BONIA AND HERZEGOVINA:
MUNICIPAL ELECTIONS CARRIED OUT IN A DEMORATIC MANNER
Municipal elections were held in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BH) on 8 April 2000, based on the rules and regulations established by the Provisional Election Committee (PIC). It was originally planned that he elections would be based on a new election law, but due to disagreements on the content of the law, the federal BH organs did not adopt it in time. The most problematic article was related to the elections of members of the BH presidency.
The High Representative for BH, Wolfgang Petritsch, and the Head of OSCE Mission to BH, Robert Barry, appealed to all the political parties represented in the BH Assembly to accept the election law that was drafted by OSCE and OHR experts.
The PIC confirmed the participation of 68 political parties and 7 coalitions in the elections. The election lists included 22,355 candidates. Elections did not take place in the Brcko district or in the municipality of Srebrenica (both in the Republic of Srpska).
According to the Center for Civil Initiatives and the Network of Non-governmental Organizations, the local elections were carried out in a democratic and fair manner, and in a peaceful atmosphere. These were the first elections to be monitored by the Center. The OSCE Mission in BH announced the final election results, which were then confirmed by the PIC.
In the Republic of Srpska, the Serb Democratic Party (SDS) won in 49 municipalities. The Party of Independent Social Democrats (SNSD) emerged victorious in four municipalities; the Serb National Alliance (SNS) in three; and the Socialist Party of Republika Srpska (SPRS) in one municipality.
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Source: Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Republika Srpska.
For more information please contact the Helsinki Committee, tel/fax +387- 55 472 851 or 401 532
e-mail helcomm@inecco.net or helodbor@eunet.yu
BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA / FEDERATION:
PRESSURE ON "DEVNI AVAZ"
In a public statement made on 21 June, the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Bosnia and Herzegovina strongly condemned recent pressure exerted on the newspaper "Devni avaz." In the latest incident, tax officials carried out a fiscal auditing at the newspaper’s premises. They entered the offices with uniformed police officers of the Ministry of Interior. According to the Helsinki Committee, the incident is without precedence and represents a crude attack on the freedom of the media. Further, the Committee stated that the act is in violation of international standards governing freedom of speech and expression, and leaves Bosnia and Herzegovina behind in European integration.
The Helsinki Committee called upon the authorities in Bosnia and Herzegovina to stop applying methods used by undemocratic and authoritarian regimes in its direct neighborhood and demanded that they create an environment in which information can be disseminated undisturbed – a necessary precondition for building democracy and respect for human rights in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
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Source: Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
For more information please contact the Helsinki Committee, tel.+387-71-230809 or 230811, fax +387-71-230809, e-mail office@bh-hchr.org
BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA / REPUBLIKA SRPSKA:
INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY SUPPORS QUICKER RETURN OF REFUGEES
The return of refugees and displaced persons to the Republic of Srpska has not proceeded in accordance with earlier plans, and representatives of the international community are not satisfied with the work of the entity or the local authorities.
Although returns were implemented more effectively in 2000 than in 1999, the process remains slow. As a result, more dismissals of senior authorities for obstructing the implementation of the Dayton Peace Agreement are to be expected. The Office of the High Representative (OHR) has made an official statement to this effect.
International authorities sent a letter to all newly elected mayors in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BH) calling on them to actively support all public activities in connection with the return of property to the pre-war owners. The representatives of the OHR, OSCE and UNHCR expect the mayors to contribute to an increase in the number of evictions from houses and apartments occupied by non-legal owners or tenants.
The international community has insisted that the property laws be implemented as soon as possible, in accordance with the May 2000 Brussels Declaration. To follow up the implementation of the laws, a coordination system has been established.
At the end of May, the OHR sent a letter to the responsible authorities throughout BH demanding a plan for alternative refugee accommodation. Local authorities who know the exact number of property claims in their area and also know who is illegally occupying others’ property should put the plan into practice. The international community intends to financially support only those municipalities that carry out this task adequately. According to the OHR, there are 250,000 return property claims throughout BH, and 750,000 refugees and displaced persons awaiting the opportunity to return.
The European Commission will provide financial support in the amount of 50.1 million Euro to accelerate the return of refugees and displaced persons. The funds will be administrated in a flexible manner and allocated directly to the locations to which individuals are returning. The program also supports, inter alia, assistance in finding employment and legal aid in realizing property rights.
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Source: Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Republika Srpska.
For more information please contact the Helsinki Committee, tel/fax +387- 55 472 851 or 401 532
e-mail helcomm@inecco.net or helodbor@eunet.yu
DOES THE SR SECURITY SERVICE BUG PHONES?
At the beginning of June, "Reporter" magazine (Banja Luka) published a series of articles on the illegal activities of the Intelligence Security Service of the Republic of Srpska, such as the unsanctioned bugging of telephones. The articles stated that conversations of politicians, public persons, media and others are illegally bugged. The Intelligence Security Service responded that the allegations were not true, and that no monitoring had taken place.
By law, the Intelligence Security Service is allowed to monitor telephone conversations, but only with the approval of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Srpska. The court publicly stated that it had never approved such activities.
The case triggered wide public debate and raised questions about the organization, activities and makeup of the Intelligence Security Service. In the Republic of Srpska, this service is not under the control of the Ministry of Interior but is directly subordinated to the prime minister of the republic.
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Source: Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Republika Srpska.
For more information please contact the Helsinki Committee, tel/fax +387- 55 472 851 or
40132, e-mail helcomm@inecco.net or helodbor@eunet.yu