Geoff Ryan FIFTEEN months after the Dayton Agreements supposedly brought peace to Bosnia the changes are far from dramatic.
Of course there is no longer warfare on anything like the scale prior to Dayton. For most Bosnians that is, no doubt, to be welcomed.
Milosevic has also abandoned the Bosnian Serbs as a means to getting UN sanctions against Serbia lifted any offical positions within the Bosnian Serb Republic. Although Dayton clearty stated that no-one in. licted at the Hague for war crimes could hold office it still took over six His replacement, Biljana Plavsic is an associate of the mass murderer Arkan and was closely alled to Karadzic. Hardly a significane imRatko Miadic has also been rushed out of command of the Bosnian Serb army while Nikola Kaljevic, the architect of the destruction of Sarajevo, committed suicide in Both Karadzic and Miadic are supVATO's S-For (formerely i-For)
troops. They appear to have little difficulty in moving around, including passing through S-For checkpoints. racy. The most extensive Marxist analysis of Ireland since the 1940s. Available from Socialist Outlook for just £5.50 Send cheque payable to Socialist Outlook Fund to PO B0x1109, London N4 2UU By and large NATO troops simply we to coastar way as cos sible from them.
Nor have NATO troops done much to allow people to return to their homes - ancther aspect of Dayton. In Sarajero they stood by whilst Serb nationalists burned down houses to encourage Serbs to leave the city for the Bosnian Serb RepubMostar In Mostar righe-wing Croats continue to expel Muslims from the western half of the city. Early in February over 100 elderly Muslims were driven from their homes, watched by NATO troops, The only protection S-For offered was to Muslims wanting to collect a few belongings trom their nome before teeing to the east Mostar.
In Prijedor 97 Muslim families ap. plied to return to their homes. They gave their names to the international police. Within 48 hours every one of the houses had been destroyed. At least four members of the Prijedor police have been indicted for war crimes Dy the hague tribunal out continue to hold prominent positions. year a decision on whether Breko should be part of the Croat-Musim Federation or the Bosnian Serb Republic. to be 'ethnically cleansed' by para. mitanes from Serbia at the start of the war in Bosnia. Muslim owned houses have continued to be debeen apprehended. The council. courts and police are all in Serb Fifteen months after Dayton it is clear that the only parts of the Agreements that are being imple. for the division of Bosnia into the Muslim-Croat and Serb entities and the creation of a Zone of Separation between the two armies. All those parts wiich were supposed to bring about the reunification of the coun try are being ignored.
The effect of this is to increase the hold of nationalist currents sults of the September elections aside all the problems of how genu. nely democratic they were. The clear winners in elections for the Presidency and for the House of Representatives.
In the Federation the nonMinister Haris Silaidzic won only 7.14 per cent of votes for the House somewhat better in the vote for the bosniac section of the Presidency. getting 13.62 percent.
Silajdzic's vote is even more disappointing since he was at least alowed to campaign. In those parts of former Bosnian government opposition candidates were allowed access press exists.
In the Bosnian Serb Republic the nationalist SDS displayed Karadzic's portrait on its campaign materialdespite this contravening crectoral regulations.
The small opposition parties had virtually no access to the media. Al similar situation existed in HercegBosna where the official Bosnian Croat media did not even sign the electoral Rules and Regulations and made no effort to give anyone other than the HDZ access.
The only other television information came from the HDZ run eve of the elections it ran a docu. mentary on the dangers of Islamic fundamentalism'.
Poor vote
Despite the relatively poor vote for non-nationalist candidates the very different conditions in which the elecaon was fought in the sard jevo controlled part of the Federa tion, Herceg-Bosna and the Serb Republic show that the three main nationalist parties are not the Muslim SDA does allow opposition forces to organise; the SDS and HDZ clearty do not.
At the time of the Dayton warned that the creation of the two 'entities' would strengthen, not weaken, those who want to carve up Bosnia. The election rePrijedor, Sarajevo, Brekc and elsewhere confirm that analysis. Despite a small number of attacks on Seros who continue to ive in the Croat-Muslim Federation, the majority of people in the federacon stil want to recreate a singe. multi-national Bosnian state. The vote for the SDA was not a vote for an islamic state.
Unfortunately the longer Bosnia cult that will be.
or a combination for change?