* DECLARATION OF THE SOVEREIGN REPUBLIC OF BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA;
POLITICAL PLATFORM (MOSLEM NATIONAL COUNCIL)
* Alija Izetbegovic: his background and philosophies
(A briefing paper produced for Members for the 1992/3 Session of
Australian Parliament, Monday 21 December 1992)
* MUJAHIDEEN RESIST EVICTION (FreeRepublic, The Observer, StopNato)
* Sul passato politico di Izetbegovic e sulla presenza islamista in
Bosnia-Erzegovina si vedano anche le nostre pagine internet:
http://marx2001.org/crj/bosna.html
---
STOP NATO: NO PASARAN! - HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.HOME-PAGE.ORG
from http://home1.gte.net/pribich/cccc/voxtxt2.txt
<http://home1.gte.net/pribich/cccc/voxtxt2.txt>
related texts thru http://home1.gte.net/pribich/cccc/voxcovr1.htm
<http://home1.gte.net/pribich/cccc/voxcovr1.htm>
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
*
* The text below was published in October 1991 in the Bosnian
*
* magazine Vox. With permission from the book "The Eradication of
*
* of Serbs" that provided evidence that led to indictments at The
*
* Hague. Authenticity can be confirmed by writing to P.O. Box 163,
*
* CDN, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, H3S 2S5.
*
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
*
DECLARATION
OF THE SOVEREIGN REPUBLIC OF BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA
The Declaration of the Sovereignity of the Republic of
Bosnia-Her-
zegovina is the basic constitutional act of the Moslems and all
educa-
ted and reasonable people of Herzeg-Bosna. Kitabun enzelnahu ileike
mubarekun lijeddebbem ajadhive li jetezekke ululelbabi-huden ve
zikra
li uteil-elbabi.
1.Bosnia-Herzegovina is the sovereign state of the Moslems and
other nations. It is the state of origin of the Moslems in the
Balkan
Peninsula.
2.The sovereignity of Bosnia-Herzegovina is indivisible and its
territorial integrity is inviolable.
3.Concurrent with the independence of the Republic of Slovenia
from Yugoslavia, the Republic of Bosnia-Herzegovina will
immediately
proclaim itself an independent state.
4. The Moslem nation which is the bearer of the sovereignity of
Bosnia-Herzegovina recognises cultural autonomy for Croats, Serbs
and
other nations of the Republic of Bosnia-Herzegovina.
5. The citizens of the sovereign state of Bosnia-Herzegovina
will
also have a say in its defence affairs, based on patriotic
fellowship,
patriotism and co-existence.
6. The state of origin of the Moslems and other nations of the
Republic of Bosnia-Herzegovina will resolve the national question
of
the Croats, Serbs and other nations on the basis of reciprocity,
which
is the guarantee recognised by intemational law, in a state ruled
by
law, human rights and human freedoms.
7. The Declaration of the Sovereign State of Bosnia-Herzegovina
will be proclaimed by the people at a referendum by a simple
majority
vote.
INITIATORY BOARD
MOSLEM
NATIONAL COUNCIL
****************************************************************************
**************
POLITICAL PLATFORM
OF THE MOSLEM NATIONAL COUNCIL
Brother Moslems
With your permission and the help of Allah, the Moslem National
Council has been appointed to achieve the age-long dream of all
Moslems, to create a Moslem state in the Balkan Peninsula.
History teaches us that we are a nation without an identity, a
nation without a state of its own and a nation without a bright
future.
Others have always written our history, studied our origins, taught
us
what we were and what we were not.
Our agas and beys kept telling us: "It is not yet time. Have
patience brother Moslems". How much longer, brother Moslems? If we
hold the same view that truth is eternal and unchangeable and the
truth is, brothers, that every fifth man in the world is a Moslem,
then this applies to the Balkans as well.
The Moslem National Council in Bosnia-Herzegovina was not
founded
with pomp like the Serbian National Councils in Srb, Knin, Banja
Luka
and Ozren with the slogan: "Only concord saves the Serbs", and the
Serbian Democratic Party for Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina.
We are only a parallel for them and while they exist so will
the
Moslem National Council. Bratunac has not been chosen as the centre
of
this council without reason. It is the geographical centre of the
Moslems in Yugoslavia and that region still bears the extremely
negative marks of the war. The time has come to start with the
homogenisation of the Moslems, as other nations have done. What has
been achieved after the elections? Workers are still being
dismissed,
people do not receive their pensions, the people are poor and there
are no prospects. The "MNV" is here to draw conclusions. One of our
main tasks will be to establish Bosnia-Herzegovina as a sovereign
state of the Moslems and other nationals who live in it. The Serbs
and
Croats cannot have two or three states and the Moslems ask whether
they have one at all. We shall organise a rally during Bairam in
the
neighbourhood of Bratunac where we shall invite Izetbegovic,
Zulfikarpasic, Durakovic, Filipovic, Muhic and Mr. Karadzic will
also
be invited. It will not be a rally at which we shall throw flowers,
the Moslems will take a clear political stand. This is a unique
opportunity, it is a time that will not come again, and we are
again
late and are still divided.
PRIORITY GOALS OF THE MNV
1. To abolish the State Security Service (DB)
Explanation: The State Security Service of Bosnia-Herzegovina
currently employs 1,062 agents, 90% are Serbs.
2. For the Party of Democratic Action to pass a law to
unconditionally
disband the State Security Service.
3. For the Party of Democratic Action to pass a law on
de-nationalisa-
tion and for the confiscated property to be restored to the
citizens of Bosnia-Herzegovina.
4. For the Assembly of Bosnia-Herzegovina to pass and to start
procee-
dings to draw up a new constitution in which the Moslem nation
will be the bearer of sovereignity.
****************************************************************************
***********
WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO SERBS IN THE ISLAMIC
REPUBLIC OF BOSNIA - HERZEGOVINA
The day is nearing when the announced Islamic Republic of
Bosnia-Herzegovina will be proclaimed. The date which every
Moslem in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Sandzak is ardently waiting
for has been known for a long time to be the 31st December.
There are some indications that Serbs in Bosnia-Herzegovina
might oppose this historic event. In this connection, certain
measures have been taken which will be applied if the Serb
population of Bosnia-Herzegovina does not agree to this idea.
1. Every individual Serb must be aware of the responsibility
of the entire nation for his uncontrolled actions; the penalty
for crimes committed will be collective - for one demolished
Moslem house, ten Serb houses will be demolished - for one dead
Moslem, one hundred Serbs will be liquidated - for one wounded
Moslem (depending on the severity of the wound) 10-15 Serbs.
2. All Serbs will have a 12-hour working day. Their wages
will be proportionate to the loyalty of all the employees and
as a rule they will be paid 30% less than the wages of Moslems
who occupy the same post.
