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Europe

EU Pushes Balkans Towards New War, Dodik Seeks Support from Russia and Israel

2025-04-03

Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
by Bogdan Kish

[REGNUM] Over the past month, Republika Srpska

…the Serbian enclave in Bosnia and Herzegovina…

(RS) President Milorad Dodik has made several international visits despite a Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) court verdict, an Interpol arrest warrant and a travel ban from BiH. Despite everything, the republic continues to regain its powers and move towards independence.

On April 1, Dodik held a meeting in the Kremlin with Russian President Vladimir Putin. It is noteworthy that the head of the RS had already visited Serbia, Hungary and Israel before his visit to Moscow, enjoying the support of a number of countries tired of the “rules-based world.”

UNTENABLE VERDICT
After the BiH court sentenced the leadership of the Republika Srpska, a real hunt began. Due to “disrespect” for the illegitimate “high representative” appointed to oversee Bosnia and Herzegovina after the end of the 1992-1995 war, Dodik was sentenced to one year in prison and banned from political activity for five years.

The Prime Minister of the Republic of Srpska Radovan Višković and the Speaker of the Parliament Nenad Stevandić were also found to be "guilty". Moreover, due to Sarajevo's inability to arrest the RS leadership, the Serbian leaders began to be accused of "attempting to undermine the constitutional order" of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which resulted in an Interpol request and a ban on leaving BiH.

One of Dodik's main allies, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, was the first to react to the verdict, and quite violently:

"The political witch hunt against Republika Srpska President Milorad Dodik is a sad example of how the legal system is being turned into a weapon against a democratically elected leader. If we want to maintain stability in the Western Balkans, this is not our way forward."

However, the verdict itself is hardly legitimate. It is not for nothing that the Republic of Srpska has not recognized the activities of the High Representative Christian Schmidt and the Constitutional Court of BiH for more than two years.

Schmidt does not have a UN Security Council mandate, as Russia and China have vetoed it. Therefore, the decisions and imposed laws of the self-proclaimed high representative in Banja Luka are simply ignored.

The situation is similar with the BiH court. This court is built on the system of "2+2+2+3", it has two representatives of each nation: two Serbs, Croats, Bosniaks, and three foreigners.

It is not difficult to guess that the presence of foreigners provides political Sarajevo with the decisions it needs, so the court has long become an anti-Serb (and even anti-Croatian) political instrument within the process of creating a unitary country.

"BiH has never emerged from crisis. It is an impossible country, in constant crisis. It emerges from one crisis process and enters another," Dodik said recently.

RETURN OF POWERS
The political structure of Bosnia and Herzegovina is an extremely complex system, in which, in theory, there should be two entities - the Republic of Srpska and the Muslim-Croat Federation of BiH. The entities have the broadest rights and, in fact, these are two states in one, which is enshrined in the Dayton Peace Treaty.

However, Sarajevo, the EU and the US are increasingly unhappy with this arrangement, since the Republic of Srpska is blocking accession to NATO, refusing to impose anti-Russian sanctions and not supporting Ukraine. In fact, they began to take away its powers almost immediately after the signing of peace. This is noticeable in a number of decisions - from the creation of the Brcko district to common institutions of power at the level of BiH. But especially strong pressure began with the coming to power of Milorad Dodik.

Under him, the republic began to regain a number of powers, and the sentence to its leadership became the last straw, after which they realized that they had a choice: either to surrender and allow the destruction of statehood, or to fight through legal and diplomatic means.

"We are not fighting against BiH and Bosniaks, but we are fighting for our rights, as enshrined in the Dayton Peace Accords," said Milorad Dodik.

The leadership of the Republic of Srpska promptly passed laws banning the work of the Bosnian prosecutor's office, court and SIPA intelligence service on its territory, as well as laws on foreign agents and the fight against intelligence activities. At the same time, Milorad Dodik called on Serbs working in the general government bodies to leave them, promising to find them all other jobs.

Moreover, the deputies of the National Assembly (parliament) of the Republic of Srpska approved a draft resolution on the beginning of the adoption of a new constitution of the Republic of Srpska, which will give the right to recreate its armed forces, create special services and border guards, form a court and prosecutor's office, and even the right to a confederation with Serbia.

Particular attention is drawn to Articles 115 and 116, which state that Banja Luka will have its own army and can both declare neutrality and enter into military alliances with other states. Given the authority of Milorad Dodik and the political majority in parliament, the adoption of a new Constitution is a matter of time.

One of the main points of the republican leadership's activities will be the restoration of the border police. Two laws have already been developed and are under consideration by the government.

It is worth recalling here that from 1996 to 2000, the border of the Republic of Srpska with Serbia, Croatia and Montenegro was controlled by its own police. The creation of the border service of Bosnia and Herzegovina was initiated by the high representative Wolfgang Petritsch, putting pressure on the then weak Banja Luka.

It is noteworthy that the Serbs who worked in the institutions of BiH were given until March 19 to decide whether to transfer to the institutions of the Republic of Srpska. And from that date, all employees of the SIPA special services and the Bosnian prosecutor's office can be detained for working on the territory of the Republic of Srpska.

"If something can't live up to Dayton, then we have to be a free state," Dodik said.

Despite the constant accusations of "separatism" and "attack on the constitutional order" against the RS leadership, it is Banja Luka that does everything within the framework of the Dayton Accords and the BiH constitution. It does not go beyond what is permitted and uses the broadest possibilities of the internationally recognized documents that were won on the battlefield from 1992 to 1995.

It is obvious that the strong position of the republic does not suit either Sarajevo or the US and the EU, so they not only interpret the agreements as they want, but also directly contradict them - the appointment of an illegitimate high representative alone is worth something.

ISOLATION HAS FAILED
The persecution of Milorad Dodik is just part of a larger EU campaign to combat dissent.

Brussels today represents the "war party" and is the main supporter of the continuation of the conflict in Ukraine to the last Ukrainian. However, a number of political leaders in Europe "sabotage" the EU plan, as a result of which the Union openly spat on all democratic processes and moved to a real dictatorship even beyond its borders.

The arrest of a presidential candidate in Romania, the detention of the head of Gagauzia, attempts to overthrow the Prime Minister of Hungary, an attempt to assassinate the Prime Minister of Slovakia, unrest in Georgia, the arrest of Marine Le Pen in France and the attempt to detain Milorad Dodik are all links in the same chain.

At the same time, arresting the president of the RS turned out to be not so easy. Firstly, the republic has its own police and special forces that report exclusively to it.

Secondly, the Bosnian Interior Ministry does not enter the republic. SIPA officially refused to participate in Dodik's arrest, and the head of the special services, Darko Čulum, even moved to Dodik's Interior Ministry.

Thirdly, even the EUFOR peacekeeping contingent refused Sarajevo, citing the fact that they do not have the authority to do so.

That is why Milorad Dodik feels at ease in Banja Luka and is not planning to run anywhere.

Foreign visits, of course, became more difficult after the Sarajevo branch of Interpol issued an international arrest warrant for him. However, even this did not stop Dodik from making four foreign trips in a little over a month.

In mid-February, he flew to Hungary on an official visit together with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic. After discussing a number of economic issues, the country's President Tamas Sujok presented Vucic with the Grand Cross of the Hungarian Order of Merit with a chain and a gold star.

Then Milorad Dodik calmly visited Serbia on March 24, the anniversary of the start of the bombing of Yugoslavia, and returned to Bosnia. Sarajevo was, of course, indignant, but there was nothing they could do about it.

And even though his own border police is still in the process of being created, there are Serbs working on the border with Serbia, and they will not detain their president.

The situation with travel to distant foreign countries has become even more interesting.

