Word: bosnias
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...European and American diplomats say Bosnia's territorial integrity is not up for debate and have warned that any referendum risks inflaming the country's already shaky ethnic balance. "The international community will not tolerate any attempt to undermine the territorial integrity or sovereignty of Bosnia and Herzegovina," Valentin Inzko, the High Representative, emphasized last week after a meeting of the Peace Implementation Council, a body of 55 countries and agencies that still serves as the ultimate authority in Bosnia. In theory, Inzko has the power to cancel a referendum or remove any Bosnian politician from power - including those...
...Despite the bitter legacy of the war, Bosnia made strides in the first decade of its existence toward increased cooperation between the country's three ethnic groups and a greater centralization of powers. But in the run-up to the 2006 elections, the country saw a spike in nationalist rhetoric from both Bosniaks and Serbs - and the tenuous détente was derailed. This was when Dodik, who had previously been considered a moderate by many in the international community, began promising an independence referendum. Since that time, Bosnia has been virtually paralyzed...
...many Bosniaks and Croats, its very existence is an affront and a reminder of the success of Karadzic's campaign of ethnic cleansing. Reuf Bajrovic, a Sarajevo-based political analyst with links to the Social Democratic Party, the successor to the Communist Party and the closest thing Bosnia has to a multi-ethnic party, warns that Bosniaks and Croats would not accept partition. "The lesson is that ethnic cleansing is a legitimate form of state building," he says. (Read: "Karadzic a No-Show at His Bosnia War-Crimes Trial...
...recent interviews with both the Bosnian and Serbian press, Dodik has insisted that any referendum will not call for independence, but will instead address the "unlawful" role of the High Representative, who represents the international community in Bosnia and holds wide powers to overrule or enforce government decisions. But he has also left open the door for a future vote on the status of the Republika Srpska and repeatedly called into question the legitimacy and long-term future of Bosnia. (Read: "E.U. and U.S. Talks Aim to End Bosnia Deadlock...
...Zdravko Grebo, a professor of law at the University of Sarajevo, says the referendum issue highlights Bosnia's deeper structural problems. "The problem is Bosnia's actual legal and constitutional framework," he says. "Dayton is a peace accord, but it includes our constitution in Annex IV. ... I cannot recall an example in constitutional history where a peace accord has been changed." Grebo says the act of holding a referendum is not in itself unconstitutional and that all citizens have the right to express their views on issues of governance. But, he adds, that doesn't mean a referendum can call...