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Donors Conference
The third Donor Pledging Conference in support of BiH began in
Brussels on 23 July. The two-day Conference will be attended by
representatives from 48 donor governments and 12 international
organisations and is hoped to raise enough to meet the US$ 1.4 billion
required for 1997 reconstruction needs in BiH. Scheduled to take place
at the beginning of the year, the Conference had been postponed on
several occasions due to the Parties' failure to meet the necessary
conditions. These conditions included the adoption of a package of
economic laws related to the Central Bank, State budget, external debt
management and customs policies. The approval of these laws by the BiH
Parliament on 20 June, as well as the agreement reached between the
International Monetary Fund (IMF) and BiH authorities on almost all of
the elements of an IMF stand-by arrangement, cleared the way for a final
decision on the holding of the Conference to be made.
A joint statement released on 15 July by the European Commission (EC)
and the World Bank (WB) confirmed their decision to hold the Donor
Conference on 23-24 July. The statement by the Head of the
Representation Office of the EC, Ambassador Donato Chiarini, and Acting
Director of the WB Resident Mission, Saumya Mitra, said that, as
co-hosts to the Conference, the EC and WB were convinced that there were
"sufficient grounds to ensure that a pledging conference [would] provide
renewed impetus to the reconstruction effort in BiH, while bringing
additional incentives to implement other aspects of the Dayton Peace
Agreement".
Addressing the participants of the Donors Conference, High
Representative Carlos Westendorp expressed his satisfaction that, in
spite of all the past difficulties, they had been able to assemble for
the Conference. Pointing to the significant progress which had been made
since the last Donors Conference on 13 April 1996, Mr. Westendorp
reminded that major problems remained. Of particular concern was the current crisis in the RS and Mr.
Westendorp called on the RS delegates to solve their differences in a
manner compliant with the Peace Agreements. The recent acts of terrorism
and abuse of police authority in the RS were a cause for great concern
and would not be tolerated: "We will hold those in power fully
responsible for any such acts", said Mr. Westendorp.
Mr. Westendorp shared his assessment of what had been achieved since the
last Conference: people had started working, common institutions had
been set up, freedom of movement had improved, goods were moving between
Entities, some 88,000 refugees and 164,000 DPs had returned, and threats
to fundamental human rights had diminished. The adoption of the Quick
Start Package, coordination of the Entities economic policies and
progress in economic reconstruction were further positive developments.
However, there could be no doubt that the civilian implementation of the
Peace Agreement had fallen short of expectations. "But what I want all
of you to bear in mind is that the reconciliation between people
emerging from a war takes time and can only happen with your support for
economic reconstruction, enabling people to rebuild their lives" said
Westendorp.
Addressing the issues of what needed to be done, Mr. Westendorp
highlighted four points of particular relevance to the field of economic
reconstruction:
- strengthening of the Common Institutions;
- transition to a market economy;
- reconnection of vital networks - railways, telecommunications and power; and
- creation of conditions for minority returns.
Mr. Westendorp called for support for his work in implementing the
civilian aspects of the Peace Agreement. The key elements of such
support would be:
- an unambiguous reconfirmation of the Donor
Community to the task of establishing a democratic BiH with an open
market economy;
- a clear conditioning of support on the beneficiary's
cooperation with the International Community (IC) in all civilian
aspects of the Peace Accords, including apprehension of war crimes
suspects;
- a recognition that political conditionality on the
disbursement of funds would be implemented by the Economic Task Force,
chaired by the HR; and
- pledges that in aggregate came close to the
reconstruction needs as estimated by the WB.
Concerning the issue of conditionality, Mr. Westendorp said: "We should
avoid generalisations which do not take into account specific
circumstances and requirements on the ground. It goes without saying
that assistance cannot be unconditional, but is bound to compliance with
agreed obligations. When applying conditionality, it has to be ensured
that only those who are willing to cooperate in good faith with the
international community should be rewarded. We must not get into a
situation where those who do not cooperate take others hostage". This
required from donors to distinguish and use assistance in a selective
way. As deadlines for new implementation steps from Sintra approached,
Mr. Westendorp said his office would identify shortcomings and propose
solutions. "I am ready to apply political conditionality to the
disbursement of funds through the Economic Task Force", he said
In concluding, Mr. Westendorp assured participants that peace
implementation was making progress and that their support for
reconstruction had been an essential part in achievements made to date.
