Newsroom
OSCE rejects claims made by Bosnia and Herzegovina political party SDA
SARAJEVO 5 December 2000
SARAJEVO, 5 December 2000 - The OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina flatly rejects the statement by the political party SDA on Saturday in which denied it had committed any wrongdoing with regard to its failure to disclose political contributions from the Federation Ministry of Disabled Soldiers which was transferred through the Widows and Orphans Fund.
"Rather than simply admit the mistake and move on, the SDA insists on distorting the record of their undisclosed contributions and financial machinations through misleading and inaccurate public statements," said Luke Zahner, Spokesperson for the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina. "The OSCE simply cannot allow issues like this to be swept under the carpet, because it is detrimental to the evolution of democracy and the rule of law. Therefore, we are prepared to make all documentation public if necessary to refute the SDA's inaccurate claims."
The OSCE has never made any acknowledgement that it made a mistake in claiming that the SDA took money from the Federation government to pay for party activities, as the SDA claimed in its inaccurate and distorted press release on Saturday. In fact, far from admitting a mistake, the OSCE outlined a comprehensive case of obstruction and financial inpropriety by the SDA.
The fact of the matter is, the SDA-controlled Federation Ministry of Disabled Soldiers made transfers of money from a fund directly controlled by out-going SDA Prime Minister Bicakcic, to the Widows and Orphans Fund. The monies were then immediately transferred from the Widows and Orphans Fund into SDA accounts. It is important to note that the Widows and Orphans Fund requested these funds from the Federation government in May and July 2000 to cover alleged financial shortfalls incurred by the payment of high overhead and unexpected medical and scholarship expenses of families of fallen soldiers. These transfers were clearly intended for families of fallen soldiers, not on the SDA's political activities. Furthermore, the SDA claim in its recent statement that these were "loans" is also not true - though it did pay the money back after it was caught, the SDA never was able to produce a loan contract, nor explain why it would be taking money from an organization which is supposed to be struggling for money to begin with.
This case raises more serious questions about how public funds are spent by SDA-controlled government ministries - issues that go beyond political party financing and whether the SDA disclosed specific donations. The SDA should explain to the public how they were able to get the prime minister to authorize these two payments amounting to 100,000 KM from Federation budget reserves, money that ended up in the account of the SDA after passing through the SDA-controlled Federation Ministry for Disabled Soldiers and then to the Widows and Orphans Fund.
Accountability is sadly lacking, as this episode demonstrates. In many countries, such abuse both by a government ministry and a political party would have resulted in punitive legal action.
The OSCE will continue to work towards the transparency of government institutions and political parties. This case only demonstrates the need for more firm efforts to ensure this degree of accountability to the people of Bosnia and Herzegovina. If Bosnia and Herzegovina wants to join the rank and file of democratic countries, its government officials and parties must understand that they are under and not above the law.
For more information, please contact OSCE Spokesperson Luke Zahner at ++387/(0)33 292-449 or ++387/(0)66 144-311.
The OSCE established its present Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina on 18 December 1995. In accordance with the General Framework Agreement for Peace (GFAP), the OSCE Mission activities are to: promote Democratization and the building of a vibrant civil society, foster the development of professional journalism and monitor the rights of journalists, monitor and advance the Human Rights situation, supervise the conduct of Elections, and encourage Regional Stabilization through arms control and confidence and security-building measures. The OSCE Mission continues to work closely with other international organizations and local institutions to implement the Dayton Peace Accords.
"Rather than simply admit the mistake and move on, the SDA insists on distorting the record of their undisclosed contributions and financial machinations through misleading and inaccurate public statements," said Luke Zahner, Spokesperson for the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina. "The OSCE simply cannot allow issues like this to be swept under the carpet, because it is detrimental to the evolution of democracy and the rule of law. Therefore, we are prepared to make all documentation public if necessary to refute the SDA's inaccurate claims."
The OSCE has never made any acknowledgement that it made a mistake in claiming that the SDA took money from the Federation government to pay for party activities, as the SDA claimed in its inaccurate and distorted press release on Saturday. In fact, far from admitting a mistake, the OSCE outlined a comprehensive case of obstruction and financial inpropriety by the SDA.
The fact of the matter is, the SDA-controlled Federation Ministry of Disabled Soldiers made transfers of money from a fund directly controlled by out-going SDA Prime Minister Bicakcic, to the Widows and Orphans Fund. The monies were then immediately transferred from the Widows and Orphans Fund into SDA accounts. It is important to note that the Widows and Orphans Fund requested these funds from the Federation government in May and July 2000 to cover alleged financial shortfalls incurred by the payment of high overhead and unexpected medical and scholarship expenses of families of fallen soldiers. These transfers were clearly intended for families of fallen soldiers, not on the SDA's political activities. Furthermore, the SDA claim in its recent statement that these were "loans" is also not true - though it did pay the money back after it was caught, the SDA never was able to produce a loan contract, nor explain why it would be taking money from an organization which is supposed to be struggling for money to begin with.
This case raises more serious questions about how public funds are spent by SDA-controlled government ministries - issues that go beyond political party financing and whether the SDA disclosed specific donations. The SDA should explain to the public how they were able to get the prime minister to authorize these two payments amounting to 100,000 KM from Federation budget reserves, money that ended up in the account of the SDA after passing through the SDA-controlled Federation Ministry for Disabled Soldiers and then to the Widows and Orphans Fund.
Accountability is sadly lacking, as this episode demonstrates. In many countries, such abuse both by a government ministry and a political party would have resulted in punitive legal action.
The OSCE will continue to work towards the transparency of government institutions and political parties. This case only demonstrates the need for more firm efforts to ensure this degree of accountability to the people of Bosnia and Herzegovina. If Bosnia and Herzegovina wants to join the rank and file of democratic countries, its government officials and parties must understand that they are under and not above the law.
For more information, please contact OSCE Spokesperson Luke Zahner at ++387/(0)33 292-449 or ++387/(0)66 144-311.
The OSCE established its present Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina on 18 December 1995. In accordance with the General Framework Agreement for Peace (GFAP), the OSCE Mission activities are to: promote Democratization and the building of a vibrant civil society, foster the development of professional journalism and monitor the rights of journalists, monitor and advance the Human Rights situation, supervise the conduct of Elections, and encourage Regional Stabilization through arms control and confidence and security-building measures. The OSCE Mission continues to work closely with other international organizations and local institutions to implement the Dayton Peace Accords.