DOCSLIB.ORG

Policing the Police in Bosnia: a Further Reform Agenda

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Policing the Police in Bosnia: a Further Reform Agenda POLICING THE POLICE IN BOSNIA: A FURTHER REFORM AGENDA 10 May 2002 Balkans Report No. 130 Sarajevo/Brussels TABLE OF CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS.....................................................................i I. INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................................1 A. Current Context ................................................................................................................................ 1 B. The Origins Of UNMIBH/IPTF ....................................................................................................... 4 C. The Case For Joined-Up Police Reform........................................................................................... 7 II. POLICING STRUCTURES ...........................................................................................................10 A. Fragmentation................................................................................................................................. 10 B. Non-Cooperation With The Judiciary ............................................................................................ 12 C. The State Border Service (SBS) ..................................................................................................... 16 D. Failures Of Regional Policing ........................................................................................................ 20 III. POLITICS AND POLICING ...........................................................................................................23 IV. THE POLICING GAP: LOCAL CAPABILITIES VS. INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS.........26 A. Providing Security For Returnees And ‘Minorities’ ...................................................................... 26 B. War Crimes Arrests ........................................................................................................................ 28 C. The Scandal Of Human Trafficking ............................................................................................... 29 V. PROFESSIONALISING THE POLICE .......................................................................................34 A. Training .......................................................................................................................................... 34 B. IPTF Police Commissioners Project...............................................................................................34 C. Creating Indigenous Accountability: Professional Standards Units (PSUS) ................................. 37 D. ‘Minority’ Police Recruitment ....................................................................................................... 40 E. Police Academies ........................................................................................................................... 44 F. Paying The Police........................................................................................................................... 45 G. Shrinking And Reshaping The Police ............................................................................................ 47 H. Auditing The Police........................................................................................................................ 49 VI. INTERNATIONAL OVERSIGHT................................................................................................51 A. Co-Location.................................................................................................................................... 51 B. De-Authorisation And Screening ................................................................................................... 53 VII. SFOR, IPTF AND THE SECURITY GAP ...................................................................................58 VIII. CONCLUSION.................................................................................................................................60 APPENDICES A. Glossary Of Abbreviations ............................................................................................................. 64 B. Map Of Bosnia ............................................................................................................................... 66 C. About The International Crisis Group............................................................................................ 67 D. ICG Reports And Briefing Papers.................................................................................................. 68 E. ICG Board Members ...................................................................................................................... 72 ICG Balkans Report N° 130 10 May 2002 POLICING THE POLICE IN BOSNIA: A FURTHER REFORM AGENDA EXECUTIVE SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS Despite more than six years of increasingly international pressure and supervision. Even with intrusive reforms carried out at the behest of the international insistence and assistance, UN Mission in Bosnia & Herzegovina (UNMIBH), investigations are often botched. Nowhere is this the local police cannot yet be counted upon to more evident than in cases involving the enforce the law. Too often – like their opposite continuation or consolidation of wartime numbers in the judiciary – nationally partial, ‘achievements’: ‘ethnic cleansing’, the under-qualified, underpaid, and sometimes corrupt appropriation of public assets and the maintenance police officers uphold the law selectively, within a of national-territorial divisions. Violence against dysfunctional system still controlled by politicised returning refugees and displaced persons waxes and nationalised interior ministries. and wanes with the political cycle, but cases are frequently left unresolved after an initial show of The ‘long arm of the law’ is inconsistent serious concern. In similar vein, most war crimes and infirm, suffering from jurisdictional divisions suspects enjoy the effective protection of ‘their that do not hinder organised crime and from own’. national-political manipulations that ensure there is one law for well-connected members of majority These unsophisticated but effective methods are populations and another for powerless minorities. symbolised and safeguarded by the continued Top-tier criminals ply their trades with relative employment of police officers who were complicit impunity, ethnic violence is tolerated and in war crimes. The law enforcement and criminal corruption is widespread. justice systems will remain compromised