PRESS CONFERENCE ON REINTEGRATION OF BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA

Press Briefing

PRESS CONFERENCE ON REINTEGRATION OF BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA

Nearly three years since the rebuilding of Bosnia and Herzegovina had first begun, the victims of war were preoccupied only with returning to their homes and finding employment, the former Governor and current Vice-Governor of Neretva-Herzegovina Canton in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Fatima Leho, told correspondents today at a Headquarters' press conference sponsored by that country's mission to the United Nations.

Ms. Leho said she yearned for Bosnia and Herzegovina to return to the country it had been for centuries, in which everyone could live and let live. Bosnian civilization had not died at the hands of a single generation. Now, its future possibilities propelled it forward. The dwindling "streams" of international assistance, however, needed to become large "rivers" in order for the country to be able to "hug all of its children".

The Vice-Governor was joined by the Permanent Representative of Bosnia and Herzegovina to the United Nations, Muhamed Sacirbey, and by the Vice- Governor of Srednja Bosnia Canton, Adnan Terzic. The Director of the Department of Public Information of the Bosnian Government translated their remarks.

Mr. Sacirbey said he thought it would be worthwhile to learn from two people on the ground in two major cantons how the return to normal life was proceeding. Much had been reported about the "rather unpromising" situation on the ground, but in some areas of the country, the situation was exceeding expectations. It was valuable to review those more promising events, in order to use them as a model for improving less successful areas.

Ms. Leho said that rebuilding in the Neretva-Herzegovina Canton had begun in the spring of 1996, during a very difficult postwar period. There were displaced people, destroyed homes and a ruined economy. Today, although much work remained, the Constitution was in place, the police force had been established, and the judiciary system was almost completely evolved. Most importantly, people had been returning to their homes. International assistance should focus on enabling people to return to their homes and find employment. Generally speaking, the problem of her canton reflected the problem of the country as a whole.

The Vice-Governor of the Srednja Bosna Canton, Mr. Terzic, said that his canton -- also known as the middle Bosnia Canton because of its central location -- as well as Ms. Leho's canton were the pillars of the Federation and the main areas of successful reintegration. As such, they illustrated the ability of all Bosnians, Serbs and ex-Croats to work together towards recovering their country. Much more had been achieved in central Bosnia than in other Cantons towards implementing the Dayton Peace Accords.

He said that following the creation of a police force, the judiciary system had been established. His canton was the first to have an Assembly- approved programme for the internally displaced persons and refugees. It had been rather successful in that respect, as some 50 per cent had returned to their homes. Unfulfilled promises of material assistance were frustrating, however, and it was difficult to sustain those returns and enable the returnees to find work. Although the peace accords were being implemented, the process was not always smooth. The Bosnians, for their part, had shown their readiness to live up to their responsibilities and constitutional obligations.

The international community had a role to play in Bosnia, by assisting in the implementation of jointly agreed plans. Elections were always the best indicator of what people were thinking, and more than 80 per cent of the voting population had participated in the September elections. In some of the most important data to emanate from his canton, 86 per cent of those who had voted had done so from their 1991 residences, which defied the view that people did not want to return home.

Mr. Sacirbey reiterated the significant population base of those two cantons. Things had not been easy, he said, and there had been several violent incidences in both cantons, but there was no talk of a division of Bosnia. People seemed to understand that the only possibility was to live together. While the world had heard a lot about the negative aspects of reconciliation, not enough had been reported about the positive daily events, which would largely shape the country's future.

A correspondent sought clarification that some 86 per cent of the recent voters in the middle canton had voted from their pre-war residences. Mr. Terzic confirmed that figure, which was a clear indicator of the improved situation. Even those people living some 100 kilometres from their original houses still wished to return to them. The legislation being elaborated by the Federation and by his canton had sought to encourage that process.

In a follow-up question, the correspondent noted the recent announcement by Carlos Westendorp, the High Representative for Implementation of the Peace Agreement on Bosnia and Herzegovina, of his very ambitious plan by which 120,000 Bosnian refugees would return to the country by 1999. He asked how many people were expected to return to Neretva-Herzegovina Canton.

Ms. Leho stressed that the data, such as that cited by Mr. Terzic, had come from the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). Indeed, her analysis of the preoccupation of Bosnians to return to their former homes and find employment had been based on OSCE data. Even six years later, people were still driven by their desire to return home. That was the essence of the Dayton Peace Accords and the reason why the legislators had faith in the success of a rehabilitated Bosnia.

Bosnia Press Conference - 3 - 17 November 1998

Based on the trend of people returning to destroyed houses, she said that at least 20,000 people would be returning to Neretva-Herzegovina Canton in the course of the next year from outside the country. In that connection, she reiterated the need for international assistance because those people would be returning to houses that were occupied by displaced persons. It was therefore necessary to first repair the houses of the internally displaced so that they might vacate the houses of the returnees.

Mr. Sacirbey said that Mr. Westendorp's announcement had referred to people returning from outside the country. That number, although very significant, was only a fraction of the number of internally displaced persons within the country who would be returning to their homes within the year.

Asked if the OSCE had accurate figures on both those groups, Mr. Sacirbey said he would try to supply those figures, which changed daily based on the flow of returnees. Ms. Leho added that the OSCE records were clear and contained individual voting records.

Mr. Terzic, replying to a question about financial assistance for returning refugees, said that the experience of people in central Bosnia had been mixed. While there were some very good examples of both governmental and non-governmental groups working hard to fulfil agreements, he had encountered serious problems with the European Union. For the last 10 months, his canton had been awaiting agreed funding for the final relocation of returnees. The money was there, but the process of its allocation and receipt on the ground was always in some kind of "stand-by arrangement".

Thus, he said, there were some people who had been back for one year now, but none of the assistance programmes had ever reached them. In April, when he had visited the Union to seek funding to repair the roofs of the houses of the returnees, he had been given some firm promises, but in June, with the construction season at its height, the Union representatives had sent him away again without any funding and had implied that he sought the money for his upcoming election.

* *** *