Wayzata World Factbook 1996/The World Factbook - 1996 Edition - Wayzata Technology (3079) (1996).iso/pc/text/humanrts/bosnia_a.txu

Text File | 1996-01-04 | 21KB | 428 lines

TITLE: BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA HUMAN RIGHTS PRACTICES, 1994
AUTHOR: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
DATE: FEBRUARY 1995




From January through October, Serbian snipers killed over 50
Sarajevo civilians and wounded more than 300.  Even though an
antisniping agreement was signed in August, there were eight
fatalities in September, and the sniping continues unabated.
There were more persons wounded in September (60) than there
were in January (47), before the North Atlantic Treaty
Organization's (NATO) ultimatum.  UNPROFOR figures on this
subject may be somewhat different because, as of the September
antisniping agreement, UNPROFOR began classifying injuries from
sniper fire as "injuries caused by random exchange of fire."
Thus, under UNPROFOR categories, only killings are classified
as sniper fire.

Throughout 1994, the BSA continued to pound Bosnian populations
centers with mortars and automatic weapons fire, causing the
death of hundreds of civilians from January through October.
The population centers most affected were Sarajevo, Gorazde,
Mostar, Olovo, Tuzla, Visoko, Vares, and Breza.  During the May
offensive against Gorazde, Serbian shelling killed between 500
and 600 Bosnian civilians.  In Sarajevo, prior to the NATO
ultimatum, the most deadly results from a single projectile
came in a downtown Sarajevo marketplace in February when one
shell killed 68 people.  Also prior to the ultimatum, on
January 22, Serbs fired three shells into a residential
neighborhood, killing five children.

In addition to firing directly on civilians, during the year
the BSA fired directly on humanitarian aid convoys and on
UNPROFOR troops escorting them.  It choked off assistance at
various times to the eastern enclaves, Sarajevo, and (through
its Krajina Serb allies) Bihac.  In an early November order on
mobilization, issued in response to ABH successes near Bihac,
the "Serbian Republic" leadership ordered secondary schools
closed, students to report to their units, and emigres to
return to fight under penalty of being branded as deserters.

UNSC Resolution 900 specifically provides for the uninterrupted
supply of utilities to Sarajevo.  In defiance of this
resolution, Bosnian Serb authorities continued to manipulate
the supply of basic utilities as part of their strategy of
pressuring and demoralizing the population of Sarajevo.
UNPROFOR-sponsored talks were held to resolve the utilities
problem, but the Bosnian Government claims that utilities were
restored only after the Bosnians found ways to cut off
utilities to Serb-occupied territory.

Section 2  Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:

     a.  Freedom of Speech and Press

The Constitution provides for freedom of speech and the press,
but 3 years of wartime conditions have thwarted the development
of truly independent media in Federation territory.  As a
result, the Government only partially respects this right in
the majority of Federation territory, and the authorities in
the HDZ-controlled "Herceg-Bosna" do not respect this right at
all.

Although there are some independent media in Federation
territory, in general the ruling SDA and HDZ political parties
exert considerable influence over the media.  Many private
radio stations broadcast from Federation territory; a smaller
number of private television stations serve local markets in
Zenica and Tuzla.  These independent media have complained of
strong-armed Bosnian government tactics.  When the ruling SDA
party came under strong criticism for alleged corruption by the
Sarajevo paper Bosna, former employees for the paper claim it
subsequently was harassed out of existence, closing its doors
in October.  In the northeastern city of Tuzla, for example,
the local television station "FS3" lost its building and some
equipment when the district government moved Tuzla Radio and
Television operations to its premises.

Bosnian government-controlled television dominates the
airwaves.  It came under strong criticism in 1994 for alleged
censorship of programming that did not hew to the SDA line,
such as a series of broadcasts by the satirical troupe
"Nadrealisti" ("Surrealists"), which Bosnian television had
itself produced.  The development of independent media also was
constrained by the wartime lack of start-up capital, paper, and
supplies.  Western television stations such as Cable News
Network (CNN) and Sky News are available to those in Federation
territory who can afford such service.  In HDZ-controlled
"Herceg-Bosna," the media are part of the HDZ structure but not
as strictly censored as in the "Serbian Republic."  Croatia
supplies transmissions of Radio Split to the inhabitants of
"Herceg-Bosna."

