Chairman of the Provisional Election Commision in 
            Bosnia-Herzegovina

From:   Committee of Bosnian Refugees
                Boston, USA
                Tel: (617) 783-8796, (810) 828-3193
                Fax: (313) 828-3069

Date:   August 22, 1997

To:             Robert Frowick
                Ambassador
Chairman of the Provisional Election Commission in B&H

RE:

Certification of municipal elections in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Honorable Robert Frowick,

There are many facts which confirm that the local
elections in the Republic of Bosnia and Hezegovina 
in September 1997 can not be fair, free, or 
regular. The following is a list of some 
irregularities which directly affect the refugees 
whom we are representing, as well as the Bosnian 
people:

1. The refugees, who are victims of genocide and 
ethnic cleansing, have been denied the right to 
vote in their own home towns.

2. The refugees have been denied the right to 
participate in election campaigning in their home 
towns. The fact is, they have been forced to stay 
hundreds, even thousands, of kilometers away 
from the place where the election process is occurring.

3. Most refugees are forced to live in foreign 
countries in complete informational isolation because 
most of them are not able to comprehend even the 
TV news which are broadcast in a foreign language.

4. Practically all refugees in countries far 
away from Bosnia have been denied the right to 
participate as candidates in the elections, 
which goes against the basic principals of free 
and fair elections. 

5. Over 300,000 Bosnians have been killed and 
2,000,000 have been forced from their homes in 
order to change the ethnic structure of Republic 
of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The method by 
which the elections have been conducted is 
directly legalizing the results of the genocide and 
"ethnic cleansing".

6. The elections for local municipal governments were 
postponed in September 1996 because minimum conditions for 
free, fair and regular election were not fulfilled. Since 
then nothing changed. Is your and president Clinton's 
personal success, to keep elections in scheduled time, 
more important than the whole Bosnian people, 
even than the principles of democracy?!

Why is it that elections for state officials were held 
in 1996, when the conditions for local elections were not met?

We expect that you as the Chairman of the 
Provisional Election Commission will finally admit that the 
general elections, which were held in September 1996, were
irregular. Otherwise you will further the injustices 
already done to the Bosnian people. Bosnian refugees 
do not accept the explanation that "elections are 
regular, Balkan style", which is a discriminatory 
statement. Bosnian refugees do not accept the results 
of elections which are not free, fair, or regular. 
They do not accept the treatment as people of less value.

The fact that Bosnian authorities expressed the 
desire to hold the elections does not make the 
elections free, fair and regular. The U.N. Charter and
UN conventions of human rights are the legal documents 
that you have to respect and your decisions should be 
based on these two documents and not on the wishes of 
involved politicians, some of whom committed crimes 
against humanity. 

You cannot hide behind Alija Izetbegovic's signatures 
any more. Bosnian refugees, as well as you, know that 
Izetbegovic works for our enemies. In addition to that, 
he is not any more legally elected President. Let us remind 
you that the independent international controllers found 
10,000 illegal votes in Sarajevo alone, in general 
elections in September 1996, all for Alija Izetbegovic, 
which makes him the illegally elected president. You should 
also remember that only a handful of Bosnians were allowed 
to cross the borders of the Serbian Republic (Republika 
Srpska) to vote in the general elections and still 
there were many more votes than the number of registered 
voters before the war, which is the best proof that 
Alija Izetbegovic forged the elections.

Please, make a just and correct decision and postpone the 
municipal elections until the conditions for the fair democratic
elections are fulfilled.

Sincerely yours,

FOR COMMITTEE OF BOSNIAN REFUGEES

Dr. Vahid Sendijarevi}
Tel.: (810) 828-3193 (home), Fax:  (810) 828-3069 (home)
Tel.: (313) 993-2162 (office), Fax:  (313) 993-1409 (office)

CC:
Federal Councillor Flavio Cotti, 
the Chairman-in-Office of the O.S.C.E.,
Mr. Ed van Thijn, Chairman of the Election Monitoring Group
Bosnian refugees and people
Bosnian government      
All American Congressmen and Senators
News Media
News Groups on Internet

COMMITTEE OF BOSNIAN REFUGEES

Dr. Muhamed Borogovac, (617) 783-8796 (USA) 
Dr. Vahid Sendijarevic, (810) 828-3193 (USA) 
Dr. Zlatko Sijercic, (970) 491-7595 (USA)  
Stjepan Balog,  USA
Musadik Borogovac, (617) 381-1629 (USA) 
Sven Rustempasic,  USA
Jasminko Beso,(619) 568-0672 (USA) 
Ajsa Fazlic, (613) 562-2820 (Canada)
Osman Keric, (701) 231-9552 (USA) 
Bedrudin Gusic, (617) 884-8150 (USA) 
Nihada Kadic,  Croatia
Mr. Kenan Saracevic, dipl. ing., (617) 623-6059 USA