Vote in RS Brcko Would Preempt
Arbitration and
Affirm Results of
Ethnic Cleansing
Brcko, Bosnia and Herzegovina, 14 May 1997.
The International Helsinki Federation for Human
Rights (IHF) and the Helsinki Committees of
Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia, along with the
Helsinki Committee of the Republika Srpska are
deeply concerned that the 8 May 1997 decision by
the OSCE to proceed with municipal elections only
in the Serb- controlled part of Brcko would, if
implemented, destroy any possibility to restore
the city's pre-war multi-ethnic character.
The IHF appeals to the OSCE to delay municipal
elections in Brcko until after the 1998
arbitration decision is made, and / or allow
municipal elections to take place in the entire,
pre-1991 Brcko municipality, which includes both
the current Federation and RS portions. The IHF
appeals to Ambassador Farrand, the international
Supervisor of Brcko, to define the "Brcko
area" by those 1991 boundaries.
Under Dayton, Brcko is recognized as a special
area. It is the most hotly-contested and
potentially explosive territory in Bosnia. It is
the only municipality in which the Inter-Entity
Boundary Line (IEBL) is subject to international
arbitration. Yet the OSCE has made no specific
electoral provisions for its special status and
has started that the same rules and regulations
for the nation-wide elections will apply to
Brcko.
The IHF believes the decision to push forward
with elections in RS Brcko is inconsistent with
the Dayton Peace Agreement and de facto preempts
the final Arbitration Tribunal Award due in March
1998. From a human rights perspective, and to be
fair to all parties, it is inconceivable that the
"relevant area" consist of anything
less than the entire, pre-war Brcko municipality.
The international community must acknowledge that
the entire municipality of Brcko is in dispute. A
complex series of events, including the
postponement of the final arbitration decision
until March 1998, the failure of the Vienna
Conference to define the Brcko "area",
the failure to create municipal districts by the
Federation of BH, and an interpretation of what
was meant by the Brcko area by Chief Arbitrator
Roberts Owen, have come together in such a way
that the OSCE authorities intend to treat Brcko
like any other split municipality, eroding the
special character assigned to the community by
Dayton. But Ambassador Farrand and the OSCE can
do the right thing and make a decision that is
more than expedient - a decision for the future
of Bosnia.
The Mayor of Tuzla, Selim Beslagic, has appealed
to Roberts Owen and to Ambassador Robert Frowick
as follows: "In case you decide to divide
Brcko... you decide to divide this town
definitely, and to bury the hopes of all who were
expelled to return... as well as hopes for the
reintegration of Bosnia and Herzegovina..."
Decisions Disenfranchises Thousands
The decision by the OSCE to recognize the
Serb-controlled part of Brcko as an electoral
unit disenfranchises thousands of Bosniaks and
Croats who live in the Federation-controlled part
of Brcko and who are prohibited from voting. If
effectively preempts the final Arbitration Award
by allowing one side to vote in elections that,
under present conditions, give Serbs an unfair
advantage.
Displaced persons in Federation Brcko who once
lived in RS Brcko can register to vote in the
elections. The only option for all other Bosniaks
and Croats in the Federation-controlled part of
Brcko to have elections is to proclaim separate
Brcko Federation municipalities in which they
could then vote. But this option is politically
blocked and morally unacceptable, insofar as it
would reinforce the division of the municipality.
The Bosniaks and Croats are being pressured by
the international community to accept the OSCE
decision under threat of losing Brcko in the
final Arbitration Award. Their choice is to not
participate in what they view as an unfair
election process and risk their stake in Brcko,
or to cooperate in a process which de facto hands
over Brcko to the Serbs.
On the other hand, Bosnian Serbs have threatened
that if they are not awarded Brcko, they will
re-start the war.
Right to Return / Freedom of Movement
The claim by Ambassador Frowick that these
elections "will be a significant step toward
the creation of a multi-ethnic environment in
Brcko" and facilitate the "safe, phased
and orderly return of refugees to their pre-war
homes" is not credible given the conditions
under which the elections will be held.
In the Interim Arbitration Award in March it was
acknowledged that "the RS's almost total
disregard of its Dayton Implementation
obligations in the Brcko area has kept the
tensions and instability in the region at a much
higher level than was expected". It was also
acknowledged that "under RS governance the
requirements of Dayton are not now being honored
in the Brcko area".