until these officers have been purged. Removal of these The role of the police is not seen as being to ‘serve and other recidivist or obstructionist elements has and protect’ everyone, but to serve and protect been slow. It only takes place when ordered by the ‘one’s own kind’, whether they be co-nationals, international community and, even then, is often colleagues or political masters. The communist- circumvented by the domestic authorities. Those era doctrine that the police exist to defend the who are removed frequently switch jobs within the regime persists, except that the working class has interior ministries, are rewarded with plum posts in been replaced by the nation as the ostensible publicly-owned companies, or gain elected office. beneficiary. Even ‘moderate’ politicians expect – Culpable individuals are rarely prosecuted. and are often allowed – to influence investigations, recruitment and budgetary allocations. Yet matters could be much worse. However halting the progress, the international community Citizens know they are not only unequal before the has taken police reform seriously from the outset – law, but unequal before its enforcers. Getting the and certainly more seriously than it has heretofore police to investigate cases that involve the taken judicial reform. At Dayton, the United moneyed or powerful invariably requires Nations was tasked to reform police forces that had Policing The Police In Bosnia: A Further Reform Agenda ICG Balkans Report N° 130, 10 May 2002 Page ii been part and parcel of their respective masters’ effective coordination among the war machines. After initial disorientation and organisations involved in order to: incapacity as it built up its resources and sought to flesh out its mandate, UNMIBH’s International (a) Standardise the terms and conditions Police Task Force (IPTF) began in earnest: under which police officers serve screening officers, de-authorising reprobates and across Bosnia & Herzegovina; war criminals among them, ensuring that (b) Guarantee that sufficient resources are ‘minority’ recruits are hired, seeking to depoliticise made available to support a police commands, creating new, all-Bosnian law- depoliticised, honest, competent and enforcement bodies such as the State Border cost-effective police service; Service (SBS), and facilitating inter-entity and (c) Provide a means for human rights regional co-operation. monitors to participate directly in the oversight of the police, alongside the UNMIBH has latterly been active across a broad follow-on mission. field and has initiated numerous remedial programs. After three years of intensified reform efforts, Bosnia’s police forces have begun to TO UNMIBH, EUPM AND OHR justify the decision taken at Dayton that they should be reformed rather than replaced. But the 2. Measures to enhance the accountability of UNMIBH mandate expires at the end of 2002. The Bosnia’s police forces should be put in train European Union (EU) decided
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Policing the Police in Bosnia
    POLICING THE POLICE IN BOSNIA: A FURTHER REFORM AGENDA 10 May 2002 Balkans Report N°130 Sarajevo/Brussels TABLE OF CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS ...............................................................i I. INTRODUCTION ...........................................................................................................................1 A. Current Context ...................................................................................................................1 B. The Origins Of UNMIBH/IPTF ..........................................................................................4 C. The Case For Joined-Up Police Reform..............................................................................7 II. POLICING STRUCTURES ..........................................................................................................9 A. Fragmentation......................................................................................................................9 B. Non-Cooperation With The Judiciary ...............................................................................12 C. The State Border Service (SBS) ........................................................................................15 D. Failures Of Regional Policing ...........................................................................................19 III. POLITICS AND POLICING ....................................................................................................... 22 IV. THE POLICING GAP: LOCAL CAPABILITIES
    [Show full text]
  • Geopolitical and Urban Changes in Sarajevo (1995 – 2015)
    Geopolitical and urban changes in Sarajevo (1995 – 2015) Jordi Martín i Díaz Aquesta tesi doctoral està subjecta a la llicència Reconeixement- NoComercial – SenseObraDerivada 3.0. Espanya de Creative Commons. Esta tesis doctoral está sujeta a la licencia Reconocimiento - NoComercial – SinObraDerivada 3.0. España de Creative Commons. This doctoral thesis is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial- NoDerivs 3.0. Spain License. Facultat de Geografia i Història Departament de Geografia Programa de Doctorat “Geografia, planificació territorial i gestió ambiental” Tesi doctoral Geopolitical and urban changes in Sarajevo (1995 – 2015) del candidat a optar al Títol de Doctor en Geografia, Planificació Territorial i Gestió Ambiental Jordi Martín i Díaz Directors Dr. Carles Carreras i Verdaguer Dr. Nihad Čengi ć Tutor Dr. Carles Carreras i Verdaguer Barcelona, 2017 This dissertation has been funded by the Program Formación del Profesorado Universitario of the Spanish Ministry of Education, fellowship reference (AP2010- 3873). Als meus pares i al meu germà. Table of contents Aknowledgments Abstract About this project 1. Theoretical and conceptual approach 15 Socialist and post-socialist cities 19 The question of ethno-territorialities 26 Regarding international intervention in post-war contexts 30 Methodological approach 37 Information gathering and techniques 40 Structure of the dissertation 44 2. The destruction and division of Sarajevo 45 Sarajevo: common life and urban expansion until early 1990s 45 The urban expansion 48 The emergence of political pluralism 55 Towards the ethnic division of Sarajevo: SDS’s ethno-territorialisation campaign and the international partiality in the crisis 63 The Western policy towards Yugoslavia: paving the way for the violent ethnic division of Bosnia 73 The siege of Sarajevo 77 Deprivation, physical destruction and displacement 82 The international response to the siege 85 SDA performance 88 Sarajevo’s ethno-territorial division in the Dayton Peace Agreement 92 The DPA and the OHR’s mission 95 3.
