REINTEGRATION OF SARAJEVO

Anarchy under the Guise of the State

AIM Sarajevo, March 22, 1996

After four years of being in a blockade which for quite some time resembled a classic medieval siege, Sarajevo has become an integral city again. In the process of peaceful reintegration, large parts of municipalities of Vogosca, Ilijas, Hadzici and Ilidza have been returned to the city, as well as parts of other city communities which were taken possession of by the Bosnian Serbs in April 1992, who wished to tighten the circle around the capital of Bosnia & Herzegovina.

Those who cared to hear and know, not only in the former Yugoslav but in much broader space as well, are quite aware of what Sarajevo and the Sarajevans have experienced during this, probably longest siege in modern history. It is an established fact that demarcation line often passed through a staircase of an apartment building, nothing to say about city streets, beds of local streams and the Miljacka river. Apart from that, the entire urban core of the city was the greatest world sniper testing ground, while the level of risk of living in the city is clearly illustrated by the fact that, for instance, along the couple kilometres of the city tram line, a passenger in a tram could be shot not with a shell, a sniper or a rifle bullet, but with a bullet from the most ordinary pistol. Generally, it is not necessary to tell in too many words to those who wished to know about the four-year survival of Sarajevans and of the mixture of death with shortages of electricity, water, gas, fuel, food... Again, to those who shut their eyes to all this suffering and who pretended that news (and they were to be found literally everywhere) about them did not reach them, it is no use saying anything.

Just because of all these information barriers, it is difficult to describe enthusiasm and even euphoria with which the Sarajevans followed the month-long process of transfer of power in parts of their city. In the months after the Dayton agreement, when it became clear that reintegration of Sarajevo would really happen one day, everybody started getting ready for it. It turned out, nevertheless, that despite all the preparations, everybody and even the Bosnian-Herzegovinian state itself, were greatly taken by surprise by the transition of power, and the fact that it is a process which is taking place for the first time is not an especially extenuating circumstance.

Except for the people who were banned from their homes in the suburbs of Sarajevo four years ago or later, who have spent the past few months in expectations, adding up refugee cards which would help them return sooner, fearing for their property which they had been forced to leave behind to be used and robbed by the rebellious Bosnian Serbs, it seems that the best prepared for reintegration of Sarajevo were outlaws. Plunderers, bandits and criminals of all kinds (and nations, it seems) during the process of reintegration, from their point of view, made a fantastic stroke of business.

Before federal policemen even saw how the land lay, truckloads and carloads of stolen goods were already leaving Vogosca and its surroundings (as the first reintegrated municipality). It is a fact that incredible, indeed fantastic plunder was committed previously by the Serbs who had not decided to stay at home and live with the others, however, thieves from Sarajevo and elsewhere still found plenty of loot they could be satisfied with.

Smarter thieves "worked" in weekend houses around Vogosca where policemen just dropped by occasionally and where the Serbs had not been "thorough". A crew of journalists, for example, was advised by a group of plunderers, who had probably believed that the journalists were on a similar task as they were, to "keep away from Boshniak houses and rob just the Serb ones", for the sake of honour. But, to watch out for the mines, too.

In order to clarify the claimed and the actual role of policemen in the days of reintegration of Sarajevo, one should keep in mind the fact that their number is limited by international police of the European Union, and that it allowed them to arm themselves practically with nothing but words and stern looks. Very soon, it turned out that six or seven practically unarmed policemen were insufficient to keep order in all reintegrated parts of a large municipality, and that it was impossible for them to be present everywhere especially if they had the intention to do their unpleasant job in some secluded villages. What could they have done, say, in a conflict situation in such a solitary place, unarmed and without any help, in the vicinity of someone whom they had watched for four years only over the sight of their guns. Therefore, it was quite logical (although maybe not justified) that the federal policemen preferred to stay in city districts than to experiment with their own lives.

On the other hand, the once banished persons and criminals of all kinds and with different intentions arrived in solitary villages and secluded parts of the city before state authorities and the mentioned policemen. Gradually, rumours started that some Sarajevo Serbs who had decided not to believe the propaganda about impossibility of living together and remained in their homes, were exposed to plunder and inconvenience. Unfortunately, in the days when the Serbs who had been victims of brain washing from Pale for four years were undergoing true psychological shocks ("imagine staying at home and waiting for some jihad warriors to come!"), such pressures forced them to change their minds and suddenly leave to the other side of the demarcation line between the entities, as the border between them is popularly and clumsily called.

The case of a physician from Vogosce is illustrative. He had stayed in the local Medical Centre, trying to save from plunder and arson what little there was to save. The doctor managed to prevent arson, but not plunder, but that is not the reason why he is mentioned here. The physician endured threats of "his" people and welcomed his colleagues from the federation, willing to stay and live and work at the same post. To the question whether he would succeed, he said nothing, though. He said nothing the first day, he said nothing the second day. On the third day, this physician did not show up at work. He had gone to Pale.