Milorad Dodik, as before, left BiH unhindered and traveled from Serbia to Israel. He took part in an international conference on combating anti-Semitism, organized by the Israeli Diaspora Ministry, and also held talks with the country's top leadership.

The details, unfortunately, are not disclosed, but it can be assumed that Dodik has secured the support of Tel Aviv.

It is noteworthy that Banja Luka, unlike Sarajevo, has good relations with it. The Republic of Srpska has long cooperated with Israel on a number of issues, especially in the area of security (due to the threat of Wahhabism) and the study of suffering in World War II (more than 20 years of intensive joint work with the International Institute for the Study of the Holocaust Yad Vashem, cooperation with the Simon Wiesenthal Center, etc.).

Israel also rejected all UN resolutions directed against Republika Srpska, and the republic responded by blocking BiH's vote in the UN against Israel.

The icing on the cake of Milorad Dodik’s international voyage was a visit to Moscow.

It is worth noting that he announced his visits to Israel and Russia long ago. The only question was whether he would be able to leave Bosnia. As we can see, he did.

The meeting with Vladimir Putin was already Dodik's 26th. On the Russian side, the president's aide Yuri Ushakov also took part.

"Russia is a very important country for the Republic of Srpska, including in the UN Security Council. And it has always been objective. Russia is the guarantor of the peace agreement, and Putin said this at the meeting. Within this framework, Russia will advocate for the cessation and abolition of the work of international institutions, especially the fake high representative or, as he says, the illegitimate representative. He was interested in the details of what we do and how we work," Dodik said.

Earlier, the issue of the activities of the EUFOR "peacekeepers" was also raised, as Milorad Dodik wanted to ask Vladimir Putin to veto their activities in the UN Security Council. It is unknown whether this topic was also touched upon. Sarajevo began spreading rumors that Dodik had received Russian citizenship, but this news was quickly denied.

It is not yet known when the President of the Republic of Srpska will return to Banja Luka. However, it is certain that Sarajevo, with the assistance of the EU, will do everything to remove him from political activity.

Any means will be used: arrest, attempt at a “color revolution,” increased sanctions, pressure through Belgrade, and so on.

However, the situation in BiH is such that the potential detention of Dodik threatens a referendum on the secession of the republic he leads from the federation, and this, in turn, could provoke a new war. Do they understand this in Sarajevo and the EU? There are serious doubts about this.

But there is absolutely no doubt that the isolation of Milorad Dodik has failed.

Banja Luka has excellent relations with Hungary, Russia, Israel, China and, with a little help from them, with the entire “global south”. And the common border with Serbia, which is obliged to help and protect Banja Luka, plays a key role in this.

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International-UN-NGOs

Right-wing politics take center stage at Israel’s controversial antisemitism confab

2025-03-28

[IsraelTimes] Amid boycotts due to inclusion of far-right EU lawmakers, Jerusalem event features appearances from Bosnian leader facing arrest warrant and sanctioned ex-Paraguay president

There was no shortage of controversy at the Israeli government’s first-ever international conference on combating antisemitism Thursday in Jerusalem, as mostly right-wing speakers hurled scathing attacks at left-wing organizations and news outlets that they claimed have been enabling antisemitism.

The confab at the International Convention Center was thrown into the global spotlight last week after several high-profile Jewish leaders said they would not attend due to the inclusion of far-right European politicians whose parties have long faced their own allegations of antisemitism.

Diaspora Minister Amichai Chikli, whose office organized the confab, opened with a word to the far-right European politicians about the uproar surrounding their participation in the event.

"I apologize for the lies spread against you by those who slander the State of Israel worldwide," Chikli said, before launching into a tirade accusing Israel’s left-wing Haaretz newspaper of manufacturing the controversy. Calling the outlet a "beacon of lies and anti-Zionist propaganda," he insisted that "Haaretz and others like them do not represent the Jewish people."

Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt and French philosopher Bernard-Henri Levy — both originally slated to give keynote addresses — along with British Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis, were among those who canceled their participation in the event due to concerns that the inclusion of far-right politicians would legitimize their movements that have long histories of antisemitism, Holocaust denial and racism.

As a compromise aimed at easing tensions, President Isaac Herzog hosted Jewish leaders for a private gathering Wednesday night before the conference, without the presence of the right-wing figures.

Speaking to journalists after the conference, Chikli defended his decision to invite the far-right European parliament members, saying he had spoken at length with each one regarding their beliefs about Israel.

"Actions speak louder than words," Chikli said, noting that Marine Le Pen of La Belle France’s National Union party — whose leader Jordan Bardella attended the confab — had shown genuine concern for the French Jewish community. Representatives from Germany’s AFD party were not invited due to radical voices within, despite its pro-Israel stance, Chikli said.

Hermann Tertsch, member of the European Parliament for Spain’s hard-right Vox party, told The Times of Israel that he felt compelled to participate in the confab despite the controversies.

"I’m here because the fight against antisemitism is a very important question that affects us all," Tertsch said, noting that he had been honored by the Jewish community of Madrid for his work fighting antisemitism. "We are fighting a very serious fight, and what we are doing is annoying other parties that don’t see the danger."

PM: MANY THOUGHT ISRAEL ON VERGE OF EXTINCTION
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also addressed the conference on Thursday, calling antisemitism a "disease" threatening all civilized societies.

Before the Holocaust, Netanyahu said, many people understood that growing European antisemitism would destroy not only Jewry but also the surrounding civilizations.

"Today we issue a similar warning — the fate of free societies is tied to their willingness to fight the scourge of antisemitism."

Now, Netanyahu said, this hatred has reemerged in the form of Hamas
Hamas

..the braying voice of Islamic Resistance®,...
and radical Islam in Yemen
...an area of the Arabian Peninsula sometimes mistaken for a country. It is populated by more antagonistic tribes and factions than you can keep track of...
, Iran, Leb
...Formerly inhabited by hardy Phoenecian traders, its official language is now Arabic, with the usual unpleasant side effects....
and Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with a rusty iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response...
. And unlike during the Holocaust, he added, Jews now have an army to defend themselves and fight back.

"On October 7th, we were surprised," Netanyahu said. "We had a terrible, terrible massacre. And many believed that Israel was on the verge of extinction. [Former Hezbollah leader Hassan] Nasrallah put it very clearly. He said: "The Jewish state, the Jewish army — they’re no more than a spider’s web," and it could be easily swept aside."

"Well, a year and a half later, Nasrallah is gone," Netanyahu continued. "[Former] Hamas chairman Ismail] Haniyeh is gone. [Former Hamas leader Yahya] Sinwar is gone. [Former Syrian President Bashar] Assad is gone. We have battered Hamas. We brought Hezbollah to its knees. We destroyed the remnants of Syria’s army. We hit the Iran's Houthi sock puppets
...a Zaidi Shia insurgent group operating in Yemen. They have also been referred to as the Believing Youth. Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi is said to be the spiritual leader of the group and most of the military leaders are his relatives. The legitimate Yemeni government has accused the them of having ties to the Iranian government. Honest they did. The group has managed to gain control over all of Saada Governorate and parts of Amran, Al Jawf and Hajjah Governorates. Its slogan is God is Great, Death to America™, Death to Israel, a curse on the Jews They like shooting off... ummm... missiles that they would have us believe they make at home in their basements. On the plus side, they did murder Ali Abdullah Saleh, which was the only way the country was ever going to be rid of him...
s with the great help of our American allies. And we exposed Iran’s vulnerability."

SILENCE IS COMPLICITY
At a subsequent panel entitled "Don’t confuse me with the facts," speakers accused left-wing movements of fanning the flames of antisemitism by peddling falsehoods.