    [Show full text]
  • 25 Years After the Dayton Peace Agreement – Way Ahead
    EUROPEAN PERSPECTIVES − INTERNATIONAL SCIENTIFIC JOURNAL ON EUROPEAN PERSPECTIVES VOLUME 11, NUMBER 1 (19), PP 141-168, APRIL 2020 25 Years After the Dayton Peace Agreement – Way Ahead ZIJAD BećirOvić1 ABSTRACT 2020 marks the 25th anniversary of the General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina, known as the Dayton Peace Agreement. While over the period of 25 years the agreement has preserved its basic elements, through the arbitration award on Brčko, interven- tions (decisions) of the High Representative of the international community (OHR) and decisions of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina it has also underwent significant changes. Although the general observation is that the Dayton Peace Agreement stopped the war and brought peace to Bosnia and Herzegovina, its insufficiencies became apparent through the establishment of an unfunctional state of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which aspires to become an EU and NATO member. Development of a rationally organized and functional rule-of-law state is one of the key requirements of its admission into EU. Therefore, the reform of the political organization of BiH is possible only within the framework of fulfillment of conditions for inte- gration of Bosnia and Herzegovina into EU membership. The constitutional changes represent the foundation and solution for progress of BiH in all segments of society from which changes in other segments of the BiH society could continue. KEYWORDS: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Dayton Peace Agreement, Federation of BiH, Republic of Srpska, Brčko District BiH, Srebrenica POVZETEK Leto 2020 zaznamuje 25. obletnica Splošnega okvirnega sporazuma za mir v Bosni in Hercegov- ini, znanega tudi kot Daytonski mirovni sporazum.
    [Show full text]
  • The Parliament of Bosnia-Herzegovina and the Question of Bosniak Responsibility Xavier Bougarel
    Reopening the Wounds ? The Parliament of Bosnia-Herzegovina and the Question of Bosniak Responsibility Xavier Bougarel To cite this version: Xavier Bougarel. Reopening the Wounds ? The Parliament of Bosnia-Herzegovina and the Ques- tion of Bosniak Responsibility. Jean-Louis Fournel; Isabelle Delpla; Xavier Bougarel. Investigating Srebrenica. Institutions, Facts, Responsibilities„ New York : Berghahn, pp.104-130, In press. halshs- 02610514 HAL Id: halshs-02610514 https://halshs.archives-ouvertes.fr/halshs-02610514 Submitted on 17 May 2020 HAL is a multi-disciplinary open access L’archive ouverte pluridisciplinaire HAL, est archive for the deposit and dissemination of sci- destinée au dépôt et à la diffusion de documents entific research documents, whether they are pub- scientifiques de niveau recherche, publiés ou non, lished or not. The documents may come from émanant des établissements d’enseignement et de teaching and research institutions in France or recherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoires abroad, or from public or private research centers. publics ou privés. 1 « Reopening the Wounds ? The Parliament of Bosnia-Herzegovina and the Question of Bosniak Responsibility », in : Isabelle Delpla / Xavier Bougarel /Jean- Louis Fournel (eds.), Investigating Srebrenica. Institutions, Facts, Responsibilities, New York : Berghahn, 2012, pp. 104-130. Xavier Bougarel “We are not all equally guilty for Srebrenica and that needs to disappear from the agenda, we cannot all be equally guilty and we cannot all decide this question. But we need to ask what are perhaps not really the most attractive questions about what we did on our side.”1 (Ekrem Ajanović, 1 August 1996) The July 1995 Srebrenica massacre is unanimously seen by Bosniaks as one of the major symbols of the genocide they experienced during the recent conflict and of the passive – indeed, complicit – attitude of the international community while it was underway.
