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Europe
Bosnian Serbs seek independence, like Kosovo
2008-02-19
And it's going to be hard to say no.
BANJA LUKA,Bosnia-Hercegovina - The main opposition Bosnian Serb party called Monday for the independence of the Serb-run half of Bosnia, citing Kosovo as a precedent.

‘The Serb Democratic Party is demanding Republika Srpska’s institutions provide (Bosnian Serbs) the same rights being given to Kosovo Albanians,’ said the party, which was founded by war crimes fugitive Radovan Karadzic. ‘We expect the (Bosnian Serb) government to meet previous promises and check the will of Republika Srpska citizens in a referendum,’ the SDS said in a statement.

Since its 1992-1995 war, Bosnia has consisted of two entities, the Serb-run Republika Srpska (RS) and the Muslim-Croat Federation, each with their own government, parliament and police force.

The SDS was established in the early 1990s by Karadzic, who remains at large around 12 years after the UN war crimes tribunal charged him with genocide over the Srebrenica massacre and siege of Sarajevo.

In Sarajevo, the international community’s top envoy here Miroslav Lajcak said any attempts to link the fate of Bosnia with that of Kosovo should be prevented. ‘Every attempt to artificially link Kosovo to Bosnia or its constituent parts should be resolutely rejected,’ he said in a statement. ‘In no case can Bosnia be held hostage to Kosovo, nor can it be brought into question.’
Any group of people that believe that they are a nation will be. The Bosnian Serbs don't want to live with the Bosnian Croats and Muslims. And the special envoy will not put Humpty-Dumpty back together.
Many Bosnian Serbs feel that their entity should follow KosovoÂ’s lead and be allowed to secede from Bosnia to be eventually attached to Serbia, which they see as their motherland. Some local politicians have hinted that the RS could try such a move.

Meanwhile, up to 3,000 Bosnian Serbs gathered in Banja Luka to protest against Kosovo’s independence. ‘Europe shame on you, world shame on you’ and ‘Hashim murderer’, the protestors chanted in a reference to Kosovo Prime Minister Hashim Thaci. They also chanted offensive slogans using derogatory terms for Albanians.

The protest, organised by students, started with a minute’s silence, followed by another minute of hissing to voice disagreement with Kosovo’s unilateral move. ‘We are disappointed with the fate of (Serbian) people in Kosovo and we will continue to support them,’ representative of students Dejan Kragulj told journalists.

‘It’s clear that Republika Srpska now has the right to secede from Bosnia,’ Zeljko, 23-year-old student, told AFP.

‘Europe respect international law,’ ‘Kosovo RS,’ ‘We don’t give up Kosovo,’ read some of the banners carried by the protestors who also burned a Bosnian flag.
Posted by:Steve White

#3  If Kosovo can get it, there's no logical reason Republika Srpska can't. Efforts to stop it will be seen, and justifiably so, as anti-Serbian repression. Bosnia should simply dissolve into three pieces and de jure recognize what has been the de facto reality since the end of the Bosnian War.
Posted by: Jomosing Bluetooth8431   2008-02-19 17:48  

#2  'Balkanization' has its meaning for a good reason. When will the largest remaining country in the Balkans be roughly the size of Monaco?
Posted by: Glenmore   2008-02-19 12:05  

#1  Ok, I will bite.
So be it.
Republika Srpska
Posted by: newc   2008-02-19 04:40  

00:00