Far-right Historian Gadi Taub criticized progressive movements in Israel for undermining Zionism, doubling down on Chikli’s attack on Haaretz — his former employer — saying it "systematically undermines Zionism."

Jordan Bardella, head of La Belle France’s far-right National Union party, described his movement as "the best shield for our Jewish compatriots." He said La Belle France must work with Israel to fight against antisemitism, as defined by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) working definition.

"In the face of the disturbing resurgence of anti-Jewish hatred throughout Europa
...the land mass occupying the space between the English Channel and the Urals, also known as Moslem Lebensraum...
and the world, and in the face of terrorism that intends to destroy our lives and our values, we French believe more than ever that our nations must unite their voices and join forces in the fight," he said.

"I am aware of the symbolic importance of my invitation here, and the responsibility of my party... in the war against barbarism, which is also our war," he added.

Former president of Paraguay Horacio Cartes told the audience that silence in the face of antisemitism "is not neutrality, but complicity."

Cartes, who is sanctioned by the US for alleged ties with Hezbollah, as well as corruption, was invited to the confab by the Prime Minister’s Office, according to a report in Haaretz.

Another foreign leader, Bosnian Serb President Milorad Dodik, attended the conference but exited briefly after being notified that a court in Bosnia had issued an international warrant for his arrest due to his calls for the Serb-run half of Bosnia to secede from the rest of the country.

Dodik left the conference voluntarily and then later returned, event organizers said. As a signatory to the European Convention on Extradition, Israel would be obligated to extradite citizens wanted in other countries. It is not clear whether Bosnia issued an extradition request to Israel during the event.

Link

The Grand Turk

'True Friend': Erdogan Visits Serbs, But Gives Drones to Kosovo

2024-10-14

Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
by Kirill Semenov

[REGNUM] Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan paid an official visit to Serbia on October 11, where he held talks with President Aleksandar Vucic. The leaders of the two countries discussed regional issues, the situation in the Balkans, as well as the Middle East and Ukraine.

Erdogan stressed the importance of maintaining stability in Bosnia and Herzegovina and called for a constructive approach in relations between Serbia and Kosovo. The Turkish leader emphasized the need for a conscious approach to tensions between Serbia and Kosovo and the resolution of all contradictions (naturally, with the mediation of Ankara) and noted the importance of maintaining stability in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

During the visit, 11 interstate agreements were signed and the 4th meeting of the Supreme Council was held, where bilateral relations, especially the economy and trade, were discussed.

At the final press conference, Erdogan noted that Serbian-Turkish relations are experiencing a "golden age." Trade turnover between the countries has exceeded $2 billion for the second year in a row. Ankara and Belgrade intend to increase it to $5 billion, and Turkish investments in Serbia have grown from $1 million to $405 million over the past 12 years.

Ankara continues to strengthen its economic presence in Serbia: there are already about 3,300 Turkish companies operating here, 21 of which are manufacturing companies.

The possibilities of mutual trips on internal passports were also discussed, which should increase the tourist flow. Serbian citizens can already travel to Turkey without foreign passports.

Particular attention was paid to the situation in Palestine. "It is necessary to put an end to the attacks of the Israeli leadership, which trample on human dignity," the Turkish leader said. He called on the international community to recognize a Palestinian state within the 1967 borders.

An important aspect of the talks was cooperation in the defense industry. Erdogan and Vucic noted the great prospects for cooperation in this area. "The Turkish military industry is much stronger than ours," Vucic said at a joint press conference." But, without false modesty, we cannot be ignored either. Within this framework, I see scope for great cooperation."

The military cooperation talks likely included the Bayraktar drones, which Belgrade abandoned last year after Ankara provided five to Kosovo's security forces. During his visit to Albania on Thursday, Erdogan said he would also give the Balkan country an unspecified number of Bayraktars "so that no one would dare attack it."

Asked whether joint military-industrial cooperation with Serbia would include the production of Bayraktar drones, Erdogan replied: “Serbia has certain capabilities, we have certain capabilities, and as friendly countries we can develop our capabilities together.”

KOSOVO IS NOT A HINDRANCE
Although Türkiye unconditionally supported Kosovo's unilateral declaration of independence from Serbia in 2008, Erdogan is a proponent of a constructive, balanced approach that also respects Serbian interests in the region.

Back in 2013, when he was prime minister, his statement that “Kosovo is Turkey and Turkey is Kosovo” drew sharp criticism in Belgrade. Ten years later, Aleksandar Vucic sees Erdogan as an actor who can “help maintain stability in northern Kosovo” and a “true friend” of Serbia.

Indeed, despite different views on the status of Kosovo, relations between Belgrade and Ankara have improved significantly over the past decade and are developing steadily.

At the meeting of the presidents in 2019, the head of Turkey already called Serbia a friendly country. During his visit to Belgrade in September 2022, special attention was paid to economic issues.

Turkey, despite the difficult situation in its own economy and the unstable exchange rate of the lira, was able to make efforts to increase trade turnover not only with Serbia, but also with the countries of the region as a whole. Thus, the relations between Turkey and Serbia are very dynamic, and the personal relations of their leaders can be described as friendly.

Ankara is traditionally seen as an ally of Balkan Muslims, including Albanians. However, this does not mean that Turkey will unconditionally support, say, Bosnian Muslims or Albanians against Serbs simply because of some “historical principles.”

On the contrary, Turkish policy in the Balkans is very pragmatic and balanced and far from the ideological labels such as “Great Turan” or “Neo-Ottomanism”. And Erdogan’s current Balkan tour also confirms this.

Let us recall that he arrived in Serbia from Albania, a traditional Turkish ally in the region. And, of course, the fact that the Turkish leader opened a new mosque there is an important ideological symbol of the continuity of the Ottoman presence in the Balkans.

However, the signed agreements and growing trade turnover with Serbia indicate that other aspects of Turkey's activities in the region, beyond ideological principles, are of no less, if not greater, importance.

Ankara aims to become one of the most influential foreign players in the Balkans and therefore has many factors to consider. It already plays a major role in conflicts ranging from Syria and Libya to Ukraine, often imposing solutions through force.

Since the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina, organized by the European Union, has not led to a complete easing of tensions in northern Kosovo, Erdogan sees a window of opportunity for further mediation in this conflict as well.

The “Turkish party” deserved special attention against the backdrop of the next crisis in Kosovo in 2022–2023, where it would seem that Erdogan should traditionally side with the Albanians and Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti against the ethnic Serb minority in northern Kosovo. However, Ankara extended a hand to Kurti primarily against the backdrop of his confrontation with the United States, and not because of contradictions with the Serbs.

At that time, Washington tried to tear Vucic away from Russia by making concessions to the Serbian side, while simultaneously putting pressure on the authorities of the partially recognized Kosovo. Erdogan intervened in the situation largely at the request of the Kosovo authorities, but did so to spite the Americans and in such a way that Serbia had no reason to be dissatisfied with the Turkish mediation.

From the very beginning of the crisis, the Turkish president held talks with both the Kosovo Prime Minister and President Vucic, calling for dialogue. And in the summer of 2023, in agreement with the authorities of both sides, a Turkish military contingent was deployed in northern Kosovo. About 500 soldiers and officers from the 65th Mechanized Brigade of the Turkish Army formed the bulk of the NATO reinforcements in the north of the province.

Therefore, on the one hand, the Turkish military deployment in Kosovo underlines Ankara’s status as a mediator, and on the other hand, it is a way of Turkey’s military return to the Balkans and a clear example of NATO using its instrument of play on the Balkan field.

Strengthening the Turkish military presence in Kosovo will undoubtedly help Ankara strengthen its position in the region, especially now that the West is busy helping the Kyiv regime. At the same time, it will help Erdogan position himself as an impartial partner for both Belgrade and Pristina.

