The situation in Bosnia Herzegovina (debate)
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Updated 2 years ago
Political situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina 'more worrying than ever'.
EU's foreign policy chief Borrell appealed to the responsibility of the political leaders in Bosnia and Herzegovina "to prevent the country from breaking up". The European Union's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell has said that he's deeply concerned about tensions in Bosnia and Herzegovina and has appealed to leaders there to avoid the breakup of the Balkan country.
“The situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina is more worrying than ever. It was never easy, but now the centrifugal tendencies are really very worrying," Borrell said at an annual security conference in Munich on Sunday.
Borrell said he had been in contact with Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik “to ask him to recall his duty to participate in the common institutions" of the country.
“I appeal to the responsibility of the political leaders of Bosnia-Herzegovina to avoid the breakup of the country,” Borrell said.
“I can assure you that, in close contact with the United States, I and Secretary of State (Antony) Blinken have issued a very serious warning. We will not accept the breakup and disintegration of #Bosnia and #Herzegovina," Borrell said.
Last month, the Biden administration announced new sanctions against Dodik, who has for years been advocating that the Serb-run part of Bosnia leave the rest of the country and unite with neighbouring Serbia.
'Corrupt activities'
Bosnia Serbs have been pushing for creating their own tax collection system, judiciary and even the armed forces which have been run centrally so far. The US accused Dodik of “corrupt activities” that threaten to destabilise the region and undermine a US-brokered peace accord from more than 25 years ago.
The #Dayton Peace Accord ended #Bosnia’s #war, which killed more than 100,000 people and left millions homeless in the worst carnage in Europe since World War II. The accord established two separate governing entities in Bosnia - one run by Bosnia’s Serbs and the other dominated by the country’s Bosniaks and Croats.
BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA: THE EU MUST ADOPT TARGETED SANCTIONS AGAINST THE SECESSIONISTS
The European Union’s High Representative for Foreign Policy, Josep Borrell, expressed concern over the political situation in Bosnia, where suspected secessionist plans by the country’s Serbian entity have raised fears of a return to the dark years of communal conflict, Belga News Agency reports.
The political situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina is increasingly tense, with nationalist and separatist rhetoric and activism continuing to threaten peace, stability and the country’s integrity, as well as undermining the functioning of its state institutions.
Tensions have risen in recent months in Bosnia, which is made up of two entities – the Republic of Srpska and a Croat-Muslim federation – united by a central state, under an agreement 25 years ago that ended Europe’s worst bloodshed since World War II, a civil war that killed over 100,000 people and left millions homeless.
The 1995 Dayton Peace Accord established two separate governing entities in Bosnia, one run Bosnian Serbs, and the other led by the country other two ethnic groups, Croats and Muslims. The two entities are linked by shared, state-wide institutions, and actions at the national level require a consensus among all three ethnic groups. The country tripartite presidency is made up of one representative from each group.
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