1998 Scores
Status: Partly Free
Freedom Rating: 5.0
Civil Liberties: 5
Political Rights: 5
Overview
In September 1998, Bosnia-Herzegovina saw a second national election since the U.S.-brokered 1995 Dayton Accords which ended five years of war and divided the country into two fully autonomous entities, the Muslim-Croat Federation and Republika Srpska. Voters cast ballots for the following: a three-member national collective presidency consisting of a representative from each major ethnic group (Muslim, Serb, Croat); a regional president for Republika Srpska; a national parliament consisting of the 42-member House of Representatives elected by proportional representation (28 members from the Muslim-Croat Federation and 14 members from Republika Srpska); a 140-member Muslim-Croat House of Representatives; and the 83-member National Assembly of Republika Srpska.
In the race for the collective presidency, President Alija Izetbegovic of the Muslim-based, nationalist Party of Democratic Action (SDA) won reelection with 86 percent of the vote, while Zivko Radisic of the moderate Sloga coalition consisting of the Serbian People's Union (SNS), Socialist Party of Republika Srpksa (SPRS) and the Party of Independent Social Democrats (SNSD) defeated hard-line Serb member Momcilo Krajisnik of the Serbian Democratic Party (SDS) by a vote of 51 percent to 45 percent. Incumbent Croatian moderate Kresmir Zubak of the New Croatian Initiative (NHI) came in third behind Ante Jalevic, the Croatia-backed hard-liner from the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ).
In other election highlights, incumbent Republika Srpska President Biljana Plavsic, backed by the West for her support of the Dayton Accords, was defeated by Nikola Poplasen, leader of the ultranationalist Serbian Radical Party (SRS), who nominated hard-line nationalist Dragan Kalinic of the SDS and a wartime ally of accused war criminal Radovan Karadzic to replace moderate incumbent Milorad Dodik as prime minister of the Serb entity. But Kalinic's nomination was blocked by the newly elected republican parliament, in which the moderate Serb bloc led by the pro-Plavsic Sloga and the hard-liners led by the SDS and the SRS controlled about 30 seats each. The rest belonged to Muslim and Croat deputies representing mainly refugees who fled the Serb entity during the 1992-95 war to areas that became the Muslim-Croat Federation. By year's end, parliament could not agree on a prime minister, and the international Office of the High Representative and the United States said that a hard-line Serb nationalist opposed to the Dayton agreement would not be acceptable.
Of the 140 seats in the federation House of Representatives, the SDA-led Coalition for a Unified and Democratic Bosnia-Herzegovina won 68 seats, followed by the Social Democratic Party of Bosnia-Herzegovina, with 19, and the HDZ with 15.
Bosnia-Herzegovina became one of six constituent republics of Yugoslavia in 1945. After a 1992 referendum boycotted by Serbs favored secession, President Alija Izetbegovic declared independence, leading to the outbreak of war launched by ethnic Serbs with the support of Serbia that was marked by "ethnic cleansing" that killed several hundred thousand and displaced 2 million people. In 1995, after NATO launched air strikes on Serb forces and battlefield gains by Bosnians and Croats, the presidents of Bosnia, Croatia and Serbia initialed the Dayton Accords, formally accepted in December. Key provisions included: a united Sarajevo; internationally supervised elections; a constitution calling for loose federative state with semi-autonomous Muslim-Croatian (51 percent) and a Serb (49 percent) entities, a rotating presidency and the assignment of posts by nationality; UN-supervised disarmament; and the introduction of a 32,000-member NATO-led international peace force (IFOR, later renamed the stabilization force, or SFOR) to separate the warring factions and maintain the peace. Indicted war criminals, including Bosnian Serb President Karadzic and Gen. Ratko Mladic, would be barred from public office.
The 1996 national elections and the 1997 local elections for 136 municipal councils saw the dominance of the major nationalist parties, the SDA, HDZ, and SDS. But in mid-1997, tensions between Republika Srpksa President Plavsic, a former Karadzic protégé elected as an SDS stalwart, and hard-liners erupted after she dissolved the SDS-dominated parliament, pledged to honor the Dayton Accords, and accused police of corruption and usurping her authority. International troops blocked a coup attempt by Karadzic loyalists, protected pro-Plavsic media facilities from nationalist mobs, and closed transmitters of the nationalist Bosnian Serb radio and television (SRT). After new elections in November, the SDS won 24 of 83 seats, down from 45 it won in 1996.
In January 1998, the stalemate over a prime minister was resolved with the appointment of moderate Milorad Dodik, which led to an influx of foreign aid into Republika Srpksa, including a pledge of $5 million from the U.S. But Plavsic's defeat in September's vote again left the republic without a government by year's end, and the U.S. said $100 million of additional aid pledged to the Bosnian Serbs depended on continued commitment to the peace process and Dayton.
In other issues, the national government continued to function sporadically, and the joint institutions of the Muslim-Croat Federation existed mainly on paper. And while $5.1 billion in reconstruction aid for 1996-99 helped to rebuild roads, bridges, schools, and housing, distrust among ethnic groups and officials and parties forced top Western envoy Carlos Westendrop to push through the design for a common currency, the Kovertiblina Marka introduced in the summer, and the introduction of a passport and flag. In several key cities, municipal councils elected in 1997 under a system where 90 percent of registered voters signed up to cast absentee ballots in the place where they actually lived before the war, were not allowed to convene, blocked by nationalist parties that stood to lose control of towns captured during the war, though by May some type of power-sharing arrangements were imposed on 131 of 136 municipalities. The city of Mostar remained bitterly divided, and the fate of Brcko, under Serb control, remained undecided.
