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Mostar
The first post-war elections in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BH) took place in
Mostar on 30 June and were without doubt a success for the Mostaris and the
European Union (EU) Administration of the city. The astonishingly high turnout
of almost 60 percent of the 100.000 electorate provided substantial proof that
people want elections, thus sending a strong positive signal for the general
elections in September. The atmosphere was peaceful, sometimes even festive.
Some 20.000 displaced persons and refugees, among them 150 Serbs now living in
Belgrade, including former Mostar Mayor Braco Andric, used the opportunity to
visit their city again.
Voters travelled freely between East and West Mostar while the local and
international police, supported by IFOR, worked well together and provided the
necessary level of security.
Although not yet officially announced, the results of the elections,
however, sent mixed signals. Most people chose to vote along ethnic lines with
the SDA-led List of Citizens receiving over 48 and the HDZ almost 46 percent of
the vote. The opposition share was practically reduced to zero and will not be
represented in the new city and municipal institutions.
A protest against the validity of the voting in Bonn, Germany, where 26 more
ballots than registered voters were counted, is still pending. It will now be up
to the EU Administration Ombudsman to decide how to address this issue. As this
irregularity is rather minor and does not in any way influence the overall
outcome, it is to be expected that the Ombudsman will reject the protest.
Elections
The order of political parties and independent candidates on the ballots for
the September elections was determined by lottery on 26 June at the OSCE
premises in Sarajevo. For three independent candidates it was not necessary to
draw lots, since they were single independent candidates at the respective
levels: Mr. Vladimir Srebrov for the Parliament of the Federation, Mr. Rasim
Maslic for the Cantonal elections in Canton Central Bosnia and Mr. Fadlija
Bambur for the Cantonal elections in Sarajevo.
A public swearing-in ceremony for the four judges of the Election Appeals
Sub-Commission took place on 2 July at the Faculty of Law of the University of
Sarajevo, where the Sub-Commission will be based until the elections in
September. The ceremony was presided over by Ambassador Robert Frowick. The
Sub-Commission is currently looking into two cases referred to it by the
Provisional Election Commission (PEC), one concerning a complaint by a
political party regarding a violent incident during a party rally and the other
concerning name similarity between two parties.
Around 60 other complaints have been received so far, most regarding
decisions of the Local Election Commissions on issues related to voter
registration.
Joint Bodies
The third meeting of the (JCC) NE took place in Bijeljina on 4 July,
chaired by the Principal Deputy HR Michael Steiner. Those attending included
representatives from Tuzla, Odzak, Orasje, Bijeljina, Brcko, Zenica and Doboj as
well as the director of the World Bank Mission for BH Rory O'Sullivan,
representatives of the OSCE and UNHCR.
On the elections, it was emphasised that one of the most important
preconditions was to ensure that all citizens check whether their names are on
the voter lists since the deadline for rectifying any mistakes is 19 July.
In order to bolster the process of economic reconstruction, a decision to
form regional funds for reconstruction was made. This was done at the suggestion
of the OHR and the World Bank in order to cut through the bureaucracy and enable
the expedient and direct disbursement of funds to specific regions for specific
projects.
Speaking after the meeting, Ambassador Steiner warned of the rising
discontent of refugees and displaced persons who see no resolution in sight for
their troubles. "In the future we will aim to include representatives
of refugee associations in our meetings in order to speed up the work of the
authorities on both sides which has so far been very slow", he said
following the meeting. On the across-Entity co-operation of police forces,
Steiner said the aim was to "develop close co-operation between the
police forces of the two Entities so that we don't have a situation where
criminals from the two Entities are working together while the police are
not".
Economy
Representatives of the Federation and the Republika Srpska signed an
agreement on linking the two payment systems on June 26, in Sarajevo. The
agreement enables payment transfers in German Marks between the Entities. The
agreement paves way i.a. for facilitation of trade relations between the
Entities. The payment link is scheduled to become operational at the beginning
of July.
Human Rights
On 24-25 June, the Human Rights Co-ordination Centre deployed a
mission to Bihac to assess the pre-election political environment. Mission
members met with a range of representatives of international organisations,
political opposition figures (including supporters of Fikret Abdic), and local
officials. The team made several recommendations to international human rights
implementing organisations to improve the overall climate in the region.
Refugee And Humanitarian Affairs
Following the agreement in Banja Luka on 25 June to take concrete
steps to address the issues of detention, missing persons and exhumations, the
principal Deputy High Representative, together with the Humanitarian Affairs and
Human Rights, invited the Parties to convene again on 28 June to establish
specific procedures concerning outstanding detention issues, to set priority
sites and timetables for exhumation and clearing of unburied mortal remains, and
to nominate representatives to a Joint Expert Commission on Exhumation.
This meeting was further followed by a session on 1 July during which the
Parties agreed on a concept for the reburial of mortal remains that will respect
the wishes of relatives concerning the burial site and ceremony.
UNHCR's inter-entity bus services continue to transport up a thousand people
a day despite renewed bureaucratic harassment by the Republika Srpska
authorities. More bus lines are expected to open soon.
RS authorities have so far failed to reinstate some 51 Muslims recently
evicted from their homes in the Banja Luka suburb of Vrbanja, despite promises
to do so. There is also growing concern about continued harassment of Serbs
remaining in formerly RS-held areas of Sarajevo.
Economic Reconstruction
Economic reconstruction in BH was extensively discussed at the G-7
Summit in Lyon ( June 27-29 ). The prevailing message was that without
active support from the Parties in BH in realising the Peace Agreement, no
significant reconstruction efforts may be expected. Among other things it was
agreed that:
- All donors countries should undertake to pay out until Dec. 1996 at least
50% and until June 1997 100 % of the promised funds at the two donors
conferences.
- Projects, which are beneficial to co-operation and reconciliation will be
supported. All parties are urged to develop a joint economic policy ( Central
Bank, joint custom and tax system, new currency and a appropriate distribution
of income between the state, cantons and municipalities).
- During the week 24th - 30th June, the European Commission (EC) delivered
a variety of urgently needed goods and works, as part of the PHARE Essential Aid
Programme:
- School Furniture - The delivery of school furniture from the local
manufacturer, Konjuh, continued to primary schools in Sarajevo, Bihac, Tuzla and
Zenica. The value of these deliveries was in excess of DM 200.000.
- Transformers - Transport was arranged and paid for by the EC for donation
of 40 transformers (125 tons) from UK and 2 cement silos (24 tons) from France.
The cost of the transport was 30.000 Pound Sterling and 25200 FFR
respectively.
The civil repair works at the Power Station at Stup Sarajevo was completed
this week by a local company Thermoteling Sarajevo. The value of the civil works
was DM 51,842,00. Work will now start on the preparation of the electrical works
for the installation of transformers. This work is also to be undertaken by a
local company, Unimont.
Looking Ahead
- 10 July:
Joint Civilian Commission, Sarajevo
- 12 July:
Joint Interim Commission, Sarajevo
- 17 July:
Joint Civilian Commission South, place to be
determined.
The OHR Bulletin is produced by the Public Affairs Department of the Office
of the High Representative in Sarajevo and aims to give an overview of what is
happening on the ground in the civilian implementation of the Dayton Agreement.
Suggestions and contributions are welcome and
should be addressed to the Public Affairs Department of the Office of the High
Representative in Sarajevo (387-71) 447 275 ext. 562. Callers from outside BH dial via Brussels switchboard:
Tel. (32-2) 737 7000 & Fax (32-2) 737 7901
OHR Bulletin nr. 9, issued 05 July 1996.
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