A critical juncture had been reached where it was of utmost importance
that the IC reconfirm its willingness to support the reconstruction and
market oriented development of BiH. "It is also crucial that the IC be
capable of rewarding cooperation in the implementation of the Peace
Accords, and to withhold support from those obstructing the process",
said Westendorp.
Peace Implementation Council
The Steering Board (SB) of the Peace Implementation Council (PIC) met
at the level of political directors in Sarajevo on 18 July to assess the
general situation with regard to the peace implementation process in
BiH.
In a press briefing following the meeting, HR Carlos Westendorp outlined
the main topics of discussion at the PIC meeting. The SB had reaffirmed
the Sintra conclusions, noting that the general level of compliance with
the Peace Agreement was still inadequate and that deadlines established
in Sintra had not been properly met. It was clear that those who did not
comply with the Peace Agreement would have to suffer the consequences of
their actions. The SB had stressed that economic conditionality would be
fully applied through the Economic Task Force, which was presided over
by the HR. Those who complied would receive international support, those
who did not, would not. This was particularly important in view of the
forthcoming Donors Conference.
Mr. Westendorp said that the SB had expressed great concern about the
situation in RS, where an increasingly anti-democratic atmosphere
prevailed. They firmly condemned all acts of terrorism and violence in
the RS which were clearly designed to intimidate the international
community and its implementation of the Peace Agreement. The
international community would hold those in power and in positions of
responsibility fully responsible for any such act.
The stagnation of the peace process in both Entities was also assessed
to be worrying. In particular, the failure of RS representatives to
attend meetings of the common institutions was a clear breach of the
Peace Agreement. It was demanded that the RS representatives comply
urgently with the Peace Agreement. Urging that political differences
within the RS be solved peacefully and through dialogue, in a manner
consistent with the rule of law and the democratic principles of the
Peace Agreement, the SB said that support would be given to those whose
actions were in accordance with the Peace Agreement.
The SB also deplored campaigns against the international community, not
only through acts of terrorism, but also including recent incidents of
media manipulation. The control and manipulation of the media by RS
authorities and the intimidation activities by the RS police were
considered to be large obstacles to impartial presentation of the
current political crisis in the RS. Mr. Westendorp said that the SB had
seriously considered the possibilities for future action by the High
Representative if public media did not comply with the Peace Agreement.
Also deplored were the recent display of posters of Radovan Karadzic in
contravention of the commitments accepted by RS in July 1996.
Concerning Brcko, the SB noted two primary difficulties. One was the
refusal by the Federation to accept the ID cards issued by RS local
authorities, and the other was the lack of security and misconduct of
the RS police vis-à-vis those who wanted to return. The SB had stated
very clearly that those actions which were not in compliance with the
Peace Agreement would have a negative impact on the final decision of
the Brcko arbitrator.
Mostar was also an important issue where cases of non-compliance were
evident. This was mainly due to the presence and influence of Croat
extremists. The SB noted, that there had, however, been a certain
positive evolution in recent weeks, especially after the arrest of those
involved in the criminal events of February. It was agreed that the
influence of the Croatian authorities had to be exercised. Mr.
Westendorp said that the SB agreed on asking the Croat authorities to
extend their influence on the extremists in west Mostar and in general.
With regard to the municipal elections the SB expressed confidence that,
with the Parties' cooperation and with some extra funding from the
international community for implementation of the election results, the
elections would be of a higher standard than those which had taken place
last year.
Constitutional Crisis in RS
On 19 July the Main board of the RS ruling Serbian Democratic Party
(SDS) decided to expel RS President and member of the Board, Biljana
Plavsic, from the party. The Main Board also called on Plavsic to resign
from her post as RS President and transfer her duties over to the RS
Vice-President Dragoljub Mirjanic. In their explanation the Main Board
said that Plavsic had distanced herself from the SDS, its policy and
party organs, as well as from state organs and that her work of late had
been "incorrect" and, "damaging". Representatives of the IC, including
OHR, made clear that they saw no constitutional implications in the
Board's decision, and said they saw no reason why Mrs. Plavsic would not
continue in her post as RS President.