BOSNIAN QUESTION
In turn, Turkey's official position on the sore "Bosnian issue" boils down to the need for peaceful coexistence between Bosnian Muslims and the Republic of Srpska. The Turkish president is trying to prevent the situation from escalating or the republic from separating from Bosnia and Herzegovina.

In September 2022, Erdogan rushed to the country to hold talks with the Presidency Council "triumvirate" as tensions between Bosniaks and Serbs rose in the country. This followed a statement by Republika Srpska leader Milorad Dodik opposing a law banning the denial of the Bosnian genocide. The Turkish president was trying to cement his status as a peacemaker in the country as well.

It is significant that a year earlier, Dodik himself also visited Istanbul, where he held talks with the Turkish leader.

Again, being an ally of (partially) Muslim Bosnia and Herzegovina and Albania, Turkey has no less close allied relations with Montenegro and Northern Macedonia. And Ankara is ready to be a guarantor of the territorial integrity of these states and not allow Albanian separatism to raise its head there.

The same Montenegro, even against the backdrop of cooling relations with Russia, is historically turned to the East and is not inclined to fully trust its fate to Europe and the West. In this situation, Ankara, with its multi-vector approach and special view of international affairs, is becoming a desirable partner.

In particular, on June 25, 2023, the then Prime Minister of Montenegro Dritan Abazović, during a visit to Istanbul, stated that Turkey has now become a “key country” in the Western Balkans and the region is in dire need of mediation from leaders like Erdogan, who are capable of bringing the necessary stability to it.

MACEDONIAN FRONT AGAINST ATHENS
And in August 2021, shortly after joining NATO, North Macedonia signed a separate military cooperation agreement with Turkey, providing for the active participation of the Turkish military in the modernization and enhancement of the defense capability of the North Macedonian army.

Of course, by strengthening its position in the Balkans, Ankara is also challenging Athens, with which Turkey has a whole tangle of unresolved problems. And it is precisely on this basis that Ankara is becoming one of the closest partners of Northern Macedonia and has already helped Skopje join NATO, when Greece was against it.

Therefore, the development of military cooperation with North Macedonia and Albania could be an alarming signal for Greece. In recent years, in the context of the Turkish-Greek escalation in the Eastern Mediterranean, France has provided significant military and diplomatic support to the Greeks. Therefore, the possibility of tensions to the north and west of the continental borders of Greece should not be underestimated.

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Europe

UN General Assembly approves a draft resolution on the 'genocide in Srebrenica'

2024-05-24

Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Regnum] On May 23, the UN General Assembly approved a draft resolution submitted by Germany and Rwanda on the “genocide in Srebrenica.”

Fortunately, absolutely nothing the UN General Assembly does matters.
Representatives of 84 countries voted in favor, and 19 countries voted against, including Russia, China, Belarus, Hungary and Cuba. Representatives of 68 countries abstained from voting.

Russia previously spoke out against the adoption of this resolution. On May 23, the Russian permanent representative to the UN, Vasily Nebenzya, called the voting results disgraceful and noted that the initiators of the resolution were pushing the people of Bosnia and Herzegovina towards confrontation.

As Regnum reported, on May 5, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that the draft resolution on the events in Srebrenica submitted by Germany and Rwanda to the UN General Assembly was being promoted with the goal of “breaking the Serbs.” The project involves condemning only one side, Lavrov noted. Russia has previously blocked similar draft resolutions in the UN Security Council, the minister recalled.

On April 30, Nebenzya stated that the draft resolution violated the Dayton Agreement. The possible adoption of the initiative would have a disastrous effect on Bosnia and Herzegovina and could lead to destabilization of the entire Balkan region, he said. Nebenzya stressed that the people of Bosnia and Herzegovina must independently come to a consensus regarding their history.

Over the past year, the Serbian entity within Bosnia and Herzegovina has faced unprecedented pressure due to its refusal to impose anti-Russian sanctions, give up its powers to Sarajevo and join NATO, noted IA Regnum columnist Bogdan Kis in his article. This pushes the President of the Republika Srpska Milorad Dodik and his circle to serious actions that the collective West does not like, but brings the republic closer to a historic decision, the expert emphasized.

On May 23, Dodik announced that within 30 days the republic would present a project for the peaceful division of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Serbian people can no longer live in Bosnia and Herzegovina in its current form, Dodik emphasized.

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Europe

A new state friendly to Russia may appear in Europe

2024-04-21

Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
by Bogdan Kish

[REGNUM] The pressure faced by the Republika Srpska is pushing President Milorad Dodik and his circle to serious actions that are not to the liking of the collective West, but bring it closer to a historic solution.

Criminal cases, foreign interference, threats and blackmail - over the past year, the Serbian entity within Bosnia and Herzegovina has faced unprecedented pressure due to its refusal to impose anti-Russian sanctions, give up its powers to Sarajevo and join NATO.

Milorad Dodik has repeatedly stated that the Serbian people in Bosnia and Herzegovina have several “red lines”, if they cross them, the region will face serious consequences. If the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FBiH), with the help of the West, tries to “push” Banja Luka on a number of issues, including imposing anti-Serbian laws and recognizing the resolution on Srebrenica, the Serbs may declare independence.

But such an announcement is not the most difficult decision, unlike the pressure that is expected after. The main question is: will Banja Luka be able to survive?

REPRESENTATIVE DESTROYER
After the civil war, peace never came to Bosnia and Herzegovina. In the West, they decided to forcibly keep three peoples within one state, albeit divided into two parts - the Republika Srpska and the Muslim-Croat Federation of BiH.

Since 1995, the country has introduced the position of High Representative, who is responsible for monitoring the implementation of the Dayton Peace Treaty. To say that all representatives vested with practically unlimited power worked against the Republika Srpska is an understatement.

However, I would like to dwell separately on the current High Representative, German politician Christian Schmidt, who was mired in scandals in his homeland and sent to Bosnia and Herzegovina into a kind of exile. His appointment is not recognized by Republika Srpska, Russia, or China, since his powers were not confirmed by the UN Security Council.

However, the lack of a UN Security Council mandate does not prevent Schmidt, who is actively supported by official Berlin and the US and British embassies, from pursuing a de facto anti-Serbian policy. The fact that Schmidt “wouldn’t work” with the Republika Srpska became clear when he insisted on implementing the “Law on Denial of Genocide in Srebrenica,” which not only prohibited denial, but also punished it with a prison term.

Republika Srpska, naturally, does not recognize either the law or the fact of genocide. In this regard, in August 2023, the prosecutor's office of Bosnia and Herzegovina brought charges against the president of the republic under the law on “failure to comply with decisions of the Constitutional Court and the High Representative.”

The confrontation between Schmidt and Dodik reached a new level when the High Representative, not recognized by many, tried to impose the “Electoral Law” and the “Property Law.”

The first assumed that the Central Election Commission (CEC) of BiH would have more rights and opportunities to influence the electoral process throughout the country, and the second - that all the property of the entities - from natural resources to government buildings - would belong to Sarajevo.

Both laws directly violate the Dayton Accords, which Schmidt is supposed to be enforcing. The innovations caused a strong reaction in Banja Luka, which stated that it not only does not recognize the imposition of such laws, but is also ready to consider the possibility of leaving BiH.

And recently, to these two “red lines” a third was added - work on a UN resolution on the genocide in Srebrenica.

“BOSNIA MAY NOT SURVIVE THE RESOLUTION”
In March, it became known that the Bosniak part of the Bosnia and Herzegovina mission to the UN was independently, without a decision from the BiH Presidency, working on a new resolution on Srebrenica. It is due to be presented at the UN General Assembly on May 2.

