of Democratic Action (SDA) was founded in 1990 to pursue Muslim interests. Edhem Bicakcic, a member of its most radical wing, is one of the most powerful men in Bosnia and has declared, "The primary interest of the SDA is a state for Bosniacs [a revived term for Bosnian Muslims], which will secure our survival, and not a common life for which the other nations don't show any interest." During the war, the SDA turned to an increasingly despotic style of leadership. It fortified its position by placing party members in important jobs in industry and business, thereby marginalizing Croats and Serbs, who cannot belong to the party. In this way the SDA has set up a communist-style, one-party system of rule.

The SDA has also strengthened its hand by turning the military into an instrument of its ideology. After Serb forces attacked Bosnia in April 1992, the party sought help in building up an army by soliciting aid from abroad, especially from countries in the Middle East sympathetic to its plight, such as Iran. As the army grew, the SDA began ordering officers to promote Islamic consciousness. In many barracks, soldiers are called to Islamic prayers, and bulletin boards announce courses about the Koran. The army's 3rd Corps even established a separate brigade composed entirely of devout Muslim soldiers and trained by fighters from Islamic countries. Troops marched under the green banner of Islam, charging into battle shouting, "Allahu Akbar!" The army's only remaining non-Muslim general, Jovan Divjak, a Bosnian Serb, holds no real authority and refers to himself as an "Ikebana," a decorative flower.

Signs of Islamicization can also be seen in civilian life. Koran schools have begun to open all across Muslim-controlled Bosnia, mosques enjoy bigger attendance than ever, and imams vociferously condemn those who persist in drinking alcohol and eating pork. But does all this mean that Bosnia is turning into a fundamentalist state?

So far, the country's openness toward other religions and cultures remains its most remarkable feature. Despite its extreme wing, the SDA is the only nationalist party in Bosnia that gives some support to the idea of a multiethnic state. It has refrained from openly suppressing opposition parties, and it tolerates independent newspapers and radio that engage in lively and often critical public debate. Izetbegovic's party has also put some effort into cultivating relations with Croat and Serb communities, sponsoring funds for rebuilding Catholic and Serbian orthodox churches, as well as mosques.

His critics have always warned that Izetbegovic is a radical firebrand bent on carving out an Islamic state in the heart of Europe. But the 70-year-old President most often seems to be a sincere, naive and at times haplessly besieged politician struggling to perform a delicate tightrope act. "He finds himself in danger all the time," says Slavko Santic, vice president of the opposition group Circle 99. "He must balance between the extremist and democratic forces in his party." If he does not, it will take far more than Holbrooke's embroidery to stitch Bosnia back together again.

--Reported by Dean Fischer with Christopher and Alexandra Stiglmayer/Sarajevo

With reporting by DEAN FISCHER WITH CHRISTOPHER AND ALEXANDRA STIGLMAYER/SARAJEVO