At a rally of support organized in Doboj on 20 July Plavsic said that
she was not surprised by the SDS Main Board decision to expel her from
the party. "I can breathe easier now", she said
On 22 July The Supreme Court of the RS rejected as "illicit" a
petition submitted by the RS Government against RS President Plavsic for
her decision to dissolve the parliament and call new elections. "Since
the RS President made the decision to dissolve the parliament based on
her constitutional authorization, the petition is rejected", the Supreme
Court explained. A final decision on the constitutionality of Plavsic's
decision, not expected before mid-August, will be made by the RS
Constitutional Court.
Joint Police Forces Established
The Herzegovina Neretva Cantonal police attained official status on
the orders of Cantonal Minister of Interior Coric and Deputy Minister
Dziho, effective 1800hours on 21 July. Describing the event as "an
important first step" UN IPTF officials said that the important element
now was to "capitalise on the real and tangible sense of momentum
generated by the establishment of the police force in Mostar and to
translate this into equal progress on the formation of the Cantonal
police in the outlying municipalities".
The cantonal police for the BiH Federation town of Gorazde was
implemented on 15 July, representing the second cantonal police force to
be implemented under the supervision of the UN International Police Task
Force (IPTF).
Council of Ministers
On 17 June a scheduled session of the BiH Council of Ministers (CoM)
was cancelled after Serb representatives boycotted the meeting. In a
letter to HR Westendorp on 17 July, Mr Bosic, Co-Chairman of the CoM had
cited recent SFOR action and feelings of insecurity as reasons for the
Bosnian Serb representatives' recent non-attendance in the work of the
joint institutions. OHR officials commented saying the fears were
unfounded. Only those who knew they had done something wrong had
legitimate reason to fear detention by SFOR. Senior Deputy High
Representative Ambassador Wagner expressed his regret that the session
had been cancelled as there were many important issues which the CoM
needed to resolve and deadlines which had to be reached.
The CoM reconvened a session on 21 July at which all CoM members were
present, with the exception of Mr. Bozanic and Mr. Krizanovic.
The CoM discussion focused on preparations for the Donors Conference.
Ambassador Wagner, who also attended the session, emphasized that those
that obstructed the implementation of the Peace Agreement would not
receive economic aid. CoM Co-Chairman Haris Silajdzic, said after the
meeting that there was complete agreement among CoM members concerning
the basic stands for the Conference. It was further confirmed that the
delegations of the two Entities would travel separately to Brussels.
Agreement on the approval of a Military Attaché from Hungary was also
reached at the session. It was decided that other agenda items, such as
the important issues of CoM, Citizenship and Passport Laws would be
discussed at the next session.
Presidency
The Presidency of BiH continued its 20th session in the National Museum
on 17 July. Mr. Krajisnik, who refused to come to Sarajevo for "security
reasons", was represented by his Legal Adviser Nenad Radovic. An OHR
proposal concerning the distribution of ambassadorial posts, which had
been handed over in a meeting under the chairmanship of Senior Deputy HR
Wagner earlier in the day and according to which there would be 28
embassies and four missions, was considered. It was decided that each
member of the Presidency would send comments on the proposal by the next
session. Concerning the establishment of diplomatic relations between
BiH and FRY the Presidency instructed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to
draft a reply to Milutinovic's letter of April 1997 within 7 days.
The Presidency continued its 20th session on 22 July at the
electro-technical faculty in Lukavica. Mr. Krajisnik participated in
this session, which was also attended by Mr. Zubak, while Mr.
Izetbegovic was represented by Co-Chair of the CoM, Haris Siladzic.