    [Show full text]
  • Dayton Peace Accords – a Turning Point in the Historical Sustainability of Bosnia and Herzegovina
    EUROPEAN PERSPECTIVES − INTERNATIONAL SCIENTIFIC JOURNAL ON EUROPEAN PERSPECTIVES VOLUME 11, NUMBER 2 (20), PP. 15-37, OCTOBER 2020 Dayton Peace Accords – A Turning Point in the Historical Sustainability of Bosnia and Herzegovina Mirko Pejanović1 ABSTRACT The article examines the social-historical context of the beginning of the war and aggression against Bosnia and Herzegovina in April 1992 that led to unprecedented sufferings of civilians, ethnic cleansing and genocide in Srebrenica. The peace treaty was signed on 21 November 1995 in Dayton. Over the past 25 years, Bosnia and Herzegovina implemented a number of reforms that allowed for development of the state on its way towards its integration into the EU and NATO. Within this reform process the most complex part is the constitutional reform. It will provide the framework for elimination of the limitations of the Dayton Constitution, which have rendered Bosnia and Herzegovina unfunctional as a state. This demands a new strategy of the international community and the European Union for the implementation of the Dayton peace agreement. Five priorities of such strategy are presented and commented in the concluding part. KEYWORDS: Dayton peace agreement, Dayton Constitution, limitations, reform process, war- time presidency, the EU Special Representative POVZETEK Članek preučuje družbeni in zgodovinski kontekst začetka vojne in agresije na Bosno in Herce- govino aprila 1992, ki je privedla do izjemnih trpljenj civilistov, etničnega čiščenja in genocida v Srebrenici. Mirovni sporazum je bil podpisan 21. novembra 1995 v Daytonu. V minulih 25-ih letih je Bosna in Hercegovina izvedla številne reforme, ki so omogočile razvoj države na poti k njenemu vključevanju v EU in NATO.
    [Show full text]
  • Cornell University Press This Document May Not Be Reproduced Or Distributed in Any Form Without Permission in Writing from Cornell University Press
    Peacebuilding in the Balkans © Cornell University Press This document may not be reproduced or distributed in any form without permission in writing from Cornell University Press. © Cornell University Press This document may not be reproduced or distributed in any form without permission in writing from Cornell University Press. Peacebuilding in the Balkans The View from the Ground Floor © Cornell University Press This documentPAULA may M. not PICKERINGbe reproduced or distributed in any form without permission in writing from Cornell University Press. Cornell University Press ithaca and london Copyright © 2007 by Cornell University All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in a review, this book, or parts thereof, must not be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the publisher. For information, address Cornell University Press, Sage House, 512 East State Street, Ithaca, New York 14850. First published 2007 by© Cornell Cornell University University Press Press This documentPrinted in the United may States not of be America reproduced or distributed in any form without permission in writing from Cornell University Press. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Pickering, Paula M. (Paula May), 1966– Peacebuilding in the Balkans : the view from the ground floor / Paula M. Pickering. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-8014-4576-7 (cloth : alk. paper) 1. Peace-building—Bosnia and Hercegovina. 2. Return migration—Bosnia and Hercegovina. 3. Bosnians—Ethnic identity. 4. Yugoslav War, 1991–1995— Refugees—Bosnia and Hercegovina. 5. Bosnia and Hercegovina—Politics and government—1992– 6. Bosnia and Hercegovina—Ethnic relations. I. Title. DR1750.P43 2007 949.703—dc22 2007028873 Cornell University Press strives to use environmentally responsible suppliers and materials to the fullest extent possible in the publishing of its books.
    [Show full text]
  • Former Yugoslavia and Its Successors Mark Baskin and Paula Pickering in Sharon Wolchik and Jane Curry, Eds., Democracy, the Market and Back to Europe
    Chapter 13: Former Yugoslavia and Its Successors Mark Baskin and Paula Pickering in Sharon Wolchik and Jane Curry, eds., Democracy, the Market and Back to Europe It is impossible to compress the story of the Socialist Federative Republic of Yugoslavia [SFRY] and its successor states into a neat and simple story of transition. Its succession twists and turns through pathways of war, reconstruction and reconstitution into national states – a process not yet completed. In this contentious tale, observers sharply differ on the sources of dissolution, the causes of war, and the current state and future prospects of the post-Yugoslav governments. 1 The tragedies that occurred are all the more painful since it seemed, in 1990, that the SFRY was on the verge of joining the European Community. It had long ago done away with many of the overtly repressive trappings of Central and East European socialism. Since the 1950s, Yugoslav leaders had been experimenting with liberalizing economic and political reforms, and Yugoslavia had been broadly integrated into international economic, political and cultural developments. Yugoslavia’s socialist regime was more open, transparent, and accepting of non-Marxist ideologies than any in Central and Eastern Europe. And since the 1960s, its citizens had massively enjoyed the opportunities to travel, study and work abroad. 2 Literature and culture forbidden in the east, from George Orwell’s 1984 to punk rock and neo-liberal economics, were long prominent in Yugoslav stores. By 1989, Yugoslav efforts to find a “third way” between western capitalism and Soviet socialism had clearly run into a dead end.