3. Serbs will have priority in the dismissal of redundant
workers.
4. Serbs cannot enter public institutions without special
passes.
5. Serbs will receive rations for food which they will obtain
in
special shops.
6. Serbs do not have national parties and if they do not
abide
by the rules of political life, they will not be entitled to
political Organization or to vote.
7. In the Islamic Republic, the right of Serbs to produce
alcohol will not be withdrawn, but Moslems are entitled to apply
the Sheriat to all inhabitants of the state.
8. Serbs are equal to Moslems if, of their own will, they are
received into the Islamic faith of their forefathers. No one has
the right to refer to their previous life because they are not
guilty for being Serbs. No generation is accountable for the
actions of the previous one, or some other that preceded it.
9. A good Serb is a living and obedient Serb; or a dead,
disobedient Serb.
---
From Alija Izetbegovic. 1990. Islamska Deklaracija. Published by Mala
Muslimanska Biblioteka. 'little Muslim Library', issued by the Muslim
Cultural-Historical Circle. First published in 1970.
I quote [translation mine]:
page 22: "There is no peace nor coexistence between the 'Islamic faith'
and
non-Islamic social and political institutions.... "
Izetbegovic in effect called for the annihilation -- through
conversion,
expulsion or killing he does not say -- of non-Muslims. Page 37:
"The Islamic movement can be realized only in lands in which Muslims
constitute the majority of the population.' ... Non-Islamic minorities
within the Islamic state, ON CONDITION OF LOYALTY, enjoy religious
freedom
and full protection."
Izetbegovic does not spell out what he means by 'loyalty' or what
happens to
those accused of disloyalty. Before war broke out, his youth publication
VOX
featured a cartoon cover showing fez-wearing characters playing with the
severed heads of Karadzic, Koljevic, and Krajisnik [just arrested by
NATO]...
j p maher
---
BALKAN RESEARCH CENTRE MEMBERS BRIEF
Alija Izetbegovic: his background and philosophies
A briefing paper produced for Members
for the 1992/3 Session of Australian Parliament
Monday 21 December 1992
ALIJA IZETBEGOVIC - BRIEF
ALIJA IZETBEGOVIC, leader of the SDA (Muslim Party of Democratic
Action), is currently the
President of the Presidency of Bosnia-Hercegovina. He was born in
Bosanski Samac in 1925,
went to school in Sarajevo, and eventually completed law school; he had
no schooling in religion
within the Islamic school system.
Izetbegovic's Early Years
From his early youth, Izetbegovic dedicated himself to Islamic work. At
16 he became part of the
group that founded religious-political organisation "Young Muslims" in
Sarajevo, in 1940. From
the very outset the "YM" was modelled on fundamentalist formations in
the Islamic world, such
as "As-subban al-muslimun" and "Al-ikwan al-muslimun". One of the five
points of the "YM"
programme insisted on the unity of the Muslim world through the creation
of one large Muslim
state.
During the Second World War, the "YM" grew and become part of a network
of Islamic religious
groups headed by the highly conservative theologian of the Mehmed
Handzic (1906-1944). The
"YM" were not officially pro-fascist in orientation, though they were
pursued for this by the
Communist regime after 1945. There were, however, many individual
examples of active
collaboration with the Ustashi government.
Izetbegovic was arrested in 1946, for his significant participation in
founding the Muslim journal
MUDZAHID. He spent the next three years in jail for promoting hatred. At
the same time, his
friend Nedzib Sacirbegovic was given a four year prison sentence.
Sacirbegovic is now
Izetbegovic's personal representative in the USA and his son Muhamed, is
Bosnia-Hercegovina's ambassador to the UN. Izetbegovic has
systematically promoted to top
positions in the SDA people who were political "cadres" in the original
"YM" movement.
In February 1949, the "Young Muslims" started an open revolt. This was
short-lived. During
subsequent trials held in Sarajevo in 1949, four members of the "YM"
were sentenced to death
and many were given prison sentences.
After this lesson, Islamic activists stopped creating illegal groups and
started working on
Islamisation "from underneath". This meant penetrating the very pores of
the system's
institutions, including the formal Islamic community, because the
activists considered their
leaders to be traitors to the authentic Islamic cause. From the
beginning Izetbegovic preferred
Shiite Islamic radicalism in comparison to the Sunni.
Izetbegovic's doctrine - "The Islamic Declaration"
Izetbegovic published many articles in Muslim journals (TAKVIM, GVIS,
etc.), discussing the
sad state of Islam and the necessity for its universal regeneration.
In 1970, he wrote and distributed to people of confidence, his specific
manifesto or programme for
radical pan-Islam - the ISLAMIC DECLARATION.
In this booklet, similar to many of the same type circulating in the
Islamic world, but the only one
of its sort in Yugoslavia, Izetbegovic advocated:
- general Islamic moral and religious regeneration;
- a return to true Islamic values;
- (re)Islamisation of Muslims;
- creation and strengthening of different types of Islamic unity;
- struggle, up to and including political and armed war for the creation
of an Islamic order in
countries where Muslims represent majority, or near majority of the
population.
In line with his pan-Islamic and anti-secular thinking, Izetbegovic
stated in the ISLAMIC
DECLARATION that:
- there should be the establishment of "a united Islamic community from
Morocco to Indonesia";
- with reference to the Turkish model - "Turkey as an Islamic country
used to rule the world.
Turkey as an imitation of Europe represents a third-rate country, the
like of which there is a
hundred in the world":
- "there can be neither peace nor coexistence between the Islamic faith
and non-Islamic social
and political institutions";
- "the Islamic movement must and can, take over political power as soon
as it is morally and
numerically so strong that it can not only destroy the existing
non-Islamic power, but also to build
up a new Islamic one".
The ISLAMIC DECLARATION is imbued with a deep-set intolerance towards
"the values of
western civilisation", both capitalist and Marxist. It was re-published
in 1990 in Sarajevo,
testifying to the fact that its author, in the meantime, had in no way
gone back on his positions -
one of Islamic fundamentalism.
Muslims who gathered around the re-published ISLAMIC DECLARATION, were
former
members of the "YM" and new activists. They tie their activities to
those of Muslim centres
abroad - religious, political, propaganda and economic - above all with
specific groups in Iran.
In his book ISLAM BETWEEN EAST AND WEST, published first in the USA
(1984) and then
Turkey, develops his views on the superiority of Islam over all other
religions, cultures, ideologies
and philosophies. This book was published in Serbo-Croatian, only in
Belgrade in 1988; the
Sarajevo authorities used all means to prevent it getting published at
all.
Izetbegovic - leader of Bosnia's Muslims
With a group of Muslim activists, Izetbegovic was arrested in 1983 for
activities against the
state. As the chief defendant, he was sentenced to fourteen years. In
1988, he was released after
less than six years of prison.