According to the draft resolution being prepared, July 11 will be declared “international day of genocide in Srebrenica”, the Serbian people will be called responsible for the genocide, and reparations may be demanded from the Republika Srpska and Serbia. Political pressure on the entity will also increase.

Despite the fact that such a resolution is not binding, a “sediment,” as they say, will remain. Moreover, neither the Germans, nor the British, nor the Spaniards, nor the Croats, etc. were not found responsible for genocide, despite proven crimes against humanity.

Just as the mass killings of Serbs in the concentration camps of Jasenovac, Jastrebarsko, Banica, and the executions in Kragujevac and Kraljevo were not declared genocide.

It is worth recalling that this is not the first attempt to assign such responsibility to the Serbs. In 2015, at the UN Security Council, the UK did everything to adopt a similar resolution, but then it was blocked by Russia.

The Russian “no” and the raised hand of the late permanent representative Vitaly Churkin saved the Serbian people from the stigma and again reminded Belgrade who its main ally is. The Russian diplomat himself received more than one monument in Serbia and the Republika Srpska for this decision.

And now nine years later, the West is again trying to adopt an anti-Serbian resolution, but not in the UN Security Council, but through the General Assembly, where no one has the right of veto.

Why now? Relations between Republika Srpska and Russia are at their peak. Milorad Dodik and Vladimir Putin presented each other with state awards, bilateral relations are developing in all directions. Banja Luka demonstratively refuses to introduce anti-Russian sanctions, which saves the whole of BiH from the status of an unfriendly country, and also blocks BiH’s entry into NATO.

Pressure on the Republika Srpska is also pressure on Serbia, which supports the Serbs on the other side of the Drina in everything. Belgrade and Banja Luka are Russia's only friends in the Balkans. This prevents the West from completely controlling the region and drawing the republics into NATO.

President Milorad Dodik has repeatedly called on the Bosniaks not to provoke the situation and not to incite ethnic hatred, since “Bosnia and Herzegovina may not survive the resolution.” According to the head of the RS, the Serbs see no point in continuing to live in the same country with those who consider their people guilty of genocide.

“Don't do this because it is not conducive to life in Bosnia and Herzegovina. This will not unite us, but will separate us forever. We do not want to live with those who say that the Serbian people are “genocidal”. We don’t want to live with you and we won’t live in the same country with you,” Dodik emphasized.

On April 18, a rally called “R. Serbia is calling you,” where the top leadership of the entity, as well as the Prime Minister and ministers from Serbia, were present. Several tens of thousands of Serbs from both sides of the Drina gathered in the square and presented a united front against the resolution on Srebrenica.

In addition, the Serbs do not understand why they should mourn the victims of others, while no one even remembers their losses for more than 30 years, which certainly does not contribute to reconciliation. From the stage, politicians declared that the national idea of the Serbs from Serbia and Republika Srpska is unification. The people supported.

Naturally, the brightest speaker was Milorad Dodik, who said : “Serbia is our land, our state. If it were God’s will, constitutional and any other justice, we would be an integral part of Serbia, and not this crap called Bosnia and Herzegovina.”

Hints of an imminent declaration of independence are heard more and more often in Banja Luka. And Republika Srpska is not limited to just words.

NOT BY RALLIES ALONE
On April 18, the Republika Srpska parliament adopted the report of an independent international commission. At one time, Banja Luka asked her for help in investigating the events in Srebrenica and the surrounding area in order to prove that accusations of genocide were lies. The group was led by the famous Israeli historian and “Nazi hunter” Gideon Greif.

According to the commission's findings, during the entire period of the war from 1992 to 1995, 3,741 people died in the Srebrenica region, more than 2,500 of them were Serbs. The National Assembly of the RS supports the point of view expressed in the conclusions of the commission and confirms that the term “genocide” for Srebrenica is incorrect and cannot be accepted.

At the same time, Parliament expresses its respect to the victims of the tragic conflict in Bosnia and Herzegovina and their families and condemns the war crimes committed by all parties.

The report of the commission led by Greif is the only legitimate document that recognizes the Serbian entity.

Banja Luka also adopted its own law, which provides for the holding of municipal and republican elections. “We will return what belongs to us,” Dodik said.

Thus, the Republika Srpska actually ousted the Central Election Commission of BiH from its territory, and the Serbs working in this body resigned. This is how Banja Luka wants to protect itself from interference in the elections from Sarajevo.

If the resolution on Srebrenica is adopted, the Republika Srpska will not stop there and will return all its powers that were given by the Dayton Peace Agreement. Powers that, over the years, have effectively been taken away by Sarajevo and the West, using various pressures - from threats to personal sanctions.

The list of initial powers belonging to the Dayton Republic includes the return of the army, jurisdiction in the fields of justice, energy, government procurement, tax policy, border control, the electoral process, and so on.

In fact, Republika Srpska may soon become a full-fledged and independent state within the borders of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and then, possibly, beyond them.

The West continues to rely on Sarajevo in attempts to create a unitary Bosnia, which will oppose Russia, join NATO, and move away from Serbia. Republika Srpska does not see any point in continuing to coexist with the Federation of BiH within the framework of an artificially created state.

Milorad Dodik has made this clear with his latest statements. Given the seriousness of his intentions and the noticeably tougher rhetoric, Banja Luka clearly has an action plan and, apparently, support outside the entity.

One thing is for sure - in the near future the Balkans will not let the world get bored again.

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US fighter jets to fly over Bosnia in show of support for country as it faces secession threats

2024-01-09

[FoxNews] The bilateral training showcases advanced military cooperation, according to the US Embassy.

Two U.S. fighter jets are set to fly over Bosnia on Monday in a demonstration of support for the Balkan country's integrity in the face of increasingly secessionist policies of the Bosnian Serb pro-Russia leader Milorad Dodik.

The U.S. Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcons will fly as part of joint air-to-ground training involving American and Bosnian forces. The flyovers will take part in the regions of the eastern town of Tuzla and northern Brcko, according to a statement from the U.S. Embassy in Sarajevo.

"This bilateral training is an example of advanced military-to-military cooperation that contributes to peace and security in the Western Balkans as well as demonstrates the United States’ commitment to ensuring the territorial integrity of BiH (Bosnia-Herzegovina) in the face of ... secessionist activity," the statement said.

"The United States has underscored that the BiH (Bosnia-Herzegovina) Constitution provides no right of secession, and it will act if anyone tries to change this basic element" of the Dayton peace agreements that ended the 1992-95 war in the country, the statement added.

The ethnic conflict in the 1990s erupted because Bosnia's Serbs wanted to create their own state and join neighboring Serbia. More than 100,000 people were killed before the war ended in a U.S.-brokered peace accord that created Serb and Bosniak-Croat entities held together by joint institutions.

Dodik, who is the president of the Serb entity called Republika Srpska, has defied U.S. and British sanctions over his policies. Backed by Russia, he has repeatedly threatened to split the Serb-run half from the rest of Bosnia.

On Tuesday, Dodik's government plans to hold a celebration of a controversial national holiday that Bosnia's top court has declared unlawful. On Jan. 9, 1992, Bosnian Serbs proclaimed the creation of an independent state in Bosnia, which led to the bloodshed.

Dodik has dismissed the U.S. jets' flyover, ironically saying it would contribute to Tuesday's celebrations, which routinely include a parade of armed police and their equipment.

The U.S. Embassy said that the mission also will be supported by a KC-135 Stratotanker that will provide aerial refuelling for the F-16s.

"U.S. aircraft will return to base immediately following mission completion," it said. "The ability to rapidly deploy, reach a target and return home demonstrates the United States’ ability to project power anywhere at a moment’s notice and operate alongside Allies and partners."