    [Show full text]
  • Economic and Social Council
    UNITED NATIONS E Economic and Social Distr. Council GENERAL E/CN.4/1997/56 29 January 1997 Original: ENGLISH COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS Fifty•third session Item 10 of the provisional agenda QUESTION OF THE VIOLATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS AND FUNDAMENTAL FREEDOMS IN ANY PART OF THE WORLD, WITH PARTICULAR REFERENCE TO COLONIAL AND OTHER DEPENDENT COUNTRIES AND TERRITORIES Situation of human rights in the territory of the former Yugoslavia Periodic report submitted by Ms. Elisabeth Rehn, Special Rapporteur of the Commission on Human Rights, pursuant to paragraph 45 of Commission resolution 1996/71 CONTENTS Paragraphs Page Introduction ..................... 1 • 5 4 I. BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA ............ 6 • 63 5 A. Freedom of movement ............ 8 • 13 5 B. Right to voluntary return ......... 14 • 20 7 C. Right to personal security and freedom from discrimination ............... 21 • 27 8 D. Property rights .............. 28 • 31 9 E. Detention issues .............. 32 • 36 10 F. Freedom of expression ........... 37 • 39 11 G. Impunity .................. 40 • 41 12 GE.97•10328 (E) E/CN.4/1997/56 page 2 CONTENTS ( continued ) Paragraphs Page H. National institutions and non•governmental organizations ............... 42 • 47 12 I. “Silent emergencies” and the question of missing persons .............. 48 • 50 13 J. Conclusions and recommendations ...... 51 • 63 14 II. REPUBLIC OF CROATIA .............. 64 • 101 16 A. Personal security in the former Sectors .. 66 • 68 16 B. Humanitarian and social issues ....... 69 • 71 17 C. The return of Croatian Serb refugees .... 72 • 76 18 D. The right to a nationality ......... 77 19 E. The question of amnesty .......... 78 • 81 19 F. Freedom of expression ........... 82 • 87 20 G.
    [Show full text]
  • Rebuilding a Multi-Ethnic Sarajevo… Page: 1
    ICG Report - Rebuilding a Multi-Ethnic Sarajevo… Page: 1 REBUILDING A MULTI-ETHNIC SARAJEVO: The Need for Minority Returns ICG Bosnia Project - Report No 30 3 February 1998 1 ICG Report - Rebuilding a Multi-Ethnic Sarajevo… Page: 2 Table of Contents EXECUTIVE SUMMARY.............................................................................................I I. INTRODUCTION.....................................................................................................1 II. STRUCTURE OF THE CANTON ...........................................................................1 III. DEMOGRAPHICS.................................................................................................2 IV. PROPERTY..........................................................................................................4 A. Housing Density.................................................................................................4 B. Property Laws and Returns................................................................................4 C. OHR Amendments.............................................................................................6 D. Yugoslav National Army Apartments..................................................................8 V. ADMINISTRATION ................................................................................................9 A. Obstruction by Officials ......................................................................................9 B. Administrative Structures .................................................................................12
    [Show full text]
  • Und GASP-Krisenmanagement in Bosnien-Herzegowina 1991-1994
    Die Wirksamkeit von EPZ- und GASP-Krisenmanagement in Bosnien-Herzegowina 1991-1994 Inauguraldissertation zur Erlangung des Grades des Dr. phil. Otto-Suhr-Institut für Politikwissenschaft Fachbereich für Politik- und Sozialwissenschaften Freie Universität Berlin vorgelegt von Tobias Heider Berlin im Jahre 2010 Erstgutachter: Prof. Dr. Thomas Risse Zweitgutachter: Prof. Dr. Sven Chojnacki Tag der Disputation: 2. Dezember 2010 DANKSAGUNG Ohne die Unterstützung von verschiedenen Seiten wäre diese Dissertation niemals entstanden. Ich danke deswegen ganz herzlich meinem Doktorvater Thomas Risse für seine langjährige, exzellente und freundschaftliche Betreuung. Darüber hinaus möchte ich meinem Zweitgutachter Sven Chojnacki ganz herzlich für seine Betreuung danken – auch dafür, dass er kurzfristig bereit war, als Zweitgutachter einzuspringen. Ingo Peters hat mich seit 2003 ebenfalls intensiv bei dem Projekt begleitet. Ihm danke ich ganz besonders für seine unzähligen Hinweise, Ermutigungen und sein ständiges Insistieren. Meinen Mitstreitern Mareike Kleine