After the fall of Communism in Yugoslavia, Izetbegovic became one of the
leaders in the creation
of the SDA party (1990), as a Muslim political party. He was elected
President with the support
of his old fellows from the ranks of the "YM" and the support of the
young radicals.
Izetbegovic gave his new, nominally national and civilian political
party, a deeply-set religious
connotation. As the first president of the collective Presidency of this
young state, and by far the
most influential Muslim politician on the soil of former Yugoslavia
(having ousted his more popular
rival Fikret Abdic), the strength of his position allows him to pursue
his youthful (pan)Islamic
dreams.
His internal and external policies changed tactfully as per the power
struggle both inside and
outside of Yugoslavia. But, from a strategic standpoint Izetbegovic has
not budged an inch from
his early conception that "every good Muslim, through his formal
engagement, including the
political one, at all times and all places, must above all serve Islam,
by force if necessary".
Because of Izetbegovic's anti-Communism, the fundamentalist radicalism
of the political
programme contained in the ISLAMIC DECLARATION, went virtually unnoticed
in most western
countries.
As such, the rise of a native and authentic Islamic fundamentalist
movement in Yugoslavia, was
for the West, up until recently, an incomprehensible and inconceivable
idea. For some, it remains
so today.
This fanatical conviction of Izetbegovic - namely that the highest
motive justifies every move,
every decision, (including that of disposing of his predecessors), has
definitely helped plunge
Bosnia into the midst of an ethnic and religious war.
Summary
Only after one carefully considers the foregoing does it become
understandable why, recently,
Izetbegovic signed an agreement for the "cantonisation" of Bosnia with
representatives of the
European Community in Lisbon, and cancelled it two days later.
Izetbegovic will accept any kind
of deal in order to get his way - he is not ashamed if it is proved that
he lies, because he says "all
is allowed for Islam".
Now it seems logical why Izetbegovic visited only radical Muslim
countries during the first nine
months of his presidency. Izetbegovic is a man who is willing to
sacrifice half of the population to
achieve his religious goals - to be the first president of an Islamic
state in Europe - however
small.
In the light of above facts one can better understand Izetbegovic's
statements of sympathy for the
"Islamic Revolution" in Iran.
Only Izetbegovic and Ayatollah Khomeini, out of all presidents who
officially visited Turkey, did
not pay respect to the grave of Ataturk - for them he was a traitor of
fundamentalist Muslim
principles.
December 1992
---
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Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual
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MUJAHIDEEN RESIST EVICTION
Foreign Affairs Breaking News Announcement Keywords: BOSNIAN MUJAHIDEEN
TERRORISTS
Author: Janez Kovac
Posted on 07/22/2000 05:56:42 PDT by BlackBird-Kosovo1389
MUJAHIDEEN RESIST EVICTION The planned eviction of mujahideen in
northern
Bosnia is threatening to turn into a major crisis.
Showing they mean business, the new moderate leadership in the northern
town of Maglaj recently sought to remove one of the biggest problems in
the region - mujahideen and their families.
The Islamic fundamentalists living in the remote village of Bocinja
Donja
are being forced to hand their homes over to their original occupants -
Bosnian Serbs.
The improved security and political situation in Bosnia has this year
led
to a significant increase in refugee returns. More than 15,000 have been
repatriated in the first six months of 2000, three times more than in
the
same period last year.
Evictions of those who occupy refugees' homes often provokes anger,
tears.
Its very mention brought about a crisis in Bocinja. Locals blocked a
main
road through the region for three days. Police eventually ended the
protest, arresting and later releasing 19 people, including several
mujahideen. The real problems, however, are likely to begin when police
start evicting the Bocinja residents.
Before the war, Bocinja was home to some 3,000 Bosnian Serbs. After the
conflict, it hit the headlines when the Bosnian Muslim leadership
allowed
a group of foreign and local mujahideens to move into the abandoned Serb
houses.
During the war, some of these Islamic fighters fought alongside the
Muslim-led government forces. When the fighting came to an end, some of
them married local women and were granted Bosnian citizenship and
accommodation, in recognition of their contribution to the war effort.
The scale of their contribution, however, has long been debated.
Bosnians
claimed that many foreign mujahideen avoided combat. They suspect they
only came here to gather intelligence or train and plot terrorist and
criminal activities.
The existence of a mujahideen community in the heart of Europe was a
constant worry for western, especially American, diplomats. In 1996 and
1997, they persuaded Bosnian Muslim leader, Alija Izetbegovic, to expel
several of those with criminal records.
At least 300 Islamic fighters, their local followers and women and
children, remained in Bocinja, where they lived separate lives
untroubled
by local police, tax-collectors or any other authorities. Outsiders
never
set foot in the small community.
Every so often, stories of mujahideen harassing "unbelievers" in local
towns appeared in the press. Several were alleged to have been involved
in
criminal or terrorist activities both in and outside Bosnia. Worst of
all,
since the end of the war, the Islamists were never properly disarmed.
Local police, army, and even UN and NATO-led peacekeepers, were
reluctant
to search houses in Bocinja.(Aiding and abetting war-criminals, which is
what this situation sounds like
As a result of Bocinja's bad reputation, the Maglaj region received
little
international reconstruction aid. Many local firms and industries which
survived the war are now close to collapse because of the lack of funds.
The situation started to change after the April 8 local elections, when
the leading Bosnian opposition party, the Socialist Democratic Party
,SDP,
defeated the ruling Muslim nationalist SDA party in Maglaj.
Soon after taking up his new office, the new SDP mayor of Maglaj, Mehmed
Bradaric, said one of his first priorities was to evict mujahideen
families from Bocinja to facilitate the return of its former Bosnian
Serb
residents.
His statement prompted displaced Muslims living in two abandoned Serb
villages near Bocinja to set up roadblocks. UN and local police say that
mujahideen encouraged the protesters. They are said to have told them
that
once they are evicted the Maglaj authorities will remove refugees from
other villages to prepare the ground for the mass return of the pre-war
Bosnian Serb population.
The Maglaj authorities, meanwhile, were facing yet another problem -
their
own police. With the SDA still in power in the cantonal government and
interior ministry, local police were reluctant to intervene in the
unfolding Maglaj crisis, even after the municipal authorities proclaimed
a
state of emergency.
Consequently, a humanitarian and security problem also quickly became a
focus for political conflict between SDA and SDP. The Bocinja deadlock
eventually ended after Bosnia's top international mediator,the High
Representative, Wolfgang Petritsch, said he was holding Zenica canton
Interior Minister "personally responsible" for a speedy resolution of
the
crisis. The roadblocks were removed a day later.