Western countries fear that Russia could try to stir trouble in the Balkans to avert attention from the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which was launched by Moscow nearly two years ago. The U.S. Embassy statement said that "Bosnia and Herzegovina is a key U.S. partner with a shared goal in regional stability."

Bosnia is seeking entry into the European Union, but the effort has been stalled because of slow reform and inner divisions.

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After defeats in Ukraine and Africa, the European Union is trying to win back in Serbia

2023-12-07

Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
by Bogdan Kish

[REGNUM] Early parliamentary elections will take place in Serbia on December 17. The position of the current government is strong, but the pro-Western opposition, not without outside help, intends to seriously compete for the majority in parliament and turn Belgrade towards the West.

Due to its political position of neutrality and geographical location, Serbia is forced to constantly balance between the United States and the EU on the one hand, and Russia and China on the other. Therefore, elections here have always attracted increased attention from both the West and the East. However, this year the early parliamentary elections are attracting increased interest, primarily in Brussels.

Against the background of the failed Ukrainian “counter-offensive”, the reduction of financial and military-technical assistance to Kyiv, the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and the economic crisis, the European Union is extremely interested in “stability” in the Balkans. By which is meant complete subordination to Brussels.

Serbia has recently been a bone in the throat for the EU and the US, as it does not recognize Kosovo even under pressure and does not impose anti-Russian sanctions. Considering that both the United States and the EU are facing elections in 2024, the West is trying to close the “Serbian issue” as soon as possible.

For the Western average, the presidential elections in the States and the elections to the European Parliament are more important than affairs “on the periphery of Europe,” so European and American politicians are trying to earn at least some political points by “settling” the situation in Serbia. They understand the complexity of the situation in Belgrade and are doing everything possible to prevent a united pro-Western coalition from coming to power.

BETS ON VICTORY
Predicting election results under such foreign political pressure and with a large number of domestic political problems is a thankless task. That is why, in general, it was not “independent,” pro-government or near-state structures that took up the task of compiling forecasts and figures, but bookmakers.

In Serbia, this is more than just entertainment and a profitable business, it is a kind of state within a state. Therefore, in general, there is practically no doubt in their assessment of the approximate prospects of political forces.

According to a joint analysis of the portal 192.rs and the bookmaker MeridianBet, the current government, represented by the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS), has the greatest chances of winning and forming a majority in parliament. The SNA, led by Defense Minister Milos Vucevic , is projected to win approximately 42.5% of the vote.

Next comes the pro-Western coalition “Serbia against violence” (SPN), led by Miroslav Aleksic - 21.3%. Third place goes to the coalition led by the Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS) of Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic - 10.2%. The supposedly pro-Russian coalition, consisting of the Dveri and Zavetnica parties ( Boško Obradović and Milica Đurđević ), will receive approximately 6.2% of the vote. They are followed by the NADA coalition with Milos Jovanovic - 5.4%.

Vuk Jeremic's People's Party and the coalition led by ex-President Boris Tadic will each gain less than 3%.

At the same time, the population is not very interested in the current elections. Bookmakers for the parliamentary elections are predicting turnout at 53.5%, a drop from the 2022 election, when it was 58.6%.

As practice shows, over the past 10 years, not a single party has been able to compete with the coalition of the SNS and the Union of Right Forces. Judging by the first forecasts, we should not expect any big changes and the power in Serbia will not change.

Yes, the position of the Serbian Progressive Party has deteriorated greatly in recent years, but it still remains the most popular in the country. Moreover, the SNS, as has happened more than once, will be able to agree with the Socialist Party of Serbia on the formation of a majority, especially against the backdrop of the strengthening position of the pro-Western opposition “Serbia against violence.” At the same time, the SPN will obviously have problems forming a coalition after the elections.

The pro-Russian opposition, represented by the Dveri and Zavetnitsa parties, is not ready to move towards rapprochement with pro-Western forces because of their position on Kosovo and Metohija, Russia and NATO. However, these forces have neither the unity, nor the influence, nor the great trust of citizens to claim a serious result. Therefore, for them, third or fourth place in the elections and getting into parliament will be considered a success.

For Serbia Against Violence, the Serbs from Republika Srpska, located in Bosnia, are a big problem. Their leader Milorad Dodik openly called for voting against the pro-Western coalition, since it would first recognize the “genocide” in Srebrenica and turn away from Banja Luka to please the West.

“The most important thing for Republika Srpska is that Serbia remains strong, and in order to remain strong, it must not fall into the hands of auto chauvinists ,” he said. According to Dodik, there are many people on the list of this coalition who believe that the Republika Srpska should not exist, therefore they are not political opponents, but enemies.

Considering that many residents of Republika Srpska, including the top leadership of the entity, have Serbian passports, they will provide a large number of votes to other parties. The situation is similar with the Serbs in Montenegro. They oppose the SPN because this coalition will forget about the Serbian diaspora, which has been struggling for existence for 30 years against the backdrop of ever-increasing Serbophobia.

GROSCHEL COMMISSION
The greatest interest in the elections in Serbia is shown by Western embassies and directly by the United States and Germany. The duty speaker on the topic of elections is US Ambassador to Serbia Christopher Hill , who since the 90s of the last century has been seen in ties with Albanian militants from the terrorist Kosovo Liberation Army. Hill said being ambassador to Serbia during an election campaign is a special challenge, but he is not interested in interfering in the election process.

At the same time, the American ambassador regularly makes anti-Russian statements and calls on Serbia to focus on cooperation with the West: “It is completely unrealistic to maintain good relations with Moscow, which has created huge problems and thereby made it clear to everyone what should be done . ”

The EU also decided that it was impossible to remain on the sidelines. Therefore, Brussels decided to send a commission to Serbia to monitor the elections. An eight-member European Parliament delegation, led by Slovenian Klemen Grošelj , will ensure a “celebration of democracy.”

At the same time, Groschel is an extremely interesting character.

The Slovenian had previously strongly opposed early parliamentary elections and stated that they would be rigged in favor of the current government. According to him, the mission in Serbia will be “listening, observing, holding many meetings with all stakeholders and civil society.”

True, the head of the European delegation, even before his election to this position, “listened and observed” and even met with representatives of the Serbian opposition. He also has his own favorites on the Serbian political landscape. Groshel recently visited Belgrade, met with the Free Citizens Movement and openly supported this party.

“DSG is a political force that stands for a modern and democratic Serbia, which should become a full member of the European Union. They have my full support,” Groschel noted in September.

A politician from Slovenia previously stated that the American and European policy of “appeasing Vucic” is to blame for the situation in Serbia. The US and EU allegedly turned a blind eye to his “undemocratic domestic political steps” in exchange for resolving the issue of relations with Kosovo. He called Serbia “ a country completely captured by the ruling regime, in which there are not the slightest conditions for any criticism of the government either from the opposition or from the media.”

Obviously, it would be a stretch to call Groschel objective. Moreover, in addition to the Slovenian, the delegation will include the European Parliament rapporteur on Serbia, Vladimir Bilchik, as well as Andreas Schieder , who said before the elections in Montenegro that “our friend Milo Djukanovic is the best presidential candidate.”

The West gave the Albanians carte blanche to terrorize the Kosovo Serbs
It is especially interesting that the German Viola von Cramon , one of the main critics of Serbia and a member of the German parliament from the Greens, is mentioned as one of the members of the commission . This party, in the midst of the election campaign, hosted representatives of the “Serbia against violence” list in the Bundestag at a rally entitled “Serbia before the elections - between autocracy and democratic awakening.”

Thus, “Serbia against violence” will have the strongest support not only from Western countries, but also from a number of Western and pro-Western media in Serbia and the region.