und Philipp Fürst möchte ich ebenfalls ganz herzlich für ihre vielen wertvollen Kommentare danken, die sie mir seit fast sieben Jahren zu meinem Forschungsvorhaben gegeben haben. Mein ganz besonderer Dank gilt zudem der VolkswagenStiftung und speziell dem Leiter des Programms European Foreign and Security Policy Studies (EFSPS), Alfred Schmidt. Ohne die großzügige Unterstützung durch die VolkswagenStiftung in Form eines zweijährigen Vollzeitstipendiums samt Reisemittel wäre eine Durchführung des Projektes schier unmöglich gewesen. Jenseits der akademischen Sphäre möchte ich meiner Frau Eva für ihre Ermutigungen, ihre Geduld und ihre Nachsicht danken. Schließlich gilt mein Dank auch meinen Eltern, die mein Vorhaben von Anfang an unterstützt, gefördert und begleitet haben. In der Hoffnung, dass das Forschungsprojekt einen Beitrag zur Aufklärung und Wahrheitsfindung leisten kann, widme ich die Arbeit allen Opfern des Bosnienkrieges 1992-5.
    [Show full text]
  • 4 Peace Processes and Path Dependence Institutionalizing Ethnic Division in Bosnia
    4 Peace processes and path dependence Institutionalizing ethnic division in Bosnia Lise Morje Howard Bosnia represents one of the most important examples of international state. building. An international coalition of interested governments, international organizations, and NGOs came together in an unprecedented way to assist Bos- nia's elites in constructing new state institutions. I Most of the literature on Bosnia analyzes the causes of the war and how the international community responded to the violence that took place in the former Yugoslavia roughly from 1992 to 19952 Since statebuilding efforts in Bosnia have had some 15 years to yield fruit, recent research has explored the effects, both positive and negative, of statebuilding efforts in this Balkan country.' In terms of statebuilding, Bosnia is a good example of both a "model to emulate and to avoid, of how international intentions and ideas go awry, and yield unintentional and even negative out- comes.:" In other words, sometimes democratically minded, well intentioned state builders can find themselves supporting principles and policies that are, in fact, not democratic and are at odds with their intentions and goals. The presence of many actors, who often have different priorities and must contend with their own constituencies, is, thus, likely to have a profound impact on how statebuild- ing is executed. This chapter examines how the broad coalition of international actors that came to lead statebuilding efforts in Bosnia ended up supporting rigid ethnic group rights. This outcome is particularly puzzling because adbering to such principles leads to the institutionalization of states that are divided along rigid ethnic lines, paralyzed by reified ethnic animosity, and are generally incapable of being governed without significant external assistance.
    [Show full text]
  • "Preserve the Unity of Bosnia and Herzegovina!"
    Göttingen, 16.September 2016 AN APPEAL BY BOSNIAN VICTIMS AND CIVIL RIGHTS ORGANIZATIONS OF ALL NATIONALITIES "Preserve the unity of Bosnia and Herzegovina!" - to the High Representative of the International Community in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Valentin Inzko - the member states of the Peace Implementation Council (PIC) and its Steering Board - the President of the European Parliament - the member states of the European Union; the EU High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy - the European Commission and the Council of Europe Dear Mr. Inzko, on behalf of the Bosnian victims and civil rights organizations, we would like to address this urgent appeal to you and the member states of the Peace Implementation Council, asking you to try and prevent the national day referendum in the Republika Srpska (RS) on January 9 (announced on September 25, 2016) by all means. The planned referendum is not only unconstitutional and discriminatory to the other peoples of Bosnia-Herzegovina, it could also be a precursor for a referendum on the secession from the Republika Srpska and an accession to Serbia in the near future. Both the Serbian extremists in Bosnia and the Government of Serbia see this referendum as a first step to finally break up Bosnia-Herzegovina. The international community must not tolerate this! In this context, we would like to recall the war and the genocide crimes, which claimed 150,000 Bosnian victims. Jewish personalities of international recognition have condemned these crimes (see the Annex), including Marek Edelman, the recently deceased last commander of the resistance fighters of the Warsaw Ghetto: “Europe has learned nothing from the Holocaust.
    [Show full text]