Following negotiations between local, cantonal and federal authorities,
it
was agreed that local police would start evicting two local Muslim
households from Bocinja every day from July 24. "Foreign" mujahideen
would
be left to the end. Meanwhile, the federal government pledged two
million
German marks for the reconstruction of abandoned and devastated
apartments
in Maglaj, to accommodate those from Bocinja who have no where to go.
The one problem with the plan is that no one asked Mujahideen whether
they
agreed with it. Local analysts fear that some Islamic fighters might
choose to take the law into their own hands.
-
Bosnia's holy warriors ready to fight evictions
Special report: Serbia
Alix Kroeger in Sarajevo
Sunday July 23, 2000
The Observer
Bosnian police are preparing to take on one of the strangest and most
difficult legacies of the war - the Mujahideen who have settled in the
former Serb villages in central Bosnia.
Although a programme of deportation is not due to begin until tomorrow,
tensions are high and police have made arrests.
The Mujahideen originally came from Iran, Afghanistan and other Islamic
countries, offering their services as freelance freedom fighters
alongside the Muslim-dominated Bosnian government army. Most of Bosnia's
Muslims have little truck with the strict form of Islam practised by the
Mujahideen. Nevertheless, in the depths of the war, with a United
Nations arms embargo blocking most sources of weapons, the government
army asked no questions of anyone volunteering to help.
By rights, the Mujahideen should have gone home four years ago. The
Dayton peace accord, which was signed in December 1995, ordered all
foreign forces to leave the country within a month. However, many of the
Mujahideen now have Bosnian citizenship.
After the war the former holy warriors settled in the villages around
Maglaj, in central Bosnia. The area was Serb-dominated before the war,
but by 1996 the local Serbs had fled or been killed, victims of ethnic
cleansing. Many of the Mujahideen married Bosnians and lived undisturbed
with their new families in other people's houses.
But with a sudden increase in the number of refugee returns, that's
about to change. This year the logjam has broken, and people are
returning to their homes in greater numbers than ever before. Between
January and May of this year, more than 15,000 refugees went back to
their homes. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
is struggling to keep up with the demand for assistance.
At the same time the international community is renewing its efforts to
get Bosnia's property laws implemented. This means getting local
authorities to evict illegal occupants, thus freeing houses for their
rightful owners to return.
Among those wanting to return are the displaced Serbs of Bocinja, near
Maglaj, one of the main centres of the Mujahideen. The displaced Serbs
are ready to go back for good.
The UNHCR spokeswoman in Sarajevo, Barbara Smith, described Bocinja as a
'difficult area for returns'. As of the end of May, only 57 people had
gone back this year. The scene is set for a confrontation between local
police and Mujahideen.
Last week local media reports that evictions were due to begin led
people around Bocinja to set up two roadblocks. The International Police
Task Force (IPTF), which has been monitoring the situation, reported 40
to 50 people on the roadblocks. In fact, evictions are not due to begin
until tomorrow. Nevertheless, it took the local police three days to
move in and dismantle the barricades. Nineteen people were arrested,
including several described as 'foreigners or Mujahideen'.
The first people to be evicted will be displaced Serbs and Muslims who
are also living around Bocinja. They will be taken out of their houses,
along with their belongings, and moved to temporary accommodation
elsewhere. But the Mujahideen know they are also on the list, and it is
that which is likely to lead to further disturbances.
No one knows exactly how many Mujahideen there are, but most estimates
put their numbers at 60 to 70 families. Their presence hasn't always
been trouble-free. Last year police in Turkey arrested a man travelling
on a Bosnian passport who was said to be a member of the terrorist
organisation run by the exiled Saudi fundamentalist Osama bin Laden.
The International Crisis Group, a think tank which produces regular
reports on Bosnia, says the Mujahideen are a 'source of potential
political and ethnic instability in central Bosnia'. In 1994 a British
aid worker was killed around Zenica, allegedly by Mujahideen. And in
early 1996, French S-For troops raided a camp in the hills outside
Fojnica, where they found explosives and booby-traps. The director of
the ICG, James Lyon, said the base 'bore all the signs of a terrorist
training camp'.
The new moves to get rid of the Mujahideen mark a shift in tactics.
They're no longer being dealt with as illegal foreign forces; instead,
they're considered as squatters. The IPTF said last week's roadblocks
appeared to be 'a co-ordinated attempt to halt the evictions process in
Bocinja'.
Oleg Milisic, spokesman for the Office of the High Representative, which
oversees the implementation of the Dayton accord, said: 'This is not a
political issue. It is an issue of the law and citizens' rights to their
property. Property rights must be respected as part of the returns
process now under way across the whole of Bosnia and Herzegovina.'
-
Tuesday, 18 July, 2000, 19:48 GMT 20:48 UK
Mujahideen fight Bosnia evictions
By Alix Kroeger in Sarajevo
About 80 people in central Bosnia are manning road blocks around a
village
where evictions from illegally occupied properties were reported to be
imminent.
The villages are largely occupied by Mujahideen, ex-soldiers from
Islamic
countries, who came over to fight for the Muslim dominated Bosnian army
during the war.
Many of them have settled in villages around the municipality of Maglai,
and
are now living illegally in Serb-owned houses.
The evictions are part of a renewed effort to free up properties for the
return of their rightful owners.
The roadblocks went up on Monday afternoon following media reports that
the
evictions would start on Tuesday morning.
Although these reports are incorrect - evictions are not due to begin
until
next week - 40-50 people, mainly women and children, blocked two roads
into
the village of Bochinja near Maglai.
After two hours of negotiations, the road blocks were lifted, but by
Monday
evening they were back in place, manned by greater numbers.
Open secret
The local assembly met in emergency session on Monday night, but the
United
Nations mission to Bosnia said both the minister of the interior for the
municipality and his deputy were absent and out of contact.
The Mujahideen fought for the pro-muslim Bosnian army
The presence of the Mujahideen, who come mainly from Afghanistan and
Pakistan, is something of an open secret in Bosnia.
They are not supposed to be there, but they are.
Under the Dayton Peace Accord all foreign fighters except the
stabilisation
force S-For were supposed to leave by January 1996.
Instead many of the Islamic fighters have stayed, settling in villages
in
central Bosnia and starting families.
Renewed effort
Most live illegally in houses vacated by local Serbs fleeing fighting
which
swept through the area during the war from 1992 to 1995.
Now the international community is making a renewed effort to implement
the
property laws, with the evictions of illegal occupants to make way for
the
rightful owners to return.
There are still over a million displaced people in Bosnia many of them
are
unable to return home, because someone else, often a displaced person
themselves, is living in their house.
The UN described the situation as a coordinated attempt to prevent
illegally
occupied property being returned to its rightful owners.
