Bosnia: Ban on Convicts Holding Public Office Urged

The selection of a convicted war criminal as deputy mayor of a Bosnian town has led to demands for the law to be changed to prohibit such appointments.

Bosnian Serb Simo Zaric, convicted by the Hague tribunal for war crimes committed in Bosanski Samac during the 1992-1995 war, was named deputy mayor of the same town on January 29 this year.

Activists and survivors of the war have warned that his appointment is a dangerous precedent, which could damage hopes for reconciliation and refugee return.

In 1992, Zaric was the security chief in Bosanski Samac and interrogated non-Serb prisoners held in detention facilities in the municipality. He voluntarily surrendered himself in 1998 and was transferred to The Hague.

Zaric was sentenced to six years’ imprisonment in October 2003 for crimes against humanity, persecutions based upon cruel and inhumane treatment including beatings, torture, and confinement under inhumane conditions.

In their verdict, judges at his tribunal trial concluded that “while Zaric did not personally beat the prisoners, as a person highly engaged and respected in the social and cultural life in Bosanski Samac, he gave encouragement and moral support to those who did”.

Zaric was granted early release in January 2004 and returned to Bosanski Samac. The current mayor of Bosanski Samac, Savo Minic, has said that because Zaric had served his sentence there remained no formal or legal obstacles to Zaric’s appointment as his deputy.

However, Sulejman Tihic, president of the largest Muslim party in Bosnia, Party of Democratic Action, SDA, said Zaric’s appointment of was a cause for concern.

Tihic, detained in May 1992 by Serb forces and held in several prison camps until August the same year, has testified about war crimes in Bosanski Samac in several Hague tribunal trials.

“It is very dangerous that a person who is convicted of war crimes perform any public or political function,” he said. “The SDA will seek changes of the election law and demand a provision which will ban persons convicted of war crimes from being actively involved in politics.”

He said legislative reform was needed because of a loophole in the law that allows a convicted war criminal to hold public office.

The 1995 Dayton Peace Agreement, which ended the war in Bosnia, and forms the basis of Bosnian legislation, stipulates that persons indicted for war crimes cannot run in elections or hold public office. However, there is no provision made for those with convictions for such offences.

“It is quite logical to further extend this provision and say that those convicted of war crimes cannot hold public or political posts either,” Tihic said.

Zaric, meanwhile, defends his appointment as deputy mayor.
"The fact that I was convicted by the Hague tribunal for war crimes and sentenced to six years in prison is a heavy weight on my shoulders,” Zaric told IWPR.

“But I must remind you that I surrendered voluntarily and went to The Hague to face justice. Also, even the Hague judges said in their verdict that I never showed any intentions to discriminate [against] non-Serbs.

“As to whether I have a moral right to hold a public post, I will remind you that back in 2004, when I ran for the mayor of Bosanski Samac, [the Bosnian] electoral commission said I could do it. Also, the [Bosnian] constitution is on my side and it doesn't prevent me from running for a public post. And I think it is my obligation to work for society.

“I cannot change the fact that I was found guilty of war crimes. However, the laws and the constitution of this country are on my side, and I don't see any reason why I should feel ashamed or turn my back on the society to which my family and I belong.”

Zaric has had some local Bosniak support. Mirza Kucukovic, a returnee to Bosanski Samac, said in an interview for Federal TV in February, "We are very satisfied with Simo Zaric's work. He's always ready to talk to the returnees and does everything he can to help us. We don't have any complaints about him.”

But others, such as Bosniak Sulejman Tabakovic, who spent seven months during 1992 imprisoned in Bosanski Samac, said Zaric’s appointment was an outrage.

"I remember Simo Zaric clearly,” he told IWPR. “He used to visit .. the elementary school in which I was detained, together with other non-Serbs. For seven months, I and 38 other detainees were not allowed to take a shower, or shave, or change our clothes.

“You can imagine what we looked like and how we felt. And now Simo Zaric has been elected a deputy mayor of this town. That is unacceptable. Those convicted of war crimes should be banned forever from holding public office."

The president of the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Republika Srpska, Branko Todorovic, says Bosnian legislation should have been changed long ago to prevent the likes of Zaric holding public or political office.

"The victims will suffer a new blow when persons convicted of war crimes start returning to politics in larger numbers,” Todorovic said. “It is inconceivable that these people should be allowed to become decision-makers in this country again, once they have served their sentence.”

The Office of the High Representative in Bosnia, OHR, charged with ensuring that the country’s institutions function effectively and responsibly, also believes that the law should be changed.

“Allowing persons sentenced for war crimes to take up public posts in the same places where crimes they were charged with had been committed can seriously jeopardise the process of refugee return and reconciliation,” Mario Brkic, spokesman for the OHR in Sarajevo, said.

“OHR is aware that some political leaders in Bosnia have initiated changes in the current legislation and we will certainly support their efforts in that regard.”

Zana Kovacevic is an RFE reporter and IWPR contributor in Sarajevo.