Regardless of the outcome of the elections, enormous pressure will be exerted on the current government, and any pro-Serbian (pro-Russian) opposition will be marginalized by the “free” media to please Brussels and Washington.

The SNA in a coalition with the SPS will still be able to form a majority, but in this case the pressure on Belgrade will increase exponentially, which will complicate Belgrade’s already fragile neutrality and defending its position on Kosovo and Metohija.

Europe, against the backdrop of a series of defeats in Ukraine, the Transcaucasus and Africa, will put pressure on Serbia for political points before the upcoming elections, in order to somehow justify itself to its voters and prove that the EU still has authority.

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Europe

Bosnian Muslim commander acquitted of war crimes

2017-10-14

This isn't setting well with Bosnians and Serb, nor with the Russian who see this as a man being acquitted based on his ethnic background.
[RFERL] A court in Bosnia-Herzegovina has acquitted Naser Oric, the commander of Bosnian Muslim troops in the Srebrenica area during Bosnia's 1990s conflict, of war crimes charges.

The state war crimes court in Sarajevo acquitted Oric, 50, of the charge of killing three ethnic Serb prisoners of war in the Srebrenica area in 1992.

Another Bosnian Army soldier, Sabahudin Muhic, was also found not guilty.

"The accused Naser Oric and Sabahudin Muhic have been acquitted of charges of violating provisions of the Geneva Conventions," Judge Saban Maksumic told the court.

The judge said that the testimony of a protected witness, which was crucial to the indictment, lacked credibility.

Relatives of the victims walked out the courtroom in protest against the verdict, which also sparked outrage from the leader of Bosnian Serbs and Belgrade.

"I have nothing to say, the court said what it had to say," Oric said after leaving the tribunal as he was welcomed by supporters.

Oric is seen as a hero by many Bosniaks for his role in defending Muslims during the 1992-95 Bosnian war, in which more than 100,000 people were killed.

Srebrenica fell in 1995 to Bosnian Serb troops who killed more than 8,000 Muslim men and boys there in what is considered Europe's worst atrocity since World War II.

In 1995, the U.S.-brokered Dayton accords mostly ended the violence, with Bosnia being split into two entities -- the Muslim-Croat Federation of Bosnian Muslims and Croats and the ethnic Serb-dominated Republika Srpska.

Republika Srpska's nationalist leader, President Milorad Dodik, said the verdict was "proof that in Bosnia there is no punishment for criminals [committing crimes] against Serbs."

He suggested that the ruling will likely "revive the idea of holding a referendum" on ethnic Serbs' participation in Bosnia's judicial bodies.

Vinko Lale, the head of an association of Serbian prisoners of war, told AFP news agency that Oric's acquittal will "radicalize the situation on the political field."

Meanwhile, the chairman of Bosnia's three-man presidency, Dragan Covic, a Bosnian Croat, said negative rhetoric over the case could be a setback for the country's progress.

In neighboring Serbia, Justice Minister Nela Kuburovic called the ruling "shameful," while Defense Minister Vulin accused the Sarajevo court of "jeopardizing peace, security, trust, reconciliation in the whole Balkans."

The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in The Hague (ICTY) sentenced Oric to two years in prison in 2006 for failing to prevent the murder and inhumane treatment of Serbian prisoners, but he was immediately released because he had already served the time.

In 2008, the UN court's appeals chamber overturned the verdict and cleared Oric.

Unhappy with the ex-commander’s acquittal, Belgrade in 2014 launched an international warrant over the killing of nine Serb civilians near Srebrenica in 1992.

Switzerland arrested Oric in 2015 on the warrant issued by Serbia but extradited him to Bosnia to face charges, a decision that caused anger in Belgrade. His trial started in Sarajevo in January 2016.
With reporting by AFP, Reuters, and BalkanInsight

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Europe

Bosnia Arrests Suspect after 'Islamist' Attack on Police

2015-04-29

[AnNahar] Bosnian police tossed in the calaboose
Drop the rod and step away witcher hands up!
two people on Tuesday after a suspected Islamist gunman attacked a cop shoppe, killing one officer and wounding two others.

Shouting "Allahu Akbar" (God is greatest), the attacker opened fire Monday evening on the station in the eastern town of Zvornik before being killed in a shootout with police.

Bosnian police were on high alert for further attacks, with elite units deployed to Zvornik, as media reports spoke of a possible link to arrests in Australia over an Anzac Day plot.

Officials said the assailant, identified as 24-year-old Nerdin Ibric, was believed to have links to the hardline Islamist Wahhabi movement.

Intelligence services last week received information about a planned attack, but no details of when and where it would take place, Security Minister Dragan Mektic told news hounds.

"We now need to confirm if there is a link between that information and this event," he said.

The first suspect arrested Tuesday, identified only as A.F.H., came from the same village as the attacker, near Zvornik in Republika Srpska, the Serb-run part of Bosnia, local Interior Minister Dragan Lukac said.

"This is a person who had been previously interrogated in connection with departures to fight in Syria and also with the Wahhabi movement," Lukac was quoted by local radio as saying.

The second suspect was identified as K.M. from the northeastern town of Kalesija, police said, but gave no further details.

Private television TV1 said the first suspect had been in Syria last year and was briefly arrested in September as part of a probe into holy warrior groups. He had close ties to Ibric, it said.

Some 150 Bosnians are believed to have joined jihadist groups fighting in Iraq and Syria, with 50 others believed to have already returned to Bosnia from Middle East battlefields, according to the intelligence services.

- Possible Dire Revenge attacks -
State-run FTV television, quoting intelligence sources, said the information about a possible plot had been received after the arrest of men of Bosnian origin accused of planning attacks in Australia.

It said the intelligence agency had warned that "terrorist attacks in Bosnia were possible in Dire Revenge."

Two men were arrested in Melbourne on terrorism charges on April 18 for allegedly planning an Islamic State
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems....
-inspired attack against police at Anzac Day commemorations honoring soldiers who fought and died for Australia.

Monday's attack is believed to be the first of its kind in Bosnian Serb territory but there have been similar incidents in other parts of the country.

Republika Srpska president Milorad Dodik said it was "clear" the attacker had "religious and terrorist" motives.

"I fear this could be the beginning of much worse events in the whole of Bosnia," Lukac warned.

Relations between Bosnia's Serbs -- who are mostly Orthodox Christian -- and Moslems have remained tense since the end of the 1992-1995 war among the country's Serb, Moslem and Croat communities.

Local media reported that Ibric's father was among 750 Moslems taken away and killed by Bosnian Serb forces in Zvornik in 1992.

Since the war, Bosnia has been split into two semi-independent entities -- Republika Srpska and the Moslem-Croat Federation, each with its own government.

- 'Terrorism spreading' -
Mektic said terrorism had become "a serious problem" in Bosnia.

"We need to use all our capacity to stop this terrorism that has been spreading in Bosnia," he said. "Either we defeat terrorism or it will defeat us."

Moslems make up 40 percent of Bosnia's 3.8 million inhabitants. The vast majority practice a moderate form of Islam but Islamist holy warriors have made their presence felt before.

In October 2011, an Islamist radical opened fire on the U.S. embassy in Sarajevo, wounding a policeman before being injured himself and arrested.

In June the previous year, an holy warrior set off an bomb at a cop shoppe in the central town of Bugojno, killing one officer and wounding six others.

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Europe

As U.S. shrugs, Bosnia lurches toward disaster again

2010-04-24

Nearly a year after Vice President Joe Biden flew here to reassure Bosnians that the U.S. was back and would try to help overhaul their dysfunctional made-in-U.S.A. political system, ethnic tensions are rising again, morale has fallen and people are wondering: Whatever happened to Biden? For Bosnians, whose country was largely destroyed by the ethnic warfare in the 1990s that marked the breakup of Yugoslavia, with Christian Orthodox Serbs killing as many as 100,000 Muslim and Croat civilians, it's been a year of disappointment as the U.S. has become more disengaged and distant.

