Word: bosnia
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...criminals to the Hague. But these days, Dodik sounds like a changed man. In the past two months he has questioned the underlying agreement that ended the war, attacked Muslim politicians for "consorting" with war criminals and asserted that his Serb-dominated Republic may try to secede from Bosnia and Herzegovina and ultimately join Serbia. Meanwhile, Bosnian Muslim leaders in Sarajevo are matching him word for word: Haris Silajdzic, a former Bosnian Muslim Prime Minister, and another erstwhile moderate, told Time that the boundaries imposed at the end of the war should be erased because "they are not natural. They...
...much religion, but the legacy of war: Muslims, who were ill-prepared for the war, took much more casulties than Serbs, who were well armed and supported by Serbia; they now feel that Serbs were unjustly rewarded by being allowed to have their own statelet in Bosnia. Tihic, and other leading Muslim politicians have repeatedly stated that Republika Srpska "is built on genocide and agression" and should therefore be abolished. Serbian leaders, such as Srpska's Prime Minister Milorad Dodik, would have none of that. "Serbs are sick and tired of being collectively treated as war criminals by Sarajevo," Dodik...
...would, however, be ilegal, both by the Dayton peace accords and by Bosnia's constitution. Bosnia is actually not a fully sovereign state - it supervised by the Office of High Representative and its peace is maintained by international European force - and the representatives of the international community have clearly stated that no move towards secession would be tolerated...
...bluff, but the stakes are getting higher every day," says a Sarajevo-based Western diplomat. "The real cause for concern is that nationalism seems to be the only game in town. No one is preaching tolerance - it just doesn't win any votes." The diplomat pointed out that Bosnia's poor state of economy, and high unemployment rate, are also a factor, providing fertile ground for populists and demagogues of all sorts. "It's much easier to play the blame game than to actually address this country's issues," he said...
...Another cause for concern is that the issue of Kosovo - formerly Serbian province which is expected to become independent early next year - is also affecting Bosnia. The fear is that Serbia, frustrated by losing Kosovo, may seek to compensate by encouraging Bosnian Serbs to join with Serbia. Still, no political leaders in Belgrade have publically endorsed the referendum idea...