SITREP BOSNIA FROM BELGRADE: INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 BELGRADE 000482 SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL PREF PGOV PHUM BK SUBJECT: SITREP BOSNIA FROM BELGRADE: INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY PRESENCE, PRESSURE KEY TO DURABLE SOLUTIONS FOR REFUGEES AND DISPLACED PERSONS BELGRADE 00000482 001.2 OF 003 SUMMARY -------------- ¶1. (SBU) On April 21 and 22, Belgrade based Regional Refugee Coordinator for the Balkans traveled to Bosnia to meet with local officials and to discuss concerns facing displaced persons and returnees. Durable solutions for refugees and displaced persons and sustainability of return continue to be of concern to representatives of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR),Bosnia and Herzegovina's (BiH) Ministry for Human Rights and Refugees (MHRR),civil society and local government entities. Though significant progress has been made on housing reconstruction since the end of the Bosnian war, all asserted more work needed to be done on the return process and stressed the importance of continued international community presence and pressure to ensure forward movement on return and a sustainable environment for returnees. End Summary. UNHCR: RETURN PROCESS FAR FROM OVER -------------- ¶2. (SBU) Lack of durable solutions for refugees and displaced persons (IDPs) across Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) were principal concerns of United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) BiH Representative Naveed Hussain in an April 21 meeting. He told us 138,351 (130,884 IDPs and 7,367 refugees) individuals were still seeking durable solutions in BiH nearly 15 years after the Bosnian conflict that forced thousands to flee their homes. He also worried that returns figures had dropped significantly in recent years (Note: UNHCR returns figures: 4,526 in 2007, 4,184 in 2006 and 6,164 in 2005 versus 17,948 in 2004 and 40,303 in 2003. End note.) ¶3. (SBU) Hussain said Annex 7 of the Dayton Agreement had been revised and an implementation strategy completed, but that the return process was far from over. "Thirteen years after Dayton, return is still not over. The problem is that Dayton did not have a deadline," he said. Hussain cited a series of barriers to the end of the return process, including approximately 40,000 pending applications for housing reconstruction and vulnerable individuals who are simply unable to return, yet lack an alternate, durable solution. "Where people live is instrumental �00A;to the future of a multiethnic society," he emphasized. He told us that UNHCR, in cooperation with the BiH Ministry for Human Rights and Refugees, planned to organize ten working groups each focusing on specific issues outlined in Annex 7, ranging from reconstruction to infrastructure, health, social welfare, education, and employment. ETHNIC TENSIONS, POLITICAL INSTABILITY IMPACT RETURNS -------------- -------------- ¶4. (SBU) Assistant Minister for Human Rights and Refugees Mario Nenadic said April 21 that poor coordination and tension between the Federation and the Republika Srpska negatively impacted the return process. "The whole thing is like a poorly playing orchestra," he said adding that ethnic divisions affected every aspect of society, including ethnic separation in schools. He further faulted political instability for slow progress on economic development, which affected the livelihoods of all BiH citizens, but particularly displaced persons and returnees. SIGNIFICANT DROP IN RETURN FIGURES IN RECENT YEARS -------------- -------------- ¶5. (SBU) Nenadic outlined progress on several goals of the state strategy for implementation of Annex 7, which he drafted in 2002. On displaced persons, he said the 1,026,000 returnee figure cited by UNHCR did not reflect the actual returns "on the ground." The UNHCR registers return of property as return of people, yet many people have taken possession of their property BELGRADE 00000482 002.2 OF 003 without physically returning to their pre-war homes. Echoing Hussain, he said return figures had dropped significantly over the past few years and noted that overall return figures were higher in the Federation than the RS (Note: According to UNHCR 2007 year-end figures, 351,027 returnees to the Federation versus 207,254 to the RS. End note.) INTERNATIONAL PRESSURE KEY TO HOUSING RECONSTRUCTION EFFORT -------------- -------------- ¶6. (SBU) Citing significant progress on housing reconstruction, Nenadic said a quarter of the 445,000 destroyed properties had been rebuilt. When asked why this was a success, he stressed the presence and enforcement capacity of the international community. "The international community promotes democratic standards in times of crisis," he said. Nenadic told us the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Kosovo invited him to share lessons learned on property restitution. "You cannot get anywhere by force, and this has to be clear in Kosovo. The earlier the international community steps in, the better," he said. Finally, Nenadic discussed the importance of creating conditions for sustainable return, including the right to employment, the right to vote, and access to health and