"I was encouraged by his coming here. Biden was always a man of principle," an exasperated Haris Silajdzic, the Muslim chairman of the collective presidency that presides over this fractious, stagnating multi-ethnic state, told McClatchy. "I do not know what his responsibilities are now."
Biden himself doesn't know what his responsibilities are, for heaven's sake.

Mr. Biden is the vice president of the United States of America. He therefore has no responsibilities, although he may choose to take on such tasks as the president of the United States may ask him to do. President Obama is smart enough not to ask him to do very much.

Bosnians expected the U.S. to be "more active and stronger in their efforts," said Sulejman Tihic, the leader of the Muslim opposition Party for Democratic Action. "They are showing less interest. They are turning over the responsibilities to Europe, which is too complex a place and cannot define its policy."
Having high expectations of Obama and Biden may be part of the problem.
Biden didn't respond to requests from McClatchy for comment. Aides said he was busy overseeing U.S. policy in Iraq and other issues
oh brother!
and wasn't following Balkan affairs closely.

For which all involved should be profoundly grateful. Except the Iraqis, who are doubtless quite envious.

Instead, he's handed matters to the State Department, which for the past six months has promoted a faltering diplomatic initiative.

The biggest worry in Sarajevo, the historic melting-pot capital in a country renowned for ~~being a powderkeg~~ its tolerance of minorities, is that ethnic Serbs, who control the autonomous part of the country known as Republika Srpska, will hold a referendum that leads to secession. That could spell the end of Bosnia. Srpska Prime Minister Milorad Dodik, who came to power with U.S. backing, has spoken of the "peaceful dissolution" of the Bosnian state and has openly disparaged the international community's top representative in Sarajevo.

Bosnian political leaders warn of bloodshed if Dodik carries out his threat. "It is not possible to divide this country in a peaceful way," Tihic said. "Any real attempt like that will definitely lead us towards a new conflict." He also said that the Muslim-Croat entity that Dayton created is "much stronger" than Dodik's forces in the Republika Srpska are. Stipe Mesic, a former president of Croatia, warned recently that Croatia would intervene if Dodik carries out his threats.

A top State Department official on a recent visit here described the situation as "deteriorating but not a crisis." He offered no plan to prevent the breakup of the Bosnian state, but said that if Srpska seceded, it would be "an independent statelet without a friend," similar to Abkhazia, a state that broke away from the former Soviet republic of Georgia after Russia's 2008 military intervention. The official spoke only on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the subject. Russia is the principal supporter of Abkhaz independence, and the Kremlin also backs Dodik, who's visited Moscow several times.

Last October, Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg and European Union envoy Carl Bildt attempted to launch a diplomatic initiative at Sarajevo's Butmir airport. Its contents were tailored to Dodik's demands, but he rejected them outright and scurried off to Belgrade, the Serbian capital, for talks with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.

In fact, Dodik later derided the U.S.-European plan as a "total failure, unnecessary adventure," and even many of his critics have dismissed the Butmir talks as an ill-prepared fiasco. Steinberg has visited Sarajevo four times but come up empty-handed, and with presidential and parliamentary elections looming here in October, no one expects progress anytime soon.

As a result of the rejection by Dodik, Silajdzic and other Bosnian politicians, the U.S. and Europe withdrew a series of inducements. Tihic said the two parties had promised an invitation to join NATO, a lifting of visa restrictions for travel to EU countries and candidate status for membership in the EU if all parties agreed to the U.S.-European plan. Meanwhile, Serbia was moving faster, gaining a lifting of visa restrictions and an invitation to take the first steps to join the EU -- a boon to Bosnian Serbs, many of whom have Serbian passports, and a punishment to Bosnian Muslims, who have no country other than Bosnia.

There was a respite in the gloom Thursday, when NATO foreign ministers who were meeting in Tallinn, Estonia, agreed, with conditions, to invite Bosnia to prepare for membership. The invitation, however, didn't address how a frail state whose constitution promotes ethnic rights over citizens' rights can gain the full sovereignty and stability needed to join the European Union, especially when Srpska can veto actions that would be necessary to fulfill NATO's conditions.

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Bosnia: Muslim leader's UN speech sparks controversy

2008-09-25

(AKI) - A Muslim member of Bosnia's rotating presidency has provoked a controversy after demanding the abolition of the Serb entity, Republika Srpska, and correcting what he called 'war errors', during his speech before the United Nations.

Haris Silajdzic, who currently chairs Bosnia's three-man rotating state presidency, told the General Assembly on Tuesday that the RS was "created by genocide in Bosnia-Herzegovina".

Silajdzic also added that the "UN should correct the errors made during the war in Bosnia and send a clear message that the genocide will not be rewarded".

The statement provoked immediate condemnation by Bosnian Serb leaders who called for an emergency meeting of the RS Parliament to take a position on Silajdzic's speech. The session was set for 7 October, but RS opposition parties said it was an intolerably late date.

According to the Dayton peace accords which ended the 1992-1995 civil war, Bosnia was divided into two entities, the RS and a Muslim-Croat Federation with most state prerogatives. But majority Muslims and the international community have been pushing for the abolition of entities and the creation of a strong central government.

RS Prime Minister Milorad Dodik said Silajdzic's speech represented his own views, and not those of the presidency, comprising Muslim, Serb and Croat representatives. Dodik accused Silajdzic of "trying to devalue any attempts of a consensus in Bosnia-Herzegovina", saying Muslim political parties have started "an orchestrated campaign to destroy the Dayton agreement and the RS".

Silajdzic has spearheaded the campaign since the International Court of Justice ruled last year that Bosnian Serb forces committed genocide in the eastern town of Srebrenica in July 1995, when up to 8,000 Muslims were killed.

Dodik responded that Bosnian Serbs would not accept the abolition of the RS or revision of the Dayton accords, but would sooner resort to a referendum on independence.

Silajdzic, on the other hand, said that the present situation amounted to "ethnic apartheid in Bosnia-Herzegovina" and was intolerable.

The high representative of the international community in Bosnia, Miroslav Lajcak, criticised Bosnian political leaders of tending only to their parties' interests, instead of those of the state. "I have seen only twice in my life the atmosphere like the one between Sarajevo and Banja Luka (RS's capital)," said the Slovak diplomat. "The first time it was in relations between Bratislava and Prague, and the second between Belgrade and Podgorica," Lajcak said, referring to the separation of the Czech Republic and Slovakia and Serbia and Montenegro.

"We all know how it ended," Lajcak concluded.

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Bosnia: Serb leader threatens dissolution of country

2007-08-29

(AKI) Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik has warned that Bosnia-Herzegovina could be dissolved if Muslim leaders do not stop attacking Serb entity Republika Srpska (RS) and demanding its abolition. RS must be respected and we will respect others as much as they respect us, Dodik said on Monday.

The controversial RS prime minister said he wasnt afraid of threats by the high representative of the international community in Bosnia, Miroslav Lajcak, to sanction him for his statements which allegedly undermine the countrys constitutional system and the Dayton peace accord. "Bosnia-Herzegovina is a Dayton construction, based on an agreement which I respect, but whether it will last, or how long, doesnt depend on me but on many others, he said. I dont want to go to Sarajevo in a manner which would be humiliating for RS. "If someone wants to talk to us, it must be based on partnership relations, he added.

Under the Dayton peace accord, Bosnia was divided into two entities, RS and a Muslim Croat federation, but the international community which safeguards peace in Bosnia has stripped entities of most state powers for the sake of strengthening the central government.

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