STOP NATO: ¡NO PASARAN! - HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.COM
--------- COORDINAMENTO ROMANO PER LA JUGOSLAVIA -----------
RIMSKI SAVEZ ZA JUGOSLAVIJU
e-mail: crj@... - URL: http://marx2001.org/crj
http://www.egroups.com/group/crj-mailinglist/
------------------------------------------------------------
POLITICAL PLATFORM (MOSLEM NATIONAL COUNCIL)
* Alija Izetbegovic: his background and philosophies
(A briefing paper produced for Members for the 1992/3 Session of
Australian Parliament, Monday 21 December 1992)
* MUJAHIDEEN RESIST EVICTION (FreeRepublic, The Observer, StopNato)
* Sul passato politico di Izetbegovic e sulla presenza islamista in
Bosnia-Erzegovina si vedano anche le nostre pagine internet:
http://marx2001.org/crj/bosna.html
---
STOP NATO: NO PASARAN! - HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.HOME-PAGE.ORG
from http://home1.gte.net/pribich/cccc/voxtxt2.txt
<http://home1.gte.net/pribich/cccc/voxtxt2.txt>
related texts thru http://home1.gte.net/pribich/cccc/voxcovr1.htm
<http://home1.gte.net/pribich/cccc/voxcovr1.htm>
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
*
* The text below was published in October 1991 in the Bosnian
*
* magazine Vox. With permission from the book "The Eradication of
*
* of Serbs" that provided evidence that led to indictments at The
*
* Hague. Authenticity can be confirmed by writing to P.O. Box 163,
*
* CDN, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, H3S 2S5.
*
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
*
DECLARATION
OF THE SOVEREIGN REPUBLIC OF BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA
The Declaration of the Sovereignity of the Republic of
Bosnia-Her-
zegovina is the basic constitutional act of the Moslems and all
educa-
ted and reasonable people of Herzeg-Bosna. Kitabun enzelnahu ileike
mubarekun lijeddebbem ajadhive li jetezekke ululelbabi-huden ve
zikra
li uteil-elbabi.
1.Bosnia-Herzegovina is the sovereign state of the Moslems and
other nations. It is the state of origin of the Moslems in the
Balkan
Peninsula.
2.The sovereignity of Bosnia-Herzegovina is indivisible and its
territorial integrity is inviolable.
3.Concurrent with the independence of the Republic of Slovenia
from Yugoslavia, the Republic of Bosnia-Herzegovina will
immediately
proclaim itself an independent state.
4. The Moslem nation which is the bearer of the sovereignity of
Bosnia-Herzegovina recognises cultural autonomy for Croats, Serbs
and
other nations of the Republic of Bosnia-Herzegovina.
5. The citizens of the sovereign state of Bosnia-Herzegovina
will
also have a say in its defence affairs, based on patriotic
fellowship,
patriotism and co-existence.
6. The state of origin of the Moslems and other nations of the
Republic of Bosnia-Herzegovina will resolve the national question
of
the Croats, Serbs and other nations on the basis of reciprocity,
which
is the guarantee recognised by intemational law, in a state ruled
by
law, human rights and human freedoms.
7. The Declaration of the Sovereign State of Bosnia-Herzegovina
will be proclaimed by the people at a referendum by a simple
majority
vote.
INITIATORY BOARD
MOSLEM
NATIONAL COUNCIL
****************************************************************************
**************
POLITICAL PLATFORM
OF THE MOSLEM NATIONAL COUNCIL
Brother Moslems
With your permission and the help of Allah, the Moslem National
Council has been appointed to achieve the age-long dream of all
Moslems, to create a Moslem state in the Balkan Peninsula.
History teaches us that we are a nation without an identity, a
nation without a state of its own and a nation without a bright
future.
Others have always written our history, studied our origins, taught
us
what we were and what we were not.
Our agas and beys kept telling us: "It is not yet time. Have
patience brother Moslems". How much longer, brother Moslems? If we
hold the same view that truth is eternal and unchangeable and the
truth is, brothers, that every fifth man in the world is a Moslem,
then this applies to the Balkans as well.
The Moslem National Council in Bosnia-Herzegovina was not
founded
with pomp like the Serbian National Councils in Srb, Knin, Banja
Luka
and Ozren with the slogan: "Only concord saves the Serbs", and the
Serbian Democratic Party for Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina.
We are only a parallel for them and while they exist so will
the
Moslem National Council. Bratunac has not been chosen as the centre
of
this council without reason. It is the geographical centre of the
Moslems in Yugoslavia and that region still bears the extremely
negative marks of the war. The time has come to start with the
homogenisation of the Moslems, as other nations have done. What has
been achieved after the elections? Workers are still being
dismissed,
people do not receive their pensions, the people are poor and there
are no prospects. The "MNV" is here to draw conclusions. One of our
main tasks will be to establish Bosnia-Herzegovina as a sovereign
state of the Moslems and other nationals who live in it. The Serbs
and
Croats cannot have two or three states and the Moslems ask whether
they have one at all. We shall organise a rally during Bairam in
the
neighbourhood of Bratunac where we shall invite Izetbegovic,
Zulfikarpasic, Durakovic, Filipovic, Muhic and Mr. Karadzic will
also
be invited. It will not be a rally at which we shall throw flowers,
the Moslems will take a clear political stand. This is a unique
opportunity, it is a time that will not come again, and we are
again
late and are still divided.
PRIORITY GOALS OF THE MNV
1. To abolish the State Security Service (DB)
Explanation: The State Security Service of Bosnia-Herzegovina
currently employs 1,062 agents, 90% are Serbs.
2. For the Party of Democratic Action to pass a law to
unconditionally
disband the State Security Service.
3. For the Party of Democratic Action to pass a law on
de-nationalisa-
tion and for the confiscated property to be restored to the
citizens of Bosnia-Herzegovina.
4. For the Assembly of Bosnia-Herzegovina to pass and to start
procee-
dings to draw up a new constitution in which the Moslem nation
will be the bearer of sovereignity.
****************************************************************************
***********
WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO SERBS IN THE ISLAMIC
REPUBLIC OF BOSNIA - HERZEGOVINA
The day is nearing when the announced Islamic Republic of
Bosnia-Herzegovina will be proclaimed. The date which every
Moslem in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Sandzak is ardently waiting
for has been known for a long time to be the 31st December.
There are some indications that Serbs in Bosnia-Herzegovina
might oppose this historic event. In this connection, certain
measures have been taken which will be applied if the Serb
population of Bosnia-Herzegovina does not agree to this idea.
1. Every individual Serb must be aware of the responsibility
of the entire nation for his uncontrolled actions; the penalty
for crimes committed will be collective - for one demolished
Moslem house, ten Serb houses will be demolished - for one dead
Moslem, one hundred Serbs will be liquidated - for one wounded
Moslem (depending on the severity of the wound) 10-15 Serbs.