Therefore, even such situations forced the Serbs to flee from temptation, along the path of least resistance, so one should not be surptised that those who were openly threatened feared. Nevertheless, one must say that such experiences varied a great deal and that propaganda from Pale even in a stern glance (certainly, glances full of love could not be expected after so much war waging?) recognized attacks of fundamentalists against the innocent Serb nation.

In a suburb of Vogosca, in the village of Josanica, a 68-old Serb decided to stay and wait for the federal authorities and his son who fought in the Army of RB&H from the first day. The elderly Serb remained alone in the village, everyone else went "up" to Pale. He watched certain new neighbours coming, looters going from house to house and stealing everything that could be stolen, breaking down walls if necessary. He gave keys to his sister's house to a group of young men, just to prevent them from breaking through the door with crow-bars. He trembled with fear... He watched closely what integration was like when the police were far away. Groups of young men started visiting him and threatening: "What do you want, old man, why don't you go join your own? What are you waiting for? Do you think there will be policemen here to protect you when we throw a hand grenade through your window tonight? Do you think that you can fight us?..." He stayed up for days waiting for his son to return who could not spend the night in his native house (he worked in Sarajevo) and expecting the grenade promised him. He feared every ring of the bell and knock on the door, wondering every time whether it was the last time he was opening the door to someone, and finally after a few days he made up his mind. He would start on his way "up" towards Pale, too. He packed a small bag and went out. He hardly made several steps when his new neighbours stopped him and forced him to return. They promised him assistance, and safety, and a cup of coffee with him in the morning. Lads who had threatened him gave up, having realized that it would be smarter to find another "old man" who would not have such neighbours, and there were still quite a few of them in reintegrated suburbs of Sarajevo.

Vogosca is the first municipality reintegrated into the capital of B&H and, unfortunately, just the first in which during the process of reintegration, ugly things happened and not just nice ones. Practically, the same happened in Ilijas, and in Hadzici, and in Ilidza, and the scope of plunder was so huge that it is openly discussed in public. Plunderers arrived to gather loot from places even a hundred kilometres away! Namely, there were more local and village roads they could get through with the loot then police patrols which could have stopped them. At the same time, satellite tv stations started emphasizing such ugly events and a risk appeared that reintegration of Sarajevo would be observed as a triumph of anarchy, and not of long-suffering and tormented citizens of Sarajevo and of those who have finally been given the opportunity to return to their homes.

It seems that B&H state leadership became aware of something of the kind (which is certainly an oddity), so Alija Izetbegovic, President of the Presidency of B&H, sent an open letter to Avdo Habib, federal Minister of the interior. In his letter, Mr. Izetbegovic ordered, in a roundabout way of course, that anarchy had to be stopped. Federal policemen became more active overnight, more mobile and efficient, but success was still checked by the fact that their number was limited. It was somewhat compensated by policemen in civilian clothes who acted interested citizens, and it seemed, the situation was somehow brought under control. Nevertheless, plundering of still unplundered or insufficiently plundered weekend houses which are at a distance from main roads is still popular. The fact that there are no news about abuses of the Serbs who have remained to live in regions to be annexed by the federation of B&H ccording to the Dayton Agreement is encouraging. Of course, except for the news made by the propagandist centres in Pale.

According to data handled by international humanitarian organizations, primarily the UNHCR, about five thousand Serbs remained to live in regions reintegrated into Sarajevo. What will be happening in the forthcoming period it is difficult to predict, however, it should be said that there are even such Serbs from Sarajevo who are coming back to their homes in Sarajevo after their recent exodus, disappointed and resolute to try to live together with the others again. At the same time, there are no official data about the number of citizens of Sarajevo who are ethnic Serbs and who have subsequently changed their minds and wish to leave. The UNHCR claims that this number is not large. It is significant, of course, that not a single murder was registered during the process of reintegration (or at least we have not learnt about it) which is, to be honest, quite a big reason for satisfaction considering the fact that people who have found themselves close together again are people who had waged war against each other, people who had lost their closest relatives and people who objectively have not much reason to love each other. Especially when compared to the situation which emerged after reintegration of Knin Krajina into the Republic of Croatia, for instance.

Observed from this aspect, and taking into account the fact that in the process of peaceful transfer of power, not a single policeman of the Federation was hurt, the whole operation has perhaps passed more peacefully than could have been expected. Nevertheless, the fact remains that federal policemen, more precisely the Ministry of the interior, and even more precisely the state of B&H (whatever people may imply by it) could have done much more to reduce deplorable scenes to a minimum. And not just could, but should have.

ZLATKO VUKMIROVIC