VIEWPOINT FROM LONDON

HOLD AN INQUIRY, PADDY

by Brian Gallagher

Hrvatski Vjesnik (Australia) No. 1054 - 04.03.05

There have been various investigations and actions against Croat leaders in Bosnia-Herzegovina by the international community over the last few years. For many, these investigations have come to resemble witch-hunts carried out for political reasons, alienating the Croatian people in BiH. High Representative Lord (Paddy) Ashdown should consider an inquiry into these events, to demonstrate that international officials can be held to account - which would give his office increased credibility throughout all three communities. Given that the tenth anniversary of the Dayton Accords that brought peace to BiH is approaching, this would be an opportune time to hold an inquiry.

Back in 2001, there was a notion of Croat self-rule. The international community response to this was to raid the Hercegovacka Banka - a successful Croat bank which allegedly was funding the project. Reportedly, British special forces were used on the raid on the bank in Mostar. Wolfgang Petritsch, the then High Representative of BiH wrote a letter to the UK Spectator magazine stating that he had “evidence” that DM54 million of Croatian government money earmarked for the Croat component of the BiH military had not gone to where it was supposed to and that 50 accounts had received large amounts of money - thus necessitating money laundering investigations.

More recently, a special international office headed by John McNair was set up to prosecute organised crime and war criminals. McNair’s team has charged a number of Croats over Hercegovacka Banka, including the HDZ leader of the time, Ante Jelavic. The subsequent trial so far has resulted in two plea bargains and the case against Jelavic does not look strong.

Further, the local press covering the trial reports officials such as Jaakka Christensen, - a Finnish police inspector involved in auditing the bank after the raid - stating that there was no fraud at the bank. The Provisional administrator of the bank, Toby Robinson, made similar comments, saying the bank was solvent and the director the Federation Banking Agency Zlatko Bars confirmed the bank posed no threat to the BiH banking system. All terribly embarrassing, and points to political motivation in the raid on the bank, and indeed this trial.

This, of course, creates distrust amongst the populace. But it’s compounded by the fact that Dragan Covic, current Croat member of the BiH presidency is also being investigated by the international prosecutors. It is claimed that Covic, while Federation Finance Minister, used his position to help a Siroki Brijeg firm, meat producers Lijanovici, to evade taxes.

Whatever the truth of the matter, given the events of the Jevavic trial, the Croatian population will simply view this as a politically motivated witch hunt on the current Croat leadership, nothing more. That is not good for the future.

The statements in the Jelavic trial raise certain questions as to why the raid on Hercegovacka Banka ever took place.

It is usual for some form of inquiry to be undertaken to answer such questions - this was a hugely controversial raid, criticised both in BiH and abroad. Paddy Ashdown should institute an independent inquiry into the circumstances of the bank raid, to ascertain why it took place, and the quality of information used as justification. Such an act - if it was not a whitewash - would go a long way to building confidence in BiH among the population, demonstrating that even powerful international officials can be held to account. Ashdown is no stranger to inquiries; he himself set one up to investigate allegations of racism levelled against his own party in a local election campaign. He should bring such thinking to Bosnia-Herzegovina.

 

© Brian Gallagher