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Post by TsarSamuil on Jun 28, 2014 12:27:02 GMT -5
Bosnia and Herzegovina: Gavrilo Princip statue unveiled in Sarajevo.
RuptlyTV
Jun 27, 2014
Bosnian Serbs unveiled a statue of Gavrilo Princip in eastern Sarajevo, Friday, on the eve of the centennial of the start of World War I. Republika Srpska President Milorad Dodik and East Sarajevo Mayor Ljubisa Cosic were on hand for the dedication.
Princip, a Yugoslav nationalist living in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo on June 28, 1914. Europe was plunged into four years of war soon afterwards.
The man behind the two-metre (6.6-foot) high bronze statue is Zoran Kuzmanovic, a Belgrade-based sculptor and professor at the city's Academy of Arts.
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Post by TsarSamuil on Oct 12, 2014 3:37:51 GMT -5
The Grim and the Funny of Bosnian Elections - Duh-mock-risy. Antiwar.comby Nebojsa Malic, October 11, 2014 The coming general elections in Bosnia-Herzegovina (October 12) won’t solve anything. This is the earth-shattering conclusion of the analysis by Antonio Cortiñas, from the Elcano Royal Institute in Spain. Cortiñas, a former Spanish officer "with diplomatic and military experience in the Balkans" blames Bosnia’s political order and claims "inability to solve real problems continues to be the distinctive hallmark of BiH for both local and foreign players in the country." And so, whoever comes out on top in the races for local, entity and state officers, "[n]either the people will see their problems solved nor will the EU achieve any of its objectives for the country." Setting aside for the moment why anyone should give a fig for "EU’s objectives" for any country, this analysis is a heaping helping of the obvious. One hardly needs Capitan Evidente here to explain that governments are very good at causing problems, but generally terrible at solving them. Especially if they themselves are the biggest problem of all. Dysfunctional As dysfunctional countries go, Bosnia is hardly unique. The very country hosting the EU capital, Belgium, has been torn between the Francophone Walloons and Dutch-speaking Flemings forever, and actually beat out Bosnia in 2011 for the longest post-election wait to form a government, clocking in at 541 days (to Bosnia’s 452). That said, blaming Bosnia’s dysfunction on the Dayton Accords is specious: time and again, the point of failure has been the Muslim-Croat "Federation of Bosnia-Herzegovina", set up by the 1994 Washington Agreement. Though EU and US proconsuls have repeatedly tried to "reform" the country by getting rid of the Serb Republic (Republika Srpska) – which would require changing the Constitution cemented by the Dayton peace treaty – they haven’t touched the Federation and its 10 provinces, each with state-like powers. While the Serb Republic has had a functioning legislature and government throughout, the Federation has gone long stretches without a government, while the "deep state" composed of local party bosses runs the show in Muslim and Croat districts respectively. No wonder why elections can’t and won’t change a thing. Vote or Suffer! That has not stopped the EU and even the US government from trying, though. In the second half of September, USAID ran two TV adverts telling the Bosnians to "Vote or Suffer" (see here and here). The adverts were accompanied by an Embassy blog post, co-authored by the US Military attaché (!) and the USAID director for Bosnia, accusing the current government(s) of embezzling flood aid funds. Both the Muslim-dominated government in Sarajevo and the Republika Srpska authorities rejected the accusation outright: aid could not have been embezzled, as not a single penny of what was promised by the West had actually arrived! Despite repeated protests from both entities, USAID and the Embassy have not retracted the blog post or the videos, claiming instead they were merely part of a democracy promotion campaign. Such interference into a country’s internal affairs is not only against the Vienna convention regulating diplomatic conduct, but entirely illegal if attempted within the US. But the story doesn’t end there. Apparently, the first USAID video features bright orange in the design of the "Vote or Suffer" splash screen at the end. Orange is the color of the "Democratic Fronta" (sic), a splinter party started by Zeljko Komsic, Croat member of the Bosnian Presidency since 2006. Because Komsic was a candidate of the Social-Democrats (SDP) and received mostly Muslim votes, the two major Croat ethnic parties have objected for years that he wasn’t "Croat enough." Turns out he wasn’t a social-democrat either. Where did the DF get the money for an extensive and expensive advertising campaign they’ve been running? Why was orange such a dominant color in the threatening USAID videos? Bosnian Internet-portals have offered a potential explanation: Denis Challenger, DF candidate for local legislature in Sarajevo, is the son (they say) of Ela Challenger, USAID Deputy Director for Bosnia… Add to that the Imperial sympathies for rioters who, in February this year, torched government offices Maidan-style in several Muslim-majority cities while demanding "change," and the purported Western concern for Bosnia’s well-being begins to sound far less genuine. Off-Color Revolutionaries Meanwhile, in the Serb