Recent events (the stoning of a bus in RS Brcko;
settlers in the Zone of Separation who have left,
a Federation women's group that was not allowed
to enter RS Brcko for their own safety) fly in
the face of the Brcko Supervisor's role in
implementing the Dayton guarantees of freedom of
movement and the right to return.
The elections in RS Brcko will not facilitate the
return of refugees or freedom of movement, which
Bosnian-Serbs have successfully obstructed since
Dayton was signed. It is not reasonable to
believe that legitimizing Serb authority over the
area they now control will change that situation.
Indeed it will serve to further inhibit such
guarantees and reinforce the results of ethnic
cleansing.
Surprise Decision
The Bosniaks and Croats in Federation Brcko
did not know of the decision to hold elections in
Brcko until the announcement on May 8th - Brcko
was not included in the initial list of
municipalities that are scheduled to hold
elections in September. The announcement caught
the parties by surprise. They argue that there is
insufficient time to register refugees and to
prepare for elections. The deadline for
registering new political parties has already
expired. Moreover, they argue without the return
of refugees and freedom of movement, there can be
no fair outcome.
Voter Registration Manipulation Extends to
Serbia
The IHF has received reports of voter
registration fraud by Serbs in RS. Fraudulent
documents have been discovered which are used to
register Bosnian Serbs in a municipality in which
they would not otherwise be permitted to vote
under the election rules.
According to the Helsinki Committee for Human
Rights in Serbia, emissaries from Republika
Srpska are trying to attract Bosnian Serb
refugees from the Federation to register for
Brcko and Srebrenica. Identity cards are being
issued to them on the spot and they are being
promised flats or houses in the mentioned cities.
The Helsinki Committee has also received
information that Bosnian Serbs from Drvar are
being registered for Srpski Drvar by
commissioners who fill out the forms of them. But
these people believe they are registering to vote
in the Federation portion of Drvar - where no
election is even taking place.
The response of refugees in Serbia to the
registration is very weak so far. Many of them
have indicated that they fear they will be
manipulated as they were during the last
elections. They also fear that they could be
forcibly sent to Republika Srpska (out of 250.000
Serbs from Bosnia 180.000 are from the
Federation). Most of them do not want to return
to settle in Republika Srpska.
Another election rule reportedly being
manipulated is the rule which permits persons to
vote where they intend to live in the future. To
qualify, an individual must prove that they have
ownership in a house, have an offer of employment
of have been invited by relatives to live in the
area. Control over the municipal institutions
gives Bosnian Serbs the opportunity to make such
offers to Serb refugees.
Conversely, the hands of the Croats and Bosniaks
are tied with regard to future residence and
indeed "rule registration" of the
pre-war 1991 populace. Moreover, they have only
four weeks in which to locate, notify and
register approximately 30.000 refugees who once
lived in RS Brcko and now reside abroad.
Conclusion
The decision to hold elections in the
Serb-controlled part of Brcko contributes to the
growing disillusionment among Bosniaks that they
cannot find justice under the Dayton Peace
Process. The decision is seen as evidence of a
pattern of implementation of the Dayton Agreement
that favors the swift withdrawal of the
international community, as the expense of Bosnia
and Herzegovina's future as a multi-ethnic,
pluralistic society.
The International Helsinki Federation for Human
Rights (IHF) is a non-governmental,
non-for-profit organization that monitors
compliance with the human rights provisions of
the Helsinki Final Act and its follows-up
documents as well as international law. Based in
Vienna, the IHF represents 31 Helsinki Committees
in Europe and North America. In addition to
supporting and providing liaison among its member
committees, the IHF gathers information and
documents on the human rights situation in OSCE
participating States.
For more information:
Aaron Rhodes, Executive Director
Therese Nelson, Legal Counsel
IHF Secretariat, Vienna
43-1-408-8822
Srdjan
Dizdarevic, President, Helsinki Committee for
Human Rights in
Bosnia and Herzegovina, 387-71-206-011
Sonja Biserko, Chair, Helsinki Committee for
Human Rights in Serbia
381-11-639-481
Branko Todorovic, President, Helsinki Committee
for Human Rights in
Republika Srpska
381-76-472-851
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