Milorad Dodik informed Serbia on Friday that he was seriously contemplating declaring the autonomous Serb Republic separate from Bosnia unless a property law dispute is settled.
Dodik’s rigidity A century after its tragic war, Serb nationalism, and pro-Russian posture have fuelled concerns that Bosnia may divide again along ethnic lines.
“We are considering in the most serious terms to bring a decision to declare independence and secede Republika Srpska unless the property issue is solved,” Dodik stated.
Milorad Dodik informed Serbia on Friday that he was seriously contemplating declaring the autonomous Serb Republic separate from Bosnia unless a property law dispute is settled.
Dodik’s rigidity A century after its tragic war, Serb nationalism, and pro-Russian posture have fuelled concerns that Bosnia may divide again along ethnic lines.
“We are considering in the most serious terms to bring a decision to declare independence and secede Republika Srpska unless the property issue is solved,” Dodik stated.
The constitution requires the national parliament to pass property legislation that applies across Bosnia. Still, Dodik, president of the Serb Republic, claims it deprives the Serb area of Bosnia of its land, rivers, and woods.
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic told a joint press conference with Dodik that the peace treaty that ended Bosnia’s conflict is essential to the country’s functioning. Serbia was an ally of Bosnian Serbs throughout the war.
“We shall always support anything that all three constitutive peoples agree upon,” Vucic declared of Bosnia’s Orthodox Serbs, Catholic Croats, and Muslim Bosniaks.
The 1995 U.S.-sponsored Dayton peace agreements partitioned Bosnia into two autonomous territories, the Serb-dominated Serb Republic and the Federation, shared by Bosniaks and Croats, united by a weak central authority, ending nearly four years of conflict that killed 100,000 people.
“I think the president (Vucic) has understood our message very clearly and that Serbia, as the guarantor of the Dayton peace agreement, must take into account all details that are important for the preservation of that agreement,” Dodik added.
Dodik has strengthened Serb autonomy throughout his 25 years as president or premier.
In December, his regional parliament again passed an immovable property law declaring the Serb Republic, the only owner of rivers, woods, and agricultural land.
Bosnia’s highest court twice overturned the statute.
Legal experts believe the issue is that the area cannot approve a bill that requires national parliament approval.
Dodik ordered Serb officials to stop communicating with US and UK embassies in Bosnia last month after they criticized his aggressive comments.
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