Foreign journalists in Sarajevo and elsewhere on federation
territory say they operated without censorship or government
interference of any kind, whereas media in the "Serbian
Republic" are a propaganda tool of the ruling SDS party.  The
SDS strictly censors the media in Serb-controlled territory;
laissez-passers for foreign journalists are issued by
Karadzic's daughter.  The party's media voice, the Serbian
Republic News Agency, Tanjug (the news agency of the Milosevic
regime in Serbia), and other Serbian sources formed the basis
for near total domination of both print and electronic
information media.  All foreign media are banned in the
"Serbian Republic."  The public in Serbian territory only has
access to two choices:  Serbian media from Pale or Serbian
media from Belgrade.

In Bosnia and Herzegovina, academic freedom was constrained
more by lack of resources and access (to information, other
academic communities, etc.) than by government policies.  In
Serb-controlled areas, general lack of tolerance for dissent
led to total control of the educational media.  Curriculums in
Serb-controlled areas have been revamped to teach solely Serb
history, art, literature, etcetera.  There has been no evidence
of an intellectual exchange of ideas in the media or other
academic fora in Serb-held territory since the 1992 invasion.

     b.  Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association

The Constitution provides for freedom of association, and the
Government generally respected this right in practice.
Although large gatherings of people were generally discouraged
in Sarajevo for security reasons, demonstrations took place,
for example, to protest the offensive against Gorazde in April.

While political membership is not forced, membership in the
ruling SDA and HDZ parties in Federation territory is viewed as
the main way to obtain scarce housing and jobs.  In
"Herceg-Bosna," the HDZ, through threat and coercion, has
prevented other Croatian parties from forming.

In the "Serbian Republic," the SDS's control over security and
police impose severe limitations on the right to assemble and
associate.  In September, however, the authorities took no
action against demonstrations by small groups in the Serb-
controlled Sarajevo suburb of Ilidza, protesting the closure of
the blue route (the UN-protected road over Mount Igman leading
into and out of Sarajevo which was closed by the UN in July
after Karadzic threatened to use force to close it).  While
political membership is not forced, membership in the SDS is
viewed as the means to obtain access to both jobs and housing.

     c.  Freedom of Religion

The Constitution provides for freedom of religion, including
private and public worship.  However, within the Federation the
authorities did not respect these rights in consistent
fashion.  In general during 1994, conditions for religious
observance were significantly better for non-Muslims in those
parts of the Federation where Muslims dominated than they were
for non-Catholics in areas where Croats dominated.

In Tuzla, for example, which is governed by a nonnationalist
city administration with a Muslim majority, the authorities
repaired a Serbian Orthodox church damaged by Serbian shelling
The dominant political parties are both based on ethnic or
religious identification:  SDA-Muslim and HDZ-Croat.  Members
of these parties used religion or ethnicity as ideological
litmus tests and means of intraparty competition.  The results,
reinforced by Communist-era experience, sometimes emerged in
the form of radical positions embraced by some political or
religious figures.  For example, a trend towards Islamization
of Bosnia was widely reported in international media during the
latter half of 1994.  Among the examples cited to illustrate
this trend were statements made by the Reis-ul-Ulema, the head
of Bosnia's Muslim community, criticizing mixed marriages and
consumption of pork and alcoholic beverages.  Culture and
Education Minister Enes Karic was also cited for heavyhandedly
promoting Muslim religious studies in elementary schools,
calling for a ban against Serbian music played over Sarajevo
radio stations, and trying to exercise political control over
the content of educational and cultural activities.  In almost
all cases, however, public outcry (especially among Muslim
Bosnians) forced politicians to back down from such
positions.

The "Serbian Republic" continued systematically to eradicate
the remaining traces of the centuries-old Muslim and Catholic
presence, demolishing mosques, churches, cultural and religious
monuments, and graveyards.  In spite of the Serb "authorities"
use of religion as an identifier for "ethnic cleansing," those
remaining non-Serbs in Serb-held territory reportedly are
allowed to attend services, if they can find a place in which
to worship.

     d.  Freedom of Movement Within the Country, Foreign
         Travel, Emigration, and Repatriation

The Constitution provides for freedom of movement.  In
practice, however, the ongoing hostilities effectively
restricted the full exercise of this right.  The demands of
mobilization and the dangers of crossing checkpoints and
confrontation lines often made movement difficult.  Moreover,
as a matter of policy, the Government sought to avoid letting
all would-be refugees flee to avoid both depopulating the
country and creating massive resettlement problems throughout
Europe.

