Bosnia Faking Democracy After Dayton Second Edition David Chandler P Pluto Press LONDON • STERLING, VIRGINIA First published 1999 by Pluto Press 345 Archway Road, London N6 5AA and 22883 Quicksilver Drive, Sterling, VA 20166–2012, USA Second edition 2000 Copyright © David Chandler 1999, 2000 The right of David Chandler to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library ISBN 0 7453 1690 5 hbk Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data applied for Disclaimer: Some images in the original version of this book are not available for inclusion in the eBook. Designed and produced for Pluto Press by Chase Production Services, Chadlington, OX7 3LN Typeset by Gawcott Typesetting Services, Milton Keynes Printed in the EC by TJ International, Padstow Contents List of Tables vii List of Abbreviations viii Acknowledgements x Introduction 1 1. Democratisation 7 2. Dayton and Sovereignty 34 3. Power-Sharing and Multi-Ethnic Administrations 66 4. The Protection of Human Rights 90 5. Political Pluralism 111 6. Building Civil Society 135 7. Assessments 154 8. The External Dynamic of Democratisation 181 9. Conclusion 193 Afterword 200 Notes 212 References and Select Bibliography 216 Index 245 v For my parents, Michael and Eva. List of Tables 2.1 The Dayton Annexes 45 3.1 Party Composition of the Bosnian State Parliament (September 1996) 70 3.2 Party Composition of the Federation Parliamentary Assembly (September 1996) 72 3.3 Party Composition of the Republika Srpska Assembly (September 1996) 75 3.4 Party Composition of the Republika Srpska Assembly (November 1997) 77 3.5 Mostar Municipal Councils 80 3.6 Sarajevo Municipal Council Seat Allocation by Political Party and Nationality 83 3.7 Seat Allocation by Political Party in the Four Sarajevo Municipal Councils 83 3.8 Brcko Arbitration Rulings (14 February 1997) 85 4.1 Human Rights Agreements: International Comparison 93 5.1 Party Composition of the Republic Srpska Assembly (September 1998) 213 5.2 President/Vice President of Republika Srpska (September 1998) 214 vii List of Abbreviations ARRC Allied Rapid Reaction Corps BBC British Broadcasting Corporation CAP Citizens’ Alternative Parliament CEEC Central and East European countries CFR Coalition for Return CoM Council of Ministers CSCE Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe DPA Dayton Peace Agreement EASC Election Appeals Sub-Commission EBRD European Bank for Reconstruction and Development ECMM European Community Monitoring Mission EU European Union EUAM European Union Administration Mostar FERN Free Elections Radio Network FIC Federation Implementation Council FRY Federal Republic of Yugoslavia GFA General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina HCA Helsinki Citizens’ Association HDZ Croatian Democratic Union HRCC Human Rights Co-ordination Centre HTV Hrvatska (Croatian) Television and Radio ICFY International Conference on the Former Yugoslavia ICG International Crisis Group ICRC International Committee of the Red Cross ICTY International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia IEBL Inter-Entity Boundary Line IFOR NATO Implementation Force IMF International Monetary Fund IMSLC Intermediate Media Standards and Licensing Commission IOM International Organisation for Migration IPTF UN International Police Task Force JCC Joint Civilian Commission viii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ix JCCS Joint Civilian Commission Sarajevo JIC Joint Interim Commission LEC Local Election Commission LNGO Local Non-Governmental Organisation MBO Muslim Bosniak Organisation MEC Media Experts Commission MIA Main Implementation Agencies MSAG Media Support and Advisory Group NATO North Atlantic Treaty Organisation NGO Non-Governmental Organisation OBN Open Broadcast Network ODIHR OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights OHR Office of the UN High Representative OSCE Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe PEC Provisional Election Commission PIC Peace Implementation Council QSP Quick Start Package RS Republika Srpska SDA Party of Democratic Action SDS Serb Democratic Party SFOR NATO Stabilisation Force SHAPE Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe SNS Serbian People’s Alliance SPD Serbian Socialist Party SRS Serbian Radical Party SRT Serb Radio and Television UBSD Union of Bosnia and Herzegovina Social Democrats UN United Nations UNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation UNHCR United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees UNMiBH United Nations Mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina UNPROFOR United Nations Protection Force UNTAES United Nations Transitional Administration for Eastern Slavonia US United States VOPP Vance-Owen Peace Plan Acknowledgements This book would not have been possible without the support of the International Social Policy Research Unit (ISPRU) at Leeds Metropolitan University which provided both funding and research facilities, and I am especially thankful to my colleagues Bob Deacon, Gordon Johnston and Paul Stubbs for their sugges- tions and advice. Research in Bosnia was facilitated by officers from various institutions of the OSCE, in particular: Adam Bedkowski, Human Rights Co-ordinator for Bosnia-Herzegovina, OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights; Virginia Canil, Director General for Democratisation, OSCE Mission to Bosnia-Herzegovina and Betty Dawson, Press and Public Relations Officer, OSCE Mission to Bosnia-Herzegovina. I would also like to acknowledge the support of friends and asso- ciates, who have translated material, trawled cyberspace for infor- mation, and made comments and suggestions on draft material, especially journalism researcher William Woodger, with the London International Research Exchange, Adam Burgess, James Heartfield, Bernd-Uwe Herrmann, Matthew Kershaw, Michael Savage and my partner and inspiration Bonnie Chandler. x Introduction The Dayton Peace Agreement, initialled on 21 November 1995, by the governments of Bosnia, Croatia and rump-Yugoslavia, brought the three-and-a-half-year Bosnian war to an end. The agreement, overseen by the institutions of the international community, at the Wright-Patterson Air Force base in Dayton, Ohio, not only established international control over military forces on the ground but also put into practice a new, post-Cold War, international agenda for long-term peace-building. This agenda has extended the sphere of international involvement in post-conflict situations from keeping warring sides apart to taking the lead in developing long-term political solutions; this new role for international institutions is increasingly described as ‘democratisation’. As the UN Secretary-General has noted, ‘democratisation is predominantly a new area’ for the UN, nevertheless it is already seen as ‘a key component of peace-building’ addressing the ‘economic, social, cultural, humanitarian and political roots of conflict’ (UN, 1996, pars 13 and 14). Democratisation is broadly defined by the UN to constitute a ‘comprehensive approach’ covering the broad range of new peace-building priorities, ‘top- down’ international regulation of elections, institutional develop- ment and economic management, and also ‘bottom-up’ assistance to develop a democratic political culture through civil society-building (UN, 1996, par. 124). Under Dayton, the framework of the Bosnian state was to be highly dependent on international supervision. There was to be a one-year transitional international administration, in place until the first state-level elections in September 1996. After this, the formal powers given to the central state authorities were to be uniquely ‘minimalist’, even to the extent of excluding central control over the armed forces, while wide-ranging powers over government institutions were to be given to international organi- sations and externally appointed individuals for between five and six years. These new powers of international involvement were written into the Bosnian Constitution, and the process of democ- ratisation was to be overseen directly by outside administrators appointed by international bodies such as the United Nations, the Council of Europe, the Organisation of Security and Co-opera- tion in Europe and the International Monetary Fund. 1