SILENCE OF THE GUNS

THE MOST RICHARD HOLBROOKE EXPECTED from his round of shuttle diplomacy last week was a bit of progress on designing a new shape and government for war-ravaged Bosnia and Herzegovina. Instead, when the American special envoy arrived in Belgrade, Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic surprised him with a proposal to end the siege of Sarajevo in exchange for cessation of NATO's bombing campaign against Serb military installations.

After half an hour of discussion, Milosevic startled Holbrooke again by telling him that the two key Bosnian Serb leaders, Radovan Karadzic and General Ratko Mladic, were standing by in Belgrade. With Holbrooke's approval, Milosevic summoned them, and they strode in--Mladic in his combat fatigues, Karadzic with his gray tresses waving. For the next eight hours the Bosnian Serbs and Holbrooke's staff worked on the language of the agreement Milosevic had proposed. Part of the time Holbrooke and Milosevic were out of the room for private talks and a dinner of roast lamb and red wine.

Finally, at 2:15 a.m. last Thursday, they all gathered for a signing ceremony. The Americans signed nothing, but the Bosnian Serbs, with Milosevic as witness, put their signatures to the agreement to withdraw most of their heavy weapons from around Sarajevo. They agreed to open the Bosnian capital's main roads and airport to unrestricted U.N. traffic. Milosevic kept one copy of the document, and Holbrooke took two copies with him to Zagreb to show to U.N. officials and Croatian President Franjo Tudjman and then to Bosnian President Alija Izetbegovic.

NATO promptly put its air strikes on hold and gave the Serbs three days--until Sunday night--to begin fulfilling their promises. If they did so, the bombing pause would be extended for another three days to complete and verify the pullback. The Bosnian government, for its part, pledged not to launch any attacks on the withdrawing Serbs in the Sarajevo area.

The Bosnian Serbs have reneged on so many similar agreements in the past that there could be no certainty about this one. "If there isn't full compliance," said Holbrooke, "the U.S. will urge immediate resumption by NATO of the air attacks." President Bill Clinton backed him up, saying the Serbs should have no doubt that "NATO will resume the air strikes if they fail to keep their commitments." But Karadzic vowed, "We will withdraw our weaponry," and said it would be hauled outside the U.N.-declared 12.5-mile exclusion zone around Sarajevo. The pledge was confirmed by General Dragomir Milosevic, the commander of rebel Serb forces around the capital.

By Friday some compliance with the agreement had begun. Journalists were taken by Bosnian Serb authorities to witness removal of three T-55 tanks, three 105-mm howitzers and several mortars, but the journalists were not allowed to see where the weapons were taken. The airport was reopened after having been shut down for five months, and the first flight in carried French Defense Minister Charles Millon with a shipment of flour. Several more aid flights arrived Saturday. At the same time, two U.N. relief convoys rumbled into Sarajevo with minimal harassment at Bosnian Serb checkpoints.