WHY THE BANISHED FROM SREBRENICA DEMONSTRATE

"CATCH THE THIEF"

AIM Tuzla, February 5, 1996

After demonstrations of banished people from Srebrenica in Tuzla-Podrinje Canton which lasted several days, the last ones in the beginning of February, culminated in violence and a clash with the police which was defending the Cantonal Administration building from the malcontents. After demonstrationg for a few hours, the banished women hopelessly tried to break the cordon of a hundred policemen who were securing the building and enter it, and then there was commotion with the police. The banished women afterwards stoned the building of the Canton Government, broke seventy odd large windows on it, persistently demanding to see a representative of the authorities. With the exception of foreign TV crews and some local journalists, noone appeared to talk to the people from Srebrenica.

Their protests actually began a couple of months ago in Vozuca, a village near Zavidovici. At the time, banished persons demanded for days better conditions for themselves and their children, more food, clothing, shoes, adequate accomodation and health protection. In the demolished village of Vozuca, until recently on the frontline, about 1800 banished people from Srebrenica were accomodated spending their days in exile without electric power, school, clinic... Discontented and with a feeling that they were abandoned, people from Srebrenica blocked with their bodies the road from Tuzla to Zenica via Zavidovici, demanding from Bosnian officials to resolve their status. Former minister for refugees, Muharem Cero, happened to show up among them (rumour goes that the refugees physically attacked the minister, and that he too returned the blows) and promised them improvement of conditions for living. But, it remains for the records that the first revolt of the banished people from Srebrenica was initiated by social demands, and also by the question of destiny of some eight to nine thousand men who disappeared after Karadzic's troops marched into Srebrenica.

The authorities started certain activities aimed at improvement of the status of the banished persons in Vozuca, but it all ended with minor attempts. Towards the end of last and the beginning of this month, however, thousands of Srebrenica banished inhabitants accomodated in municipalities around Tuzla, began demonstrations in front of the building of the International Committee of the Red Cross in Tuzla. Demonstrators demanded from the ICRC to tell them the truth about their disappeared fellow-townsman, and after a bureaucratic answer that the employees of the ICRC were "working on it", they broke into the premises of this institution and broke everything in the basement of the building. Employees of the ICRC barricaded themselves on the upper floors of the building, all roads leading to Tuzla were blocked for hours, and about ten passenger cars, a truck and a bus, whose drivers tried to pass through the throng of angry banished people, do not resemble vehicles any more.

Having given vent to their discontent concerning their disappeared men on the international organizations, which was registered by almost all world news agency, banished citizens of Srebrenica "remembered" again who was really responsible for their difficult status. The current authorities, that is, the Party of Democratic Action, were accused of not doing enough for clarification of the destiny of the disappeared persons, that is, that they have left them to the mercy of God, but also that they have tricked the people of Srebrenica into leaving their hometown. According to the words of many of them, Srebrenica was the subject of bargaining for the Bosnian authorities, which did not allow them to go abroad after the fall of Srebrenica, but keep them in B&H "to show them around".

• Now we understand! They did not allow us to leave in order to collect humanitarian aid and money on account of our misery. Donations were not used for our accomodation, but the authorities kept them for themselves. They are creating a capitalism of their own with humanitarian donations, but at our expense. We shall demonstrate until the authorities tell us how much money was received from abroad on account of Srebrenica and what it was spent for. That money was not spent us! We are hungry, thirsty, we sleep in tents in this cold, with no clothing, no shoes, not enough food - Zejneba Mesic from Srebrenica tells us, who is at the moment accomodated in the building of the elementary school in Zivinici.

There were quite a few banished persons in uniforms, soldiers who have survived the Golgotha of Srebrenica. They too accused the SDA and the republican authorities for theft and malversations, so their political messages were in the sense that noone would vote for the SDA any more, but for Haris Silajdzic and the opposition. Stories about financial machinations of the ruling structure at times seemed so bold that they verged on rumours, but political assessments that the authorities are intentionally slowing down the process of return of banished persons - explaining it with the experience of the federation and totalitarian SDA and the HDZ - obviously are not completely unfounded.

• We will never resolve our problems with these authorities - banished people shouted and added that they were manipulated by the Party of Democratic Action.