2. All Serbs will have a 12-hour working day. Their wages
will be proportionate to the loyalty of all the employees and
as a rule they will be paid 30% less than the wages of Moslems
who occupy the same post.
3. Serbs will have priority in the dismissal of redundant
workers.
4. Serbs cannot enter public institutions without special
passes.
5. Serbs will receive rations for food which they will obtain
in
special shops.
6. Serbs do not have national parties and if they do not
abide
by the rules of political life, they will not be entitled to
political Organization or to vote.
7. In the Islamic Republic, the right of Serbs to produce
alcohol will not be withdrawn, but Moslems are entitled to apply
the Sheriat to all inhabitants of the state.
8. Serbs are equal to Moslems if, of their own will, they are
received into the Islamic faith of their forefathers. No one has
the right to refer to their previous life because they are not
guilty for being Serbs. No generation is accountable for the
actions of the previous one, or some other that preceded it.
9. A good Serb is a living and obedient Serb; or a dead,
disobedient Serb.
---
From Alija Izetbegovic. 1990. Islamska Deklaracija. Published by Mala
Muslimanska Biblioteka. 'little Muslim Library', issued by the Muslim
Cultural-Historical Circle. First published in 1970.
I quote [translation mine]:
page 22: "There is no peace nor coexistence between the 'Islamic faith'
and
non-Islamic social and political institutions.... "
Izetbegovic in effect called for the annihilation -- through
conversion,
expulsion or killing he does not say -- of non-Muslims. Page 37:
"The Islamic movement can be realized only in lands in which Muslims
constitute the majority of the population.' ... Non-Islamic minorities
within the Islamic state, ON CONDITION OF LOYALTY, enjoy religious
freedom
and full protection."
Izetbegovic does not spell out what he means by 'loyalty' or what
happens to
those accused of disloyalty. Before war broke out, his youth publication
VOX
featured a cartoon cover showing fez-wearing characters playing with the
severed heads of Karadzic, Koljevic, and Krajisnik [just arrested by
NATO]...
j p maher
---
BALKAN RESEARCH CENTRE MEMBERS BRIEF
Alija Izetbegovic: his background and philosophies
A briefing paper produced for Members
for the 1992/3 Session of Australian Parliament
Monday 21 December 1992
ALIJA IZETBEGOVIC - BRIEF
ALIJA IZETBEGOVIC, leader of the SDA (Muslim Party of Democratic
Action), is currently the
President of the Presidency of Bosnia-Hercegovina. He was born in
Bosanski Samac in 1925,
went to school in Sarajevo, and eventually completed law school; he had
no schooling in religion
within the Islamic school system.
Izetbegovic's Early Years
From his early youth, Izetbegovic dedicated himself to Islamic work. At
16 he became part of the
group that founded religious-political organisation "Young Muslims" in
Sarajevo, in 1940. From
the very outset the "YM" was modelled on fundamentalist formations in
the Islamic world, such
as "As-subban al-muslimun" and "Al-ikwan al-muslimun". One of the five
points of the "YM"
programme insisted on the unity of the Muslim world through the creation
of one large Muslim
state.
During the Second World War, the "YM" grew and become part of a network
of Islamic religious
groups headed by the highly conservative theologian of the Mehmed
Handzic (1906-1944). The
"YM" were not officially pro-fascist in orientation, though they were
pursued for this by the
Communist regime after 1945. There were, however, many individual
examples of active
collaboration with the Ustashi government.
Izetbegovic was arrested in 1946, for his significant participation in
founding the Muslim journal
MUDZAHID. He spent the next three years in jail for promoting hatred. At
the same time, his
friend Nedzib Sacirbegovic was given a four year prison sentence.
Sacirbegovic is now
Izetbegovic's personal representative in the USA and his son Muhamed, is
Bosnia-Hercegovina's ambassador to the UN. Izetbegovic has
systematically promoted to top
positions in the SDA people who were political "cadres" in the original
"YM" movement.
In February 1949, the "Young Muslims" started an open revolt. This was
short-lived. During
subsequent trials held in Sarajevo in 1949, four members of the "YM"
were sentenced to death
and many were given prison sentences.
After this lesson, Islamic activists stopped creating illegal groups and
started working on
Islamisation "from underneath". This meant penetrating the very pores of
the system's
institutions, including the formal Islamic community, because the
activists considered their
leaders to be traitors to the authentic Islamic cause. From the
beginning Izetbegovic preferred
Shiite Islamic radicalism in comparison to the Sunni.
Izetbegovic's doctrine - "The Islamic Declaration"
Izetbegovic published many articles in Muslim journals (TAKVIM, GVIS,
etc.), discussing the
sad state of Islam and the necessity for its universal regeneration.
In 1970, he wrote and distributed to people of confidence, his specific
manifesto or programme for
radical pan-Islam - the ISLAMIC DECLARATION.
In this booklet, similar to many of the same type circulating in the
Islamic world, but the only one
of its sort in Yugoslavia, Izetbegovic advocated:
- general Islamic moral and religious regeneration;
- a return to true Islamic values;
- (re)Islamisation of Muslims;
- creation and strengthening of different types of Islamic unity;
- struggle, up to and including political and armed war for the creation
of an Islamic order in
countries where Muslims represent majority, or near majority of the
population.
In line with his pan-Islamic and anti-secular thinking, Izetbegovic
stated in the ISLAMIC
DECLARATION that:
- there should be the establishment of "a united Islamic community from
Morocco to Indonesia";
- with reference to the Turkish model - "Turkey as an Islamic country
used to rule the world.
Turkey as an imitation of Europe represents a third-rate country, the
like of which there is a
hundred in the world":
- "there can be neither peace nor coexistence between the Islamic faith
and non-Islamic social
and political institutions";
- "the Islamic movement must and can, take over political power as soon
as it is morally and
numerically so strong that it can not only destroy the existing
non-Islamic power, but also to build
up a new Islamic one".
The ISLAMIC DECLARATION is imbued with a deep-set intolerance towards
"the values of
western civilisation", both capitalist and Marxist. It was re-published
in 1990 in Sarajevo,
testifying to the fact that its author, in the meantime, had in no way
gone back on his positions -
one of Islamic fundamentalism.
Muslims who gathered around the re-published ISLAMIC DECLARATION, were
former
members of the "YM" and new activists. They tie their activities to
those of Muslim centres
abroad - religious, political, propaganda and economic - above all with
specific groups in Iran.
In his book ISLAM BETWEEN EAST AND WEST, published first in the USA
(1984) and then
Turkey, develops his views on the superiority of Islam over all other
religions, cultures, ideologies
and philosophies. This book was published in Serbo-Croatian, only in
Belgrade in 1988; the
Sarajevo authorities used all means to prevent it getting published at
all.
