Bosnia Facing 'Serious Crisis'
International High Representative For Country Condemns Serb Officials For 'Violating' Dayton Peace Accords.
Last Modified: 09 May 2011 20:25
Courtesy Of "Al-Jazeera"
Bosnia is facing its most serious crisis since it was established as a state 15 years ago, the international representative for the country has warned, accusing Serb officials of threatening its viability.
In a regular report to the United Nations, Valentin Inzko, an Austrian diplomat who represents Bosnia, accused Serb authorities of engaging in "concrete actions which represent the most serious violation of [1995 the Dayton peace accords that ended the Bosnian war] that we have seen since the agreement was signed".
The peace accord divided the country into two: a separatist Serb Republic and a Muslim-Croat federation.
The regional Serb parliament's latest challenge to Bosnia's central authority was to back plans last month for a referendum that questions the legality of Bosnia's national court. Serb officials say the court, which prosecutes suspects of war crimes, is biased against Serbians.
The referendum, expected to take place in mid-June, would also deal with the authority of Inzko, who as the international "high representative" of the Balkan state holds the power to fire officials and veto laws.
Inzko demanded that the Serb Republic drop plans for the referendum, terming it a "blatant attack" on the peace agreement.
"Should this not happen ... I will have no choice but to repeal the ... referendum decision," he said, setting a deadline of the end of this week.
In an unusually hard-hitting speech, the normally low-key Inzko also said that Bosnia's bid to join the European Union and NATO had "come to a complete halt".
He said that the Serb Republic, and especially president Milorad Dodik, has "continued openly to question the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Bosnia".
Dodik had earlier said that Serbs would rather see Bosnia walk away from its bid to join the EU if it means that more power would have to be transferred from regional to federal institutions.
He said that even though seven months have now passed since general elections, the formation of a state government was "almost impossible" and that political parties "have continued to play zero-sum politics". He said there was no indication that this would change.
The UN Security Council took no immediate action on the report, but Western countries said they would back the international envoy in whatever action he deemed fit.
Rosemary DiCarlo, the US deputy permanement representative to the UN, said, without elaborating, that Washington was "in the process of considering our own measures in support of Dayton and Bosnian state institutions, should they become necessary."
Vitaly Churkin, the Russian ambassador to the UN, however, criticised the speech as "emotional" and said that the referendum did not directly violate the Dayton peace accord. He said the Bosnian political crisis was caused by Muslims and by Inzko, who he accused of making "arbitrary use" of his powers.
Inzko said that the international community's intervention was still required in Bosnia.
"The need for an international presence, both civilian and military, with an executive mandate is still evident," he said.
"The entire international community must take the deteriorating situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina very seriously. Further erosion of the state, its institutions and the rule of law will push Bosnia and Herzegovina into deeper crisis and instability. This could also have negative consequences for the entire region."
Bosnian Serbs, however, wrote to Ban Ki-moon, the UN chief, over the weekend claiming that Inzko was trying to "deceive" the UN with the report, and accused him of misusing his powers.
"The continued abuse of power by the High Representative, a rule based on autocratic decisions ... cannot be further tolerated," the letter to Ban stated.
Feodor Starcevic, the Serbian ambassador to the UN, told the council that the referendum "has nothing to do with the territorial integrity of the country and is not in contravention of Dayton Peace Accords".
He added that his country did not intend to interfere with Bosnia and Herzegovina's internal affairs.
Al Jazeera's Kristen Saloomey, reporting from the UN's headquarters in New York, said that the proposed referendum is being seen as "essentially a kind of vote of no-confidence in these federal institutions, particularly the war crimes court, which many Serbs feel is biased against the Serbs, because most of the prosecutions have been against Serbs. So that is the backdrop to these increasing tensions which were discussed".
"The language, with tensions at an all-time high [since the peace accords], has gotten increasingly hostile towards international efforts to form a unity government. In particular, [Serb Republic president] Milorad Dodik has been very outspoken against these international efforts," she said.
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