Such severe criticism of the current authorities and social-political demands of the citizens of Srebrenica were, of course, passed over in silence by state media. All the information carried by state RTV B&H and journals close to the SDA about demonstrations of banished people from Srebrenica were presented solely as anger of these people with the international community because of the question of the disappeared persons from their town. Noone from the ruling structure cared to address these people for days, but they did recognize the hand of some secret "directors" in the latest demonstrations. Namely, the demand for clarification of use of donations was louder than the one concerning the disappeared men, and the rage with the ruling SDA was much more prominent than the anger with the international community.

Nevertheless, insisting of those who were more consistent on the social and political foundations of the demonstrations resulted in the approval of a visit of a delegation of banished people from Srebrenica to Sarajevo, more precisely to the President of the SDA and B&H Presidency, Alija Izetbegovic.

However, instead of the promised seven, the authorities of the Canton provided only one bus which started on its journey to Sarajevo with the chosen few in the middle of the night, namely, much earlier than agreed with the demonstrants. This made the demonstrants even more angry and they demanded from the authorities of the Canton (consisting of leaders of the SDA) additional seven buses for their departure to Sarajevo. After their demand had been turned down, that is, since noone from the Canton bothered to even answer their demand, demonstrations in front of the building of the Tuzla-Podrinje Canton Government continued, again with social and political demands predominating. While they threw stones at the building, demonstrants cursed the current republican authorities, literally from top to bottom, repeating all the time: "We will vote for the opposition, for Silajdzic, even Kljujic, if need be!"

Accusations of manipulating with Srebrenica in bargaining, and malversations with donations from abroad were heard again. Fifty-year old Habiba Dzananovic from Srebrenica, a temporary resident of Lukavac, claims that not long ago seven truck loads of aid for the banished persons had arrived to this city, but nothing was actually given to the them. Rejha Mehmedovic claims that the B&H authorities in general are thieving, that they take humanitarian aid for themselves and sell it for German marks in stores, and give the banished persons two small cans of fish, a kilogram of peas, several decilitres of oil and some detergent for a whole month, or 100 grams of dry bread a day! Uniformed men shouted "SDA - thieves!", or "Alija, Grant God that you perish like Srebrenica!", only to raise accusations among the ruling circles that the opposition had some hand in demonstrations because political slogans were heard!?

After the meeting of certain citizens of Srebrenica with Alija Izetbegovic, a bleak statement was published here and there in local media that "the authorities offer support to justified demands for resolving the destiny of the disappeared persons, but social status of the banished persons was also discussed".

It seems that both demands of the banished persons - destiny of the disappeared and their social status - are justified. Resolution of these issues was promised by documents of international and local authorities. However, their effectuation is slow. That is why the banished persons threaten that they would on their own free will, if IFOR refuses to protect them, start on their way back to Srebrenica, because they trust noone any more.

On the other hand, the issue of the destiny of monetary and humanitarian donations concerns the authorities. They often repeat that they are not responsible for anything, and know nothing of how and where the money was spent!? It is a paradox that the officials of the Tuzla-Podrinje Canton know exactly, to the last penny, how much money each of the international humanitarian organizations spends, although they independently (not through them) finance projects, like for example the Norwegian People's Aid or the Norwegian Church Aid, but they know nothing about the money which is at their disposal. For instance, noone wishes to say what happened to five million dollars sent by the Dutch Government to the banished people from Srebrenica, nor how much money was paid to special funds opened on behalf of Srebrenica, such as the party account of the SDA. Izet Hadzic, President of the Canton, who is also a member of the leadership of the SDA, claims that half of the money received from the Dutch Government was allegedly spent on reconstruction of a settlement in Brcko and Srebrenik, where about 22 thousand square metres of space was provided for the banished persons. The other half, that is, 2.5 million dollars, are not mentioned. It is an established fact, however, that the President of the SDA and of the Presidency of B&H, Alija Izetbegovic, has personally donated two million marks (!) but that the money was "forzen" for months, because noone wished (or knew how) to spend them.

Finally, it seems that the authorities of the B&H have after all underestimated problems of the banished persons. Namely, the process of return of these people, despite the signatures on the Agreement, is practically not approved of yet. Obviously, when people from Srebrenica are concerned, things have gone beyond bounds in Tuzla. It is rightfully expected that the volcano of discontent will erupt in other places in B&H as well.

VEHID JAHIC