By Valerie Hopkins
"The President of Bosnia's Republika Srpska has announced that he will not proceed with a planned referendum on state institutions in Bosnia and Herzegovina. His announcement came after a Friday morning meeting with European Union envoy Catherine Ashton.
"The referendum on laws imposed by the High Representative, particularly on the Court and the Prosecutor's Office, is not necessary," said Republika Srpska President Milorad Dodik in a joint press conference with the EU High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.
The referendum, which was set to take place in June, planned to ask citizens of Bosnia's predominantly Serb entity whether or not they support decisions made by the Office of the High Representative, or OHR, the International mediator in charge of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The referendum was set to specifically target the State Court and the Prosecutors Office, the country's only central judicial institutions, which were established by international mandate in 2003. The Republika Srpska has accused the judicial institutions of unfairly processing war crimes that occurred during Bosnia's 1992-1995 war,prosecuting more Bosnian Serbs than Bosnian Muslims or Croats, while not investigating crimes against the Serb population.
“We will have to wait until we get the full report from Banja Luka to understand the full line of reasoning for this decision,” Turkish Ambassador to Bosnia Vefahan Ocak, speaking on Dodik’s decision to cancel the referendum, told the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review.
Dodik said at the press conference that in light of the high level engagement of the EU to examine Republika Srpska concerns over judicial institutions, he was sure that the Republika Srpska's parliamentary body, the National Assembly, would support his decision.
During their joint press conference, Ashton stressed that the EU is willing to engage in frank discussions with the Republika Srpska and the judicial institutions.
Ocak said that it remains to be seen what strings, if any, will accompany this decision to annul the referendum.
“If this was a freestanding decision, this is exactly what needed to be done, but that is if it is a free standing decision,” he said.
Averting a crisis
During their joint press conference, Ashton stressed that the EU is willing to engage in frank discussions with the Republika Srpska and the judicial institutions.
“We consider that any legitimate issues require an adequate response,” said Ashton, announcing that EU Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Fule will chair the first 'structured dialogue' on the topic in Banja Luka, the seat of the Republika Srpska government.
Friday's meeting came the day after Inzko's deadline for Dodik to annul the referendum or face consequences, which included freezing Dodik’s assets and placing a travel ban on him within the EU. High Representative Valentin Inzko, who has the power to veto or annul laws and fire politicians, informed the U.N. on Tuesday that he would react strongly to the referendum, saying that Republika Srpska officials have been taking “concrete actions which represent the most serious violation of the [Bosnian] peace agreement that we have seen since the agreement was signed.”
International monitors and diplomats have warned that Bosnia is in the midst of “the worst political crisis since the war.” In a May 6 report, the International Crisis Group warned that “violence is not imminent but a near prospect if [current trends] continue.” Many analysts say that the Republika Srpska National Assembly decision to hold the referendum, adopted on April 13, would further deepen the crisis.
Inzko warned of the wider implications of political stagnation in Bosnia during visits in New York and Washington this week.
“If somebody started thinking that Bosnia may fall apart and if some concrete steps are taken, then we could see the conflict flare up again. These countries are tied together and what happens in the neighborhood impacts Bosnia and the other way round. The whole region could become problematic,” he said.
But politicians and international mediators in Bosnia and Herzegovina have a host of issues on their plates. Seven months after general elections, politicians are no closer to forming a state-level government, which is having negative implications on the economy.
“Dodik has just reverted the entire country back to 12 April, so the time the international community and the politicians have spent the last 31 days has been a total waste,” Ocak said. “I have no idea when a state level government will be formed, but I hope it happens as quickly as possible.”
In his address to the U.N., Inzko warned that this delay in the formation of state level authorities is having dire consequences on the functionality of the country. "More than seven months after the general elections, there is still no prospect of a new state government being formed and many state institutions are under serious political, institutional, and economic pressure with a clear impact on their efficiency and functionality. The European Union and the Euro-Atlantic integration processes have come to a complete halt and the economy continues to suffer."