Izetbegovic - leader of Bosnia's Muslims
With a group of Muslim activists, Izetbegovic was arrested in 1983 for
activities against the
state. As the chief defendant, he was sentenced to fourteen years. In
1988, he was released after
less than six years of prison.
After the fall of Communism in Yugoslavia, Izetbegovic became one of the
leaders in the creation
of the SDA party (1990), as a Muslim political party. He was elected
President with the support
of his old fellows from the ranks of the "YM" and the support of the
young radicals.
Izetbegovic gave his new, nominally national and civilian political
party, a deeply-set religious
connotation. As the first president of the collective Presidency of this
young state, and by far the
most influential Muslim politician on the soil of former Yugoslavia
(having ousted his more popular
rival Fikret Abdic), the strength of his position allows him to pursue
his youthful (pan)Islamic
dreams.
His internal and external policies changed tactfully as per the power
struggle both inside and
outside of Yugoslavia. But, from a strategic standpoint Izetbegovic has
not budged an inch from
his early conception that "every good Muslim, through his formal
engagement, including the
political one, at all times and all places, must above all serve Islam,
by force if necessary".
Because of Izetbegovic's anti-Communism, the fundamentalist radicalism
of the political
programme contained in the ISLAMIC DECLARATION, went virtually unnoticed
in most western
countries.
As such, the rise of a native and authentic Islamic fundamentalist
movement in Yugoslavia, was
for the West, up until recently, an incomprehensible and inconceivable
idea. For some, it remains
so today.
This fanatical conviction of Izetbegovic - namely that the highest
motive justifies every move,
every decision, (including that of disposing of his predecessors), has
definitely helped plunge
Bosnia into the midst of an ethnic and religious war.
Summary
Only after one carefully considers the foregoing does it become
understandable why, recently,
Izetbegovic signed an agreement for the "cantonisation" of Bosnia with
representatives of the
European Community in Lisbon, and cancelled it two days later.
Izetbegovic will accept any kind
of deal in order to get his way - he is not ashamed if it is proved that
he lies, because he says "all
is allowed for Islam".
Now it seems logical why Izetbegovic visited only radical Muslim
countries during the first nine
months of his presidency. Izetbegovic is a man who is willing to
sacrifice half of the population to
achieve his religious goals - to be the first president of an Islamic
state in Europe - however
small.
In the light of above facts one can better understand Izetbegovic's
statements of sympathy for the
"Islamic Revolution" in Iran.
Only Izetbegovic and Ayatollah Khomeini, out of all presidents who
officially visited Turkey, did
not pay respect to the grave of Ataturk - for them he was a traitor of
fundamentalist Muslim
principles.
December 1992
---
FreeRepublic.com "A Conservative News Forum"
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual
posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or
its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright
law
and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
MUJAHIDEEN RESIST EVICTION
Foreign Affairs Breaking News Announcement Keywords: BOSNIAN MUJAHIDEEN
TERRORISTS
Author: Janez Kovac
Posted on 07/22/2000 05:56:42 PDT by BlackBird-Kosovo1389
MUJAHIDEEN RESIST EVICTION The planned eviction of mujahideen in
northern
Bosnia is threatening to turn into a major crisis.
Showing they mean business, the new moderate leadership in the northern
town of Maglaj recently sought to remove one of the biggest problems in
the region - mujahideen and their families.
The Islamic fundamentalists living in the remote village of Bocinja
Donja
are being forced to hand their homes over to their original occupants -
Bosnian Serbs.
The improved security and political situation in Bosnia has this year
led
to a significant increase in refugee returns. More than 15,000 have been
repatriated in the first six months of 2000, three times more than in
the
same period last year.
Evictions of those who occupy refugees' homes often provokes anger,
tears.
Its very mention brought about a crisis in Bocinja. Locals blocked a
main
road through the region for three days. Police eventually ended the
protest, arresting and later releasing 19 people, including several
mujahideen. The real problems, however, are likely to begin when police
start evicting the Bocinja residents.
Before the war, Bocinja was home to some 3,000 Bosnian Serbs. After the
conflict, it hit the headlines when the Bosnian Muslim leadership
allowed
a group of foreign and local mujahideens to move into the abandoned Serb
houses.
During the war, some of these Islamic fighters fought alongside the
Muslim-led government forces. When the fighting came to an end, some of
them married local women and were granted Bosnian citizenship and
accommodation, in recognition of their contribution to the war effort.
The scale of their contribution, however, has long been debated.
Bosnians
claimed that many foreign mujahideen avoided combat. They suspect they
only came here to gather intelligence or train and plot terrorist and
criminal activities.
The existence of a mujahideen community in the heart of Europe was a
constant worry for western, especially American, diplomats. In 1996 and
1997, they persuaded Bosnian Muslim leader, Alija Izetbegovic, to expel
several of those with criminal records.
At least 300 Islamic fighters, their local followers and women and
children, remained in Bocinja, where they lived separate lives
untroubled
by local police, tax-collectors or any other authorities. Outsiders
never
set foot in the small community.
Every so often, stories of mujahideen harassing "unbelievers" in local
towns appeared in the press. Several were alleged to have been involved
in
criminal or terrorist activities both in and outside Bosnia. Worst of
all,
since the end of the war, the Islamists were never properly disarmed.
Local police, army, and even UN and NATO-led peacekeepers, were
reluctant
to search houses in Bocinja.(Aiding and abetting war-criminals, which is
what this situation sounds like
As a result of Bocinja's bad reputation, the Maglaj region received
little
international reconstruction aid. Many local firms and industries which
survived the war are now close to collapse because of the lack of funds.
The situation started to change after the April 8 local elections, when
the leading Bosnian opposition party, the Socialist Democratic Party
,SDP,
defeated the ruling Muslim nationalist SDA party in Maglaj.
Soon after taking up his new office, the new SDP mayor of Maglaj, Mehmed
Bradaric, said one of his first priorities was to evict mujahideen
families from Bocinja to facilitate the return of its former Bosnian
Serb
residents.
His statement prompted displaced Muslims living in two abandoned Serb
villages near Bocinja to set up roadblocks. UN and local police say that
mujahideen encouraged the protesters. They are said to have told them
that
once they are evicted the Maglaj authorities will remove refugees from
other villages to prepare the ground for the mass return of the pre-war
Bosnian Serb population.
The Maglaj authorities, meanwhile, were facing yet another problem -
their
own police. With the SDA still in power in the cantonal government and
interior ministry, local police were reluctant to intervene in the
unfolding Maglaj crisis, even after the municipal authorities proclaimed
a
state of emergency.
Consequently, a humanitarian and security problem also quickly became a
focus for political conflict between SDA and SDP. The Bocinja deadlock
eventually ended after Bosnia's top international mediator,the High
Representative, Wolfgang Petritsch, said he was holding Zenica canton
Interior Minister "personally responsible" for a speedy resolution of
the
crisis. The roadblocks were removed a day later.