Discussion on the distribution of diplomatic posts did not result in a
final decision due to positions difficult to reconcile so far. The item
will be addressed again at the next session. The Presidency agreed in
principle to the funding of the three commissions created under Annexes
6 and 7 of the Peace Agreement (the Commission on Human Rights,
encompassing the Ombudsperson's office and the Human Rights Chamber, as
well as the Commisson for Real Property Claims of DPs and Refugees and
the Demining Commission). A BiH contribution of 200,000 DEM will go to
each commission. Despite the Chair's insistence that the situation in
the Serb Entity be addressed, Mr. Krajisnik objected to any discussion
of internal RS matters.
Attacks and Intimidation
A number of attacks, threats and intimidation against international
organisations in the RS Entity of BiH have occurred over the past week
with representatives from OSCE, UNMIBH/UN IPTF and SFOR reporting a
number of explosions and bomb threats against officials from their
organisations. These include: on 15 July an explosion in Banja Luka
outside the ground floor apartment used by an OSCE official; on 16 July
an explosion in Prijedor which damaged a vehicle belonging to a UN IPTF
officer and three stun grenades detonated outside a British base in
Banja Luka; on 18 July an explosion in Bosanska Gradiska which damaged
the house of a UN IPTF officer; and on 20 July a bomb blast near the
OHR/UN offices in Brcko. Vandalism and bomb threats have also been
reported.
Declining to categorise the attacks as "orchestrated", representatives
of the international organisations have nevertheless expressed concern
and urged their officials to take necessary security precautions.
Reacting to reports in the RS media that the attacks were "spontaneous
acts" by the RS population in response to the 10 July SFOR actions in
Prijedor, international officials said that they held the RS authorities
entirely responsible for any attacks which had, or might, occur against
their representatives.
OSCE
The Election Appeals Sub-Commission (EASC) met on 17 July 1997 to
consider allegations of registration irregularities in the
municipalities of Jajce, Zepce, Bosanski Brod, Stolac and Zenica. A
summary of the judgments issued on that date follows:
Jajce
The EASC investigated allegations that DPs registering to vote in Jajce
were not in fact residents of Jajce as of 31 July 1996. It was found
that local authorities including the police, had participated in the
creation and distribution of false documentation needed for DPs to vote
in Jajce. The governing HDZ party was found to be responsible for the
registration irregularities, and for violating Annex 3 of the Peace
Agreement (PA) and PEC Rules and Regulations (PECRR). Accordingly, EASC
struck the first, second, and third names off the HDZ party list in
Jajce.
Zepce
In Zepce, the EASC investigated allegations against the HDZ and SDA for
irregularities in the registration of DPs. It was found that
irregularities occurring at the Golubinja registration center reflected
a concerted plan to improperly register DPs. The well organized plan was
coordinated by the SDA and involved at least 350 citizens who arrived at
the registration center on buses from Maglaj and Doboj. Lunches, drinks
and seating had been provided for those waiting to register. Local
authorities had falsified records to support the attempted
registrations. OSCE did not register the people involved. Since SDA's
plan violated Annex 3 of the PA and the PECRR, the second and third
names of SDA members on the coalition list for municipal elections in
Zepce were struck.
Stolac
The EASC investigated allegations that Certificates of Citizenship
bearing the official seal of the municipality of Stolac were distributed
to citizens of Croatia in order to enable them to register to vote in
the Stolac municipal elections. Such Certificates had been created and
distributed throughout Croatia to former residents of Stolac and the
municipal authorities were found to be part of the scheme. The HDZ, as
the ruling party in Stolac, was held accountable by the EASC for the
conduct of the municipal authorities involved in the falsification of
the Citizenship documents. The HDZ in Stolac was found to be in
violation of Annex 3 of the PA and the PECRR. The EASC struck the second
and third candidates off the HDZ party list in Stolac and denied all
registration applications submitted to registration centers in Croatia
to vote in the Stolac municipality.
Bosanski Brod
The EASC investigated allegations that on June 24, 25 and 26, the SDS
participated in a plan to register DPs who were not residents of
Bosanski Brod on or before 31 July 1996. The investigation found that
the DP documentation presented on June 24-26 were falsified. It was
found that the SDS had participated in the creation and distribution of
false DP cards and/or residency receipts and therefore violated Annex 3
of the PA and the PECRR. The first and second names on the SDS party
list in Bosanski Brod were struck.