The President of Bosnia's Republika Srpska has announced that he will not proceed with a planned referendum on state institutions in Bosnia and Herzegovina. His announcement came after a Friday morning meeting with European Union envoy Catherine Ashton.
"The referendum on laws imposed by the High Representative, particularly on the Court and the Prosecutor's Office, is not necessary," said Republika Srpska President Milorad Dodik in a joint press conference with the EU High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.
The referendum, which was set to take place in June, planned to ask citizens of Bosnia's predominantly Serb entity whether or not they support decisions made by the Office of the High Representative, or OHR, the International mediator in charge of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The referendum was set to specifically target the State Court and the Prosecutors Office, the country's only central judicial institutions, which were established by international mandate in 2003. The Republika Srpska has accused the judicial institutions of unfairly processing war crimes that occurred during Bosnia's 1992-1995 war,prosecuting more Bosnian Serbs than Bosnian Muslims or Croats, while not investigating crimes against the Serb population.
“We will have to wait until we get the full report from Banja Luka to understand the full line of reasoning for this decision,” Turkish Ambassador to Bosnia Vefahan Ocak, speaking on Dodik’s decision to cancel the referendum, told the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review.
Dodik said at the press conference that in light of the high level engagement of the EU to examine Republika Srpska concerns over judicial institutions, he was sure that the Republika Srpska's parliamentary body, the National Assembly, would support his decision.
During their joint press conference, Ashton stressed that the EU is willing to engage in frank discussions with the Republika Srpska and the judicial institutions.
Ocak said that it remains to be seen what strings, if any, will accompany this decision to annul the referendum.
“If this was a freestanding decision, this is exactly what needed to be done, but that is if it is a free standing decision,” he said.
Averting a crisis
During their joint press conference, Ashton stressed that the EU is willing to engage in frank discussions with the Republika Srpska and the judicial institutions.
“We consider that any legitimate issues require an adequate response,” said Ashton, announcing that EU Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Fule will chair the first 'structured dialogue' on the topic in Banja Luka, the seat of the Republika Srpska government.
Friday's meeting came the day after Inzko's deadline for Dodik to annul the referendum or face consequences, which included freezing Dodik’s assets and placing a travel ban on him within the EU. High Representative Valentin Inzko, who has the power to veto or annul laws and fire politicians, informed the U.N. on Tuesday that he would react strongly to the referendum, saying that Republika Srpska officials have been taking “concrete actions which represent the most serious violation of the [Bosnian] peace agreement that we have seen since the agreement was signed.”
International monitors and diplomats have warned that Bosnia is in the midst of “the worst political crisis since the war.” In a May 6 report, the International Crisis Group warned that “violence is not imminent but a near prospect if [current trends] continue.” Many analysts say that the Republika Srpska National Assembly decision to hold the referendum, adopted on April 13, would further deepen the crisis.
Inzko warned of the wider implications of political stagnation in Bosnia during visits in New York and Washington this week.
“If somebody started thinking that Bosnia may fall apart and if some concrete steps are taken, then we could see the conflict flare up again. These countries are tied together and what happens in the neighborhood impacts Bosnia and the other way round. The whole region could become problematic,” he said.
But politicians and international mediators in Bosnia and Herzegovina have a host of issues on their plates. Seven months after general elections, politicians are no closer to forming a state-level government, which is having negative implications on the economy.
“Dodik has just reverted the entire country back to 12 April, so the time the international community and the politicians have spent the last 31 days has been a total waste,” Ocak said. “I have no idea when a state level government will be formed, but I hope it happens as quickly as possible.”
In his address to the U.N., Inzko warned that this delay in the formation of state level authorities is having dire consequences on the functionality of the country. "More than seven months after the general elections, there is still no prospect of a new state government being formed and many state institutions are under serious political, institutional, and economic pressure with a clear impact on their efficiency and functionality. The European Union and the Euro-Atlantic integration processes have come to a complete halt and the economy continues to suffer."