Following negotiations between local, cantonal and federal authorities,
it
was agreed that local police would start evicting two local Muslim
households from Bocinja every day from July 24. "Foreign" mujahideen
would
be left to the end. Meanwhile, the federal government pledged two
million
German marks for the reconstruction of abandoned and devastated
apartments
in Maglaj, to accommodate those from Bocinja who have no where to go.
The one problem with the plan is that no one asked Mujahideen whether
they
agreed with it. Local analysts fear that some Islamic fighters might
choose to take the law into their own hands.
-
Bosnia's holy warriors ready to fight evictions
Special report: Serbia
Alix Kroeger in Sarajevo
Sunday July 23, 2000
The Observer
Bosnian police are preparing to take on one of the strangest and most
difficult legacies of the war - the Mujahideen who have settled in the
former Serb villages in central Bosnia.
Although a programme of deportation is not due to begin until tomorrow,
tensions are high and police have made arrests.
The Mujahideen originally came from Iran, Afghanistan and other Islamic
countries, offering their services as freelance freedom fighters
alongside the Muslim-dominated Bosnian government army. Most of Bosnia's
Muslims have little truck with the strict form of Islam practised by the
Mujahideen. Nevertheless, in the depths of the war, with a United
Nations arms embargo blocking most sources of weapons, the government
army asked no questions of anyone volunteering to help.
By rights, the Mujahideen should have gone home four years ago. The
Dayton peace accord, which was signed in December 1995, ordered all
foreign forces to leave the country within a month. However, many of the
Mujahideen now have Bosnian citizenship.
After the war the former holy warriors settled in the villages around
Maglaj, in central Bosnia. The area was Serb-dominated before the war,
but by 1996 the local Serbs had fled or been killed, victims of ethnic
cleansing. Many of the Mujahideen married Bosnians and lived undisturbed
with their new families in other people's houses.
But with a sudden increase in the number of refugee returns, that's
about to change. This year the logjam has broken, and people are
returning to their homes in greater numbers than ever before. Between
January and May of this year, more than 15,000 refugees went back to
their homes. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
is struggling to keep up with the demand for assistance.
At the same time the international community is renewing its efforts to
get Bosnia's property laws implemented. This means getting local
authorities to evict illegal occupants, thus freeing houses for their
rightful owners to return.
Among those wanting to return are the displaced Serbs of Bocinja, near
Maglaj, one of the main centres of the Mujahideen. The displaced Serbs
are ready to go back for good.
The UNHCR spokeswoman in Sarajevo, Barbara Smith, described Bocinja as a
'difficult area for returns'. As of the end of May, only 57 people had
gone back this year. The scene is set for a confrontation between local
police and Mujahideen.
Last week local media reports that evictions were due to begin led
people around Bocinja to set up two roadblocks. The International Police
Task Force (IPTF), which has been monitoring the situation, reported 40
to 50 people on the roadblocks. In fact, evictions are not due to begin
until tomorrow. Nevertheless, it took the local police three days to
move in and dismantle the barricades. Nineteen people were arrested,
including several described as 'foreigners or Mujahideen'.
The first people to be evicted will be displaced Serbs and Muslims who
are also living around Bocinja. They will be taken out of their houses,
along with their belongings, and moved to temporary accommodation
elsewhere. But the Mujahideen know they are also on the list, and it is
that which is likely to lead to further disturbances.
No one knows exactly how many Mujahideen there are, but most estimates
put their numbers at 60 to 70 families. Their presence hasn't always
been trouble-free. Last year police in Turkey arrested a man travelling
on a Bosnian passport who was said to be a member of the terrorist
organisation run by the exiled Saudi fundamentalist Osama bin Laden.
The International Crisis Group, a think tank which produces regular
reports on Bosnia, says the Mujahideen are a 'source of potential
political and ethnic instability in central Bosnia'. In 1994 a British
aid worker was killed around Zenica, allegedly by Mujahideen. And in
early 1996, French S-For troops raided a camp in the hills outside
Fojnica, where they found explosives and booby-traps. The director of
the ICG, James Lyon, said the base 'bore all the signs of a terrorist
training camp'.
The new moves to get rid of the Mujahideen mark a shift in tactics.
They're no longer being dealt with as illegal foreign forces; instead,
they're considered as squatters. The IPTF said last week's roadblocks
appeared to be 'a co-ordinated attempt to halt the evictions process in
Bocinja'.
Oleg Milisic, spokesman for the Office of the High Representative, which
oversees the implementation of the Dayton accord, said: 'This is not a
political issue. It is an issue of the law and citizens' rights to their
property. Property rights must be respected as part of the returns
process now under way across the whole of Bosnia and Herzegovina.'
-
Tuesday, 18 July, 2000, 19:48 GMT 20:48 UK
Mujahideen fight Bosnia evictions
By Alix Kroeger in Sarajevo
About 80 people in central Bosnia are manning road blocks around a
village
where evictions from illegally occupied properties were reported to be
imminent.
The villages are largely occupied by Mujahideen, ex-soldiers from
Islamic
countries, who came over to fight for the Muslim dominated Bosnian army
during the war.
Many of them have settled in villages around the municipality of Maglai,
and
are now living illegally in Serb-owned houses.
The evictions are part of a renewed effort to free up properties for the
return of their rightful owners.
The roadblocks went up on Monday afternoon following media reports that
the
evictions would start on Tuesday morning.
Although these reports are incorrect - evictions are not due to begin
until
next week - 40-50 people, mainly women and children, blocked two roads
into
the village of Bochinja near Maglai.
After two hours of negotiations, the road blocks were lifted, but by
Monday
evening they were back in place, manned by greater numbers.
Open secret
The local assembly met in emergency session on Monday night, but the
United
Nations mission to Bosnia said both the minister of the interior for the
municipality and his deputy were absent and out of contact.
The Mujahideen fought for the pro-muslim Bosnian army
The presence of the Mujahideen, who come mainly from Afghanistan and
Pakistan, is something of an open secret in Bosnia.
They are not supposed to be there, but they are.
Under the Dayton Peace Accord all foreign fighters except the
stabilisation
force S-For were supposed to leave by January 1996.
Instead many of the Islamic fighters have stayed, settling in villages
in
central Bosnia and starting families.
Renewed effort
Most live illegally in houses vacated by local Serbs fleeing fighting
which
swept through the area during the war from 1992 to 1995.
Now the international community is making a renewed effort to implement
the
property laws, with the evictions of illegal occupants to make way for
the
rightful owners to return.
There are still over a million displaced people in Bosnia many of them
are
unable to return home, because someone else, often a displaced person
themselves, is living in their house.
The UN described the situation as a coordinated attempt to prevent
illegally
occupied property being returned to its rightful owners.
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