On this day, 29 years ago, July 19, 1996 (June 4, 1996 in the lunar calendar), Karadzic announced his withdrawal from the political arena. Holbrooke, the U.S. government's special envoy for Bosnia and Herzegovina, announced in Belgrade on the morning of July 19, 1996 that Karadzic, the Serbian leader of Bosnia and Herzegovina, had resigned from all leadership positions. This marks the final end of Karadzic's political future. Holbrooke made the announcement after a 10-hour meeting with President Milosevic of the Federal Republic of Serbia. Holbrooke said Karadzic and several other senior Serbian officials signed an agreement with Milosevic present as a witness. According to the agreement, Karadzic will give up all positions with political influence, including his position as chairman of the Serb ruling Democratic Party. He will no longer appear on public television, radio, television and other media, and will not participate in the general election in Bosnia and Herzegovina scheduled to be held on September 14. Forcing Karadzic to completely withdraw from Serbian political life and holding the general election in Bosnia and Herzegovina as scheduled is an important mission for Holbrooke's visit to the former Yugoslavia. Starting from the 16th, Holbrooke has made shuttle visits between Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and the Federal Republic of Serbia, and held talks with Presidents Izetbegovic, Tudjman and Milosevic respectively. The two rounds of talks with Milosevic lasted more than 14 hours. Milosevic was once an ally of Karadzic in the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina. In December last year, Milosevic signed the Bosnia and Herzegovina peace agreement in Paris on behalf of the Bosnia and Herzegovina Serbs. According to the peace agreement, Karadzic, accused of being a war criminal by the United Nations War Crimes Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia in The Hague, is not allowed to hold public office and participate in the general election in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Under pressure from the United States and its Western allies, Karadzic announced at the end of last month and early this month that he would resign as Serbian president of Bosnia and Herzegovina and would not participate in the general election in Bosnia and Herzegovina. However, he still holds the post of chairman of the Serbian Democratic Party. The United States and other countries believe that this shows that the Serbs in Bosnia and Herzegovina have not fully implemented the Bosnia and Herzegovina peace agreement, and Karadzic has posed a major obstacle to the peace process in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Officials from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe responsible for overseeing the election in Bosnia and Herzegovina pointed out that because Karadzic did not completely withdraw from Serbian political life, the original start date of the election campaign was forced to be postponed from the 14th to the 19th, and may be postponed again. The Muslim government of Bosnia and Herzegovina has repeatedly stated that if Karadzic continues to serve as chairman of the Serb Democratic Party, the Muslim government will boycott the election. The issue of Bosnia and Herzegovina is a diplomatic trump card of the Clinton administration. If the peace process in Bosnia and Herzegovina stagnates, it will undoubtedly have a negative impact on President Clinton's re-election campaign this year. It was against this background that Holbrooke repeatedly imposed pressure on Milosevic in Belgrade. Holbrooke emphasized that since Milosevic signed the peace agreement on behalf of the Serbs in Bosnia and Herzegovina, he has the responsibility and obligation to implement the relevant provisions of the peace agreement, especially on the issue of Karadzic's future or stay, and he should play a special and important role. Otherwise, the United States and other Western countries will impose stricter economic sanctions on the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. He also made it clear that if Karadzic continues to serve as chairman of the Serb Democratic Party, the Democratic Party will be prohibited from participating in the general election in Bosnia and Herzegovina. At the same time, the U.S. -led NATO also threatened that if diplomatic efforts failed to work, NATO would not rule out the possibility of taking military action against Karadzic. Although Milosevic does not want the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia to be sanctioned again, he cannot easily make concessions or compromises on Karadzic's political destiny, because doing so will meet with strong opposition from the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and the Serbs in Bosnia and Herzegovina, exposing him to great political risks. After bargaining, both sides finally made certain concessions. The United States no longer insists that Karadzic be sent to the United Nations Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia in Shanghai, nor does it insist that Karadzic leave the Serbian entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Milosevic expressed his willingness to do Serbian work and urged Karadzic to completely separate himself from Serbian political life. Faced with dual pressure from the United States and President Milosevic, the Serbs in Bosnia and Herzegovina, especially Karadzic, made wise choices, thus avoiding further escalation of confrontations and conflicts between the Serbs in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the United States and other Western countries. After Karadzic announced his complete withdrawal from Serb politics in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, which oversees the general election in Bosnia and Herzegovina, announced that the election campaign in Bosnia and Herzegovina will start from the 19th as planned, and the Serb Democratic Party will also be eligible to participate in the general election in Bosnia and Herzegovina. People believe that although Karadzic has announced his withdrawal from Serbian political life, it seems premature to conclude that his political influence in Serbia, especially in the peace process in Bosnia and Herzegovina, will completely disappear.