Zenica
Allegations that managers of state-run enterprises in Zenica were
intimidating their employees into registering to vote were investigated.
It was noted that the managers in question promptly complied with an
OSCE directive to cease such conduct early in the registration process
and that their conduct had had no detrimental effect upon the
registration process in Zenica. The EASC, however, noted its concern
that such conduct could in other instances, seriously affect the
prospect for fair and free elections and cautioned ruling parties from
participating in such tactics. Before closing the case the EASC reminded
the ruling parties that it was incumbent on them to seek out, punish and
discourage acts of intimidation
The EASC met again on 21 July to consider 3,688 individual appeals to
register in the Brcko municipality and to consider allegations of
irregularities during the re-registration period in the Brcko
municipality:
Brcko
Of the 3,688 individual appeals that the EASC adjudicated:
- 181 were allowed to register in the Brcko municipality;
- 3,270 were denied registration in Brcko because those appellants did
not have valid documentation that was issued on or before 31 July 1996.
The EASC held that the 3,270 appellants whose appeals to register in
Brcko were denied would be registered to vote in the municipality where
they resided in 1991.
- The remaining 237 appeals raised questions of citizenship and were
referred to the Citizenship Verification Sub-Commission for
determination.
It was found that the SDS, local police and municipal authorities had
actively participated in the creation and dissemination of invalid
documentation needed by DPs to register in the municipality of Brcko.
The Brcko Red Cross Center, run by the local authorities, was also found
to be conditioning humanitarian assistance upon proof of registration.
At least two announcements in the local media suggested that residents
who did not register were "traitors" and would suffer unspecified
negative repercussions. One such announcement was made by the President
of the Local Election Commission. The SDS, as the ruling party in Brcko,
was found to be responsible for the irregularities that had occurred and
as a consequence the first, second and third candidates were struck off
the SDS party list in Brcko. The LEC President was also fined one
month's salary for his statement on 22 June 1997 on SRT TV.
On 21 July OSCE announced the beginning of the Claims period. In the
next two weeks 150 Claims Centres will be open 7 days a week, with hours
set by the Local Election Commissions. According to the PEC Rules and
Regulations, the purpose of this period is to enable voters who signed
up during the registration period to verify the accuracy of the
preliminary voter's register.
USAID
On 16 July U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) signed a
Memorandum of Understanding with the mayors of six municipalities in the
Middle Bosnia Canton (Busovaca, Novi Travnik, Donji Vakuf, Fojnica,
Kiseljak and Gornji Vakuf). The MOUs formalise USAID's commitment of
US$1.6 million for the rehabilitation of municipal infrastructure and
guarantee the municipalities' commitment to abide by the principles of
the Peace Agreement.. USAID Mission Director, Craig Buck said "USAID is
firmly committed to supporting the principles of the Dayton Peace
Accords as a condition for providing assistance. By signing MOUs with
the mayors of these six municipalities, we are assured that there can be
no misunderstandings about USAID's expectations regarding freedom of
movement and the right of DPs to return home, regardless of their
religion or ethnic origin".
NATO
NATO SACEUR (Supreme Allied Commander Europe), U.S. General Wesley
Clark, visited Sarajevo on 18 July for talks with members of the BiH
joint Presidency. General Clark also met with the COMSFOR General
William Crouch and Principals of the major international organisations
including HR Carlos Westendorp, Senior Deputy HR, Gerd Wagner, UN SRSG
Kai Eide, UN IPTF Deputy Commissioner, Col. Werner Schumm, OSCE Head of
BiH Mission, Robert Frowick, and UNHCR Special Envoy Carrol Faubert and
UNHCR Chief of Mission Pierre Francois Pirlot.
Looking Ahead
- 22-23 July:
- Donors Conference, Brussels
- 25 July:
- Joint Presidency Session, Sarajevo
- 29 July:
- Joint Presidency Session, Sarajevo
See our Chronology for a full list of activities
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OHR Bulletin nr. 55, issued 23 July 1997.
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