education. ROLE OF CIVIL SOCIETY CRUCIAL TO RETURN PROCESS -------------- -- ¶7. (SBU) Mirhunisa Zukic, who heads the largest advocacy NGO for refugees and internally displaced persons in BiH told us April 21 that the role of civil society was vital to the return process. "If we stopped working, nothing would be done," she said. Zukic praised the efforts of the MHRR but warned the Ministry could wield limited influence with only a political mandate. She lamented delays in refugee returns in the five year gap between 1995 and 2000, when the Ministry was formed, and argued UNHCR should have played a more robust role in initiating the return process. Akin to Nendadic, she too pointed to international community pressure as a critical component in the housing reconstruction effort, though suggested Dayton should have included a provision that returnees actually live in the reconstructed homes. "Only a third of returnees actually live in their reconstructed homes," she said. Indicating more work was in order and echoing Hussain, she mentioned the 40,000 families still were awaiting reconstruction. NO BIH WITHOUT RETURN OF REFUGEES AND DISPLACED PERSONS -------------- -------------- ¶8. (SBU) Zukic said reconstruction should have been paired with income generation assistance for returnees, given the effects of mass privatization following the end of hostilities. "The second tragedy that happened after war was privatization. Refugees always lose, whether they choose to stay or go," she said. Zukic told us there could be no BiH without the sustainable return of refugees and displaced persons. RETURNEES TO BRATUNAC STILL FEEL UNPROTECTED -------------- ¶9. (SBU) In the eastern RS municipality of Bratunac, 7,000 Bosniaks have returned since the war, but tensions still linger and trust between Serb and Bosniak communities has been slow to develop. Advisor to Federation Vice President Mirsad Kebo for Eastern Bosnia and leader of Bosniak returns to Bratunac, Refik Begic described April 22 the initial resistance of the local community and RS government when the return process began in earnest in 1998. He cited construction of Serbian orthodox churches amongst Bosniak communities and on Bosniak land as an BELGRADE 00000482 003.2 OF 003 example of intimidation. A gentle optimist, Begic said it was important to keep channels of communication in mixed communities open. "This is the only way things will get better," he said. Nevertheless, he cautioned that security of returnees remained a concern. "People in Bratunac still feel unprotected. Returnees in general feel unprotected," he said. LITTLE TRUST BETWEEN BOSNIAKS, SERBS -------------- ¶10. (SBU) Referring to the ethnic divisions in BiH, Begic said the "project" that is Bosnia and Herzegovina would disappear without continuous pressure from the international community. He claimed there was precious little trust between Bosniaks and Serbs, which does nothing to ensure a safe and secure environment for returnees. Begic told us he believes the international community should press further to fix the "the deeply flawed political structure in BiH to ensure better health and educational systems." SIGNS OF HOPE -------------- ¶11. (SBU) Signs of hope exist. Begic introduced us to one of the first returnees to the Bratunac municipality who survives by raising sheep, growing vegetables, canning apple jam and sewing bedding, which she sells at a local market. Living alone in her modest home, she told us she was grateful her husband passed away in 1989 and had not experienced the atrocities of war - especially the death of their son in the Srebrenica genocide in July, 1995. Although determined to remain in her home, she told us that she and many other returnees have not changed their legal residence back to Bratunac because they feared losing the victim benefits they receive monthly from the Federation (approximately $250 per month) and they also want to have the "security" of administrative residence in the Federation should there be another conflict. SREBRENICA SECURITY SITUATION: IMPROVING BY THE DAY -------------- -------------- ¶12. (SBU) In Srebrenica, one of the largest and most war-affected municipalities in the RS, head of the Municipal Returns Office Abdurahman Omic told us April 22 that plenty had been accomplished on housing reconstruction and returns in a short period, but more work was needed. He said 2208 of the 6014 destroyed homes had been reconstructed and that 680 requests for reconstruction were still pending. "At this rate, we will need eight more years to complete the process," he said. He stressed the need for economic opportunities to ensure the sustainability of return. Omic, who lost his father and three brothers in the genocide at Srebrenica returned to Srebrenica after the war "to make things better." Cautiously optimistic about the future, he said the security situation in Srebrenica was "improving by the day." Though he cautioned it would be a mistake to discount the possibility of renewed conflict, he said the presence of the international community, along with a willingness by all citizens to "make it work" was the right combination to bring about lasting stability in BiH. ¶13. Embassy Sarajevo has cleared on this cable. MUNTER