August 1997 Vol. 9, No. 9 (D) BOSNIA AND HERCEGOVINA Politics of Revenge The Misuse of Authority in BihaÉÉÉ, Cazin, and Velika Kladua CONTENTS MAP OF THE REGION.............................................................................................................................................3 SUMMARY ...............................................................................................................................................................4 RECOMMENDATIONS............................................................................................................................................6 BACKGROUND......................................................................................................................................................10 POLITICALLY MOTIVATED DISCRIMINATION AND ILL-TREATMENT....................................................14 Overview .....................................................................................................................................................14 General Harassment Due to Political Affiliation..........................................................................................15 Employment Discrimination ........................................................................................................................17 Cases...............................................................................................................................................17 Una Sana Canton ...............................................................................................................17 BihaÉ Municipality ............................................................................................................17 Cazin Municipality ............................................................................................................18 Velika Kladua Municipality.............................................................................................20 Medical Care................................................................................................................................................20 The Extortion Network ................................................................................................................................20 Failure of Authorities to Cooperate with the Federation Ombudsmen.........................................................21 POLICE ABUSES....................................................................................................................................................22 Torture or Ill-treatment In Cases Involving War Crimes .............................................................................22 Ill-treatment at the Ministry of the Interior .....................................................................................22 Ill-treatment by the Police in Velika Kladua, Cazin, and Sanski Most..........................................24 Other Cases of Ill-Treatment and Abusive Police Action ............................................................................26 BihaÉ Municipality .........................................................................................................................27 Cazin Municipality .........................................................................................................................27 Velika Kladua Municipality ..........................................................................................................29 ARRESTS ON CHARGES OF WAR CRIMES ......................................................................................................31 Violations of the ARules of the Road@ ..........................................................................................................31 Violations of Due Process............................................................................................................................32 Right to be Tried Without Undue Delay.........................................................................................33 Right to Counsel .............................................................................................................................34 Right to a Fair Trial, with Witnesses for the Defense.....................................................................35 Right of the Defendant to be Informed Promptly of the Charges Against Him or Herself .............35 Other Violations .............................................................................................................................36 Failure to Inform Family of the Arrest...............................................................................36 Treatment of Juvenile Detainees........................................................................................36 Failure to Cooperate with International and Federation Monitors .....................................37 LOOKING AHEAD: ISSUES OF IMMEDIATE CONCERN ................................................................................37 Refugees ......................................................................................................................................................37 Elections ......................................................................................................................................................38 Work of the International Community in the Una Sana Canton ..................................................................39 Vetting ............................................................................................................................................39 Human Rights Workshop ...............................................................................................................40 IPTF=s Failure to Share Information ...............................................................................................41 CONCLUSION ........................................................................................................................................................42 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ........................................................................................................................................43 Human Rights Watch/Helsinki 3 Vol. 9, No. 9 (D) MAP OF THE REGION Human Rights Watch/Helsinki 4 Vol. 9, No. 9 (D) SUMMARY The international community has focused relatively little attention on the Una Sana canton because, in contrast to other regions of Bosnia and Hercegovina, the human rights abuses committed there are generally motivated by partisan politics rather than ethnic chauvinism. This report provides evidence that human rights abuses against opponents of Alija IzetbegoviÉ=s Party of Democratic Action (Stranka Demokratske Akcije, SDA) have become a cornerstone of the local government=s policy and practice in BihaÉ, Cazin, and Velika Kladua, and that this policy is consistent with the SDA=s increasingly nationalistic ideology. The Una Sana canton, a province in northwestern Bosnia, is currently controlled by the SDA, with officials loyal to the SDA dominating almost all aspects of government, including law enforcement, public utilities and medical and educational institutions, and the economy. These authorities systematically persecute non-SDA members, especially targeting members of Fikret AbdiÉ=s Democratic People=s Union (Demokratska Narodna Zajednica, DNZ), who fought on the side of the Bosnian Serbs against Bosnian government forces in the BihaÉ pocket during the war. According to the U.N. Commission of Human Rights, during the war, AbdiÉ and his supporters, along with Bosnian Serb forces, were responsible for massive destruction of property and arbitrary detention, torture, and killings of civilians in the region. After their defeat, AbdiÉ and most of his supporters lived out the rest of the war and the initial part of the post-Dayton period in exile in the Krajina region of Croatia, and returned to Bosnia gradually throughout the latter part of 1996 and the first half of 1997. Because of this wartime history, the Bosnian government seems to view all AbdiÉ supporters as having betrayed their ethnic community and participated in the destruction of a multi-ethnic Bosnia and Hercegovina. The Una Sana cantonal authorities are, therefore, now engaged in a campaign of intimidation, harassment, and violence against AbdiÉ supporters and other members of the political opposition, who they perceive as Aenemies of the state.@ Opposition groups have little or no access to the media and are severely restricted in their pre-election campaigning activities, and in their access to participation in local politics. The six DNZ members who were elected to the cantonal assembly are not able to attend assembly meetings because they fear for their safety. Opposition members and their families are routinely denied opportunities for employment solely because of their political beliefs. Non-SDA members are either denied medical care equal to that provided SDA supporters or are charged much higher fees. AbdiÉ supporters who were refugees during the war and who have recently returned to the canton face particular problems: they are often denied housing, denied the opportunity to reopen businesses they formerly owned, or the chance to apply for jobs in their profession. Furthermore, AbdiÉ supporters and other opposition members and their families face physical assaults, bombings, and other violence as part of the SDA-led campaign of harassment and intimidation.