The return of refugees remained largely unrealized. The United Nations had billed 1998 as "The Year of Return," hoping that as many as 50,000 of the estimated 1.8 million people displaced by the war would return to their homes in areas controlled by members of another ethnic group. By the end of August, however, only 6,063 Bosnians had registered as "minority" returnees, and probably no more than 4,000 had returned without registering. Of these, no more than 1,700 were Croats and Serbs who came back to Sarajevo. And while Republika Srpska officials early in the year promised to orchestrate the return of 70,000 Muslims and Croats to their prewar homes, they reneged as a result of hard-line pressure in an election year, and according to the UN, only 859 Muslim and Croat returnees had registered by the end of August.
In economic matters, the Bosnian economy showed double-digit growth, and inflation remained low. But the postwar growth was fueled by a $5.1 billion reconstruction package and on Western aid, and in December U.S. officials urged Bosnian leaders to undertake major economic reforms in order to attract badly needed foreign investment. The U.S. also criticized the country's politicians over widespread corruption, tax evasion, and burdensome regulations.
In 1998, several war criminals were arrested. In December, Gen. Radilsav Krstic, a close military ally of indicted war criminal Radovan Karadzic, was taken into custody by SFOR near Brcko.
Political Rights and Civil Liberties
Citizens of Bosnia and its constituent entities can change their government democratically under a constitution provided in the Dayton Accords. The September 1997 local elections included irregularities, particularly in voter registration lists. Voters, including refugees who cast ballots for where they used to live, could not endow their representatives with de facto power since sitting authorities refused to implement election results. Hard-liners charged irregularities in the November elections for the parliament of Republika Srpska. According to the OSCE and the Council of Europe, the 1998 national elections were conducted in "a more constructively competitive political environment" than previous ones. Several HDZ candidates were barred from running for, "serious breaches of campaign and media regulations."
The OSCE-led Media Experts Commission (MEC) was established to assist authorities in promoting free media during election campaigns. Articles 80 and 81 of the criminal code criminalize libel. In January 1998, a municipal court convicted Senda Pecanin of the Sarajevo-based Dani magazine of criminal libel against Fahrudin Radoncic, editor of the daily Dnevni Avaz, controlled by the SDA. Pecanin had published an investigative article of Radoncic's business practices.
Approximately 25 percent of media outlets are privatized. There are several private or semi-privatized newspapers in Muslim-controlled areas of the federation and in Republika Srpksa in addition to local papers in Bosnian-Croat controlled areas. There are about 50 TV and 150 radio stations in Bosnia, most operating without official approval. In broadcasting, private media in the Muslim-controlled area of the federation include two major television stations – Studio 99 and TV Hayat – as well as several private and semi-private radio stations, including the Sarajevo-based Radio Stari Grad. In the Croat-controlled areas, the HTV Mostar station strongly supports the HDZ. In the Republika Srpska, most stations have links with political parties. There are several foreign-funded media outlets. Most private media are nominally independent, though they can broadly be characterized as pro- or anti-government. In December, MEC said that Bosnian radio and TV stations must apply by February 1999 for an operating license or risk closure. Journalists are still regularly harassed or detained by police and authorities.
Muslims, Catholic Croats and Orthodox Serbs practice their religions in areas they control. Mosques, churches and cemeteries were intentionally targeted in war zones.
While the constitution provides for freedom of assembly, the 1998 campaign occasionally saw restrictions placed on political rallies. The Provisional Election Commission (PEC), established under the Dayton agreement, approved 67 parties to contest the 1998 elections. Some 82 parties registered for the 1997 municipal votes. Security forces have harassed opposition parties in Republika Srpska and in the Muslim-Croat federation.
Trade unions exist, but their functions have been limited by economic and social dislocation. The largest union is the Confederation of Independent Trade Unions, which evolved from the Yugoslav Communist Trade Union Confederation. In November, trade unions in the Muslim-Croat federation protested the government's decision to lower the monthly minimum wage in key industrial sectors. The unions also urged the government to adopt legislation on collective bargaining.
The constitution provides for an independent judiciary, with the administration of justice reserved for the two entities. The judiciary has come under political pressure in the constituent entities such as in Republika Srpksa where judges were intimidated in the ongoing struggle between moderates and hard-liners. Courts remain under the control or influence of ruling parties.
Independent watchdog agencies reported in November that the human rights situation in Bosnia had improved despite ineffective, politically-influenced police. Ethnically motivated crimes and the reluctance to investigate them remained a serious problem. Refugees attempting to return, and municipal councils attempting to assume their posts were subject to attacks and harassment throughout the country.
Freedom of movement across entity boundaries remains constricted, though the situation improved somewhat over previous years, and corruption remains a serious issue in both entities. There have been several charges by international officials claiming that aid money had been siphoned off by officials, and that the civil service experiences endemic smuggling and corruption, particularly in the Republika Srpska.
Property rights are tenuous throughout Bosnia. Property laws have generally been used as a tool to consolidate the results of "ethnic cleansing." Displaced owners of property have been unable to reclaim their homes and other assets. Business continues to be constrained by legal, administrative, and bureaucratic obstacles.
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