The Federation has not yet fully addressed the issue of the
right of refugees and displaced persons to freely return to
their homes of origin and to have returned to them any property
of which they were deprived in the course of ethnic cleansing,
as provided for in the Constitution.  According to Bosnian Red
Cross statistics, there are currently a quarter of a million
displaced persons in Federation territory.  Frequently they are
prevented from returning to their homes because of harsh
recriminations leveled by different communities.  For example,
in mid-October Bosnian Croat leaders denounced alleged ethnic
cleansing by Muslim Bosnians in cities such as Vares, Bugojno,
Zenica, and Sarajevo.  Bosnians in Bugojno denied this was
true, and claimed that their city contained many Bosnians
driven out of Croat-controlled Prozor, Stolac, and Capljina who
had personally witnessed the brutality of ethnic cleansing by
Croats.

The proposed law on refugees and displaced persons being
considered by the Federal Parliament provides for the return
home of all Federation citizens.  Bosnian Red Cross officials
oppose massive population resettlements and view relocation as
contributing to Karadzic's policy of ethnic cleansing.

Section 3  Respect for Political Rights:  The Right of Citizens
           to Change Their Government

Citizens of the Bosnian Federation have the right to change
their government peacefully, both through direct elections and
by amending the constitution.  However, they have not had the
ability to do so since the elections of December 1990.
According to the Constitution, elections to the federal
legislature ought to have been held 6 months after the
Constitution's entry into force, that is, by September 30.
These elections were delayed pending the formation of the
federal cantons which were in turn delayed by disagreements
between Croats and Bosnians on formation of the cantons'
constituent municipalities.

The delay in establishing the Federation's internal structure
was compounded by the nature of the Federation as a state of
Bosnians, Croats, and "others."  Under the Constitution, power
would be shared primarily between Bosnians and Croats.  It
became clear during 1994 that, in practice, "Bosnians" actually
meant the dominant Muslim political party SDA, and "Croats"
meant the dominant Croat party HDZ.  Among the quasi-
disfranchised "others" were non-SDA Muslims and non-HDZ Croats,
along with Serbs who had been loyal to the multiethnic
republic, Bosnians of mixed ethnicity (estimated to make up 30
percent of the prewar Bosnian population), Jews, Roma, Vlachs,
and the rest of Bosnia's varied ethnic mix.

Women are underrepresented in government and politics, although
a few women occupy prominent positions.  For example, a Serbian
woman belongs to the Republic's collective presidency, and a
Muslim woman heads Bosnian radio and television.

Although people on territory controlled by the "Serbian
Republic" have a theoretical right to change their government
and actually participated in "referendums," including one in
August on the Contact Group proposal (with a 90 percent-plus
vote against), SDS control of the media and security apparatus
effectively precludes true citizen participation without
intimidation.  In the "Serbian Republic," women such as
Karadzic's daughter, his wife (head of the "Serbian Republic"
Red Cross), and one of his vice presidents occupy important
posts.

Section 4  Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
           Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations
           of Human Rights

In late 1994, officials of the U.N. War Crimes Tribunal said
that the Bosnian Government was cooperating fully with their
investigations and inquiries, even in cases of accusations of
war crimes by Bosnian forces.  Other human rights monitors also
worked effectively with the Bosnian Government.

The U.N. Special Rapporteur and his staff, however, remain
barred from Banja Luka following publication of their report in
1993 which condemned the ethnic cleansing that occurred there.

The staff of the War Crimes Tribunal also traveled to Pale in
"Serbian Republic"-held territory and described its visit as
"satisfactory."  However, most human rights monitors observed
that Bosnian Serb authorities effectively impeded the War
Crimes Tribunal's work by blocking its passage to Serb-held
areas.

In early November, the Government accused the UNPROFOR of
blocking the transport of witnesses to testify at a war crimes
trial in Denmark.  This accusation appeared to be without
substance; UNPROFOR did much to support the War Crimes Tribunal
staff during its visits to Bosnia.

Section 5  Discrimination Based on Race, Sex, Religion,
           Disability, Language, or Social Status

The Constitution provides for freedom from discrimination based
on race, color, sex, language, religion or creed, political or
other opinions, and national or social origin.  However, the
state of war and the ethnic and religious basis of that war
created an environment in which many forms of discrimination
were practiced.

     Women

Women hold some of the most responsible positions in society,
including judges, doctors, and professors.  However, they
continued to be subjected to rape and other forms of physical
abuse.  Officials at the "Rasadnik" forced labor camp in the
"Serbian Republic" raped five women from the camp early in the
year (see Section 1.c.).

     Children

There is no discrimination against children as such, but they
suffered long-term harm from war-related shortages of food and
clothing, the closing of schools, psychological trauma, and
constricted environments for living and playing.  Serbian
snipers are suspected of targeting children; the inordinate
number of children killed by snipers apparently substantiate
this suspicion.  In the final months of the year, Serb snipers
shot and killed a 12 year old girl in the middle of town, a
young boy riding his bicycle in front of the Holiday Inn and
another young boy in the Dobrinja area near the airport.

     National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities

Ethnic differences are at the heart of the war in Bosnia and
Herzegovina and have been manipulated by both the SDS party and
the HDZ to sustain concepts of a "greater Serbia" and a
"greater Croatia."  The human rights violations addressed
throughout this report--ethnic cleansing, rape, forced labor,
forced relocation, extrajudicial killing--were largely
perpetrated with the goal of establishing the superiority and
political domination of a particular ethnic group.  No group
was more victimized than Bosnia's Muslims.

     People with Disabilities

It is not known whether there are laws providing for protection
of the handicapped.  In 1994 the number of disabled veterans
and civilians disabled by war injuries continued to increase.
The Government had limited resources to address the special
needs of the disabled.

Section 6  Worker Rights

     a.  The Right of Association

The Constitution provides for the right of workers to form and
join labor unions.  The largest union is the Confederation of
Independent Trade Unions of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the heir of
the old Yugoslav Communist Trade Union Confederation.  Unions
have the right to strike, but in practice mobilization and
other emergency wartime measures generally restricted the
exercise of this right.  Moreover, the economic devastation and
joblessness caused by the war throughout much of the Federation
allowed trade unions little opportunity to organize and carry
out their normal role.

     b.  The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively

The law provides for this right, but the practice of collective
bargaining in labor-management negotiations was not
significantly used in 1994.

     c.  Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor

Most Bosnians of productive age in the Federation were
mobilized to serve either in the military or in supporting
capacities in connection with the war.  Government authorities
in practice tolerated a significant amount of independent
freedom of choice in the selection of work to fulfill the
obligations imposed by the mobilization decree.

Reliable sources reported that detainees at the government-run
detention facility in Tarcin did agricultural forced labor in
the fields nearby (see Section 1.c.).

According to a reliable service, the forced labor camp
"Rasadnik" operated by "Serbian Republic" authorities outside
of Rogatica continued to function through April 1994.  Serbs
have denied access to the camp, saying it is "not related to
the conflict."  The camp has held up to 50 prisoners who worked
as prison labor in the stockyards there (see Section 1.c.).
"Serbian Republic" agents seized military-age men for detention
in "work camps," such as one in Lopare where over 200 were held
for forced labor, without access to international observers.
As of October, according to Bosnian Serb television reports,
local military and police commanders have the right to punish
those guilty of spreading disinformation about the "Serbian
Republic" by sentencing then to forced labor on the front lines
(see Section 1.e.).

Non-Serb men and women in the Banja Luka and Bijeljina regions
were routinely forced to labor, digging trenches, tilling
fields, cleaning streets, etc.  They received no compensation
for this work.  A few farmers were able to avoid forced labor
by giving their entire harvest to the authorities.  Reports of
the forced labor of non-Serb women began to appear in September.

     d.  Minimum Age for Employment of Children

The minimum age for employment of children remained 16.  Bosnia
had no effective social services agency to enforce the limit in
1994.  Children sometimes assisted their families with farm
work and odd jobs.

     e.  Acceptable Conditions of Work

In principle, minimum wages were guaranteed, but with the
economy in collapse workers had no assurance they would be paid
for work performed.  The basic wage paid to government
employees in Sarajevo, for example, was $0.66 (DM 1.00) per
month, with supplemental allowances of flour and other
humanitarian assistance.

The prewar 42-hour workweek, with a 24-hour rest period, was
formally still in effect, but for many workers no limits on
working hours appeared to apply.

Occupational safety and health regulations were generally
sacrificed because of the demands and constraints imposed by
the war.