THE MAIN Bosnian Serb nationalist leader has made a last minute apology for her repeated calls for the break up of Bosnia, but only after the election organisers threatened to disqualify three of her party's candidates in today's poll.
Last night, on the eve of Bosnia's first post war elections, Mrs Biljana Playsic read the apology, on the television station controlled by her party, the SDS, written for her by the Organisation for Security and Co operation in Europe (OSCE).
The OSCE, which is supervising the conduct of the elections, ruled yesterday that the extreme nationalist rhetoric used by the SDS and demands for independence from Bosnia breached electoral regulations.
The SDS was fined over £20,000 earlier this week for similar activity, which is in breach of the Dayton accord. Yesterday it demanded that she read the apology on television at three different times yesterday evening, saying it would disqualify three of the first five candidates on the SDS list if she did not.
A total of 2.9 million Bosnians are eligible to vote in what a UN spokesman described yesterday as "the most complex elections of this century". Voters in Bosnia's two "entities", Republika Srpska and the Muslim/Croat Federation, will elect their own political leaders, as well as a national assembly and a three person presidency for the whole country.
The three main nationalist parties effectively the three parties that went to war - representing Bosnia's Serbs, Croats and Bosniacs - are certain to win large majorities within their own communities.
Up to 150,000 displaced persons will be bussed under tight security to their former homes, from which they were "ethnically cleansed" during the war, to cast their votes. Most are Muslims go ing to Republika Srpska. The massive movement of voters to areas where they may receive a very hostile reception hams aroused fears of violence in many areas.
Nineteen recommended road routes across the "inter entity boundary line (IEBL)" have been designated, although Ifor (the Nato implementation force) said yesterday that people would also be allowed to travel on other roads.
The expected traffic chaos, high security and fears of violence may lead the OSCE, which is responsible for the conduct of the elections, to extend polling into tomorrow. The OSCE has said that it will consider an extension if large numbers of voters, have been unable to vote due to roads being blocked, violence or intimidation.
It was not known last night whether Mrs Plavsic had done enough to avert the OSCE threat. The OSCE said yesterday that it had written the apology for her, and wanted it read out without any change and at the prescribed times. The OSCE refused to release the text of its apology, so it is not known whether Mrs Plavsic had complied fully with the request.
"I have been asked by the OSCE to read a letter on television," she said. "The Serb Democratic Party (SDS) deeply regrets referring to the Republika Srpska as an independent state."
The apology demand followed the ruling of the OSCE's Election Appeals Sub Commission that the tone and content of the SDS election campaign has continually violated electoral rules. D candidates throughout Bosnia have indulged in extreme nationalist rhetoric, saying they will not abide by the Dayton agreement to keep Bosnia united, but will secede.