The situation on the Balkan Peninsula is getting worse. The president of Republika Srpska, one of the constituent parts of Bosnia and Herzegovina, warns that it could become independent. In the coming days, the UN General Assembly will vote on the resolution regarding the 1995 Srebrenica massacre. And this vote may, according to the politician, become a flash point.
“Srebrenica is one of the darkest chapters in modern human history. The war that followed the collapse of the former Yugoslavia claimed the lives of over 100,000 people in Bosnia and Herzegovina between 1992 and 1995. people, mainly Bosnian Muslims, and over 2 million were forced to relocate,” the United Nations points out. As recalled in April on the UN website, in July 1995 in Srebrenica and the surrounding area “8,372 women, men and children were executed, which was the worst crime on European soil since World War II.”
On Thursday, the UN General Assembly will vote on a resolution to declare July 11 the “International Day of Reflection and Commemoration of the 1995 Srebrenica Genocide.” An application in this regard, following the suggestion of the Bosnian ambassador to the UN, was submitted by Rwanda and Germany.
Dodik threatens to make Republika Srpska independent. “There would be a war”
The resolution is opposed by the president of Republika Srpska, Milorad Dodik (RS is one of the two main constituent parts of Bosnia and Herzegovina), known for his Russian sympathies and included on the American sanctions list. He has repeatedly said in the past that his republic could become independent.
– If the resolution is adopted, we will reject it. We cannot accept this qualification. Genocide is the moral disqualification of a nation. Republika Srpska would no longer see any reason to exist in Bosnia and Herzegovina after this, Dodik said this week.
– If Dodik announced secession, war would break out here within an hour – said Ćamil Duraković, a Bosnian, one of the two deputies of the president of Republika Srpska and an opponent of the division, quoted by Die Welt. Duraković survived the death march in July 1995 as a teenager and later became mayor of Srebrenica
“The situation is heading in a dangerous direction”
“It is questionable whether Dodik takes his threats seriously. Some say he simply wants to force concessions from Europeans and Americans because he is under political pressure,” adds the German daily.
“Behind the scenes, Western officials openly admit that developments in Bosnia and Herzegovina – and throughout the Western Balkans – are heading in a dangerous direction. The region should one day join the EU to maintain long-term peace and security in the heart of the continent. However, corruption, authoritarianism and organized crime paralyze this process, as do political crises,” the newspaper adds.
“Russia’s instrument of pressure on Bosnia is Milorad Dodik”
In last year’s analysis, the think tank Center for International Relations indicated, among other things, that it is in Russia’s interest to “use Serb nationalism in Kosovo and the separatist activities of the authorities of Republika Srpska – an administrative unit of Bosnia and Herzegovina, established as part of the Dayton Agreement ending the war in Yugoslavia – to destabilization of the Western Balkans.
“This would divert the world’s attention from Ukraine, located on the outskirts of the North Atlantic alliance, and shift it towards Kosovo or Bosnia, located at the very center of NATO,” we read.
CSM emphasized that “Russia’s main tool of pressure on Bosnia is Milorad Dodik, leader of the Alliance of Independent Social Democrats – a nationalist party that rules in Republika Srpska.” “For years, it has been aiming at separation from the Bosnian state and integration with Serbia,” it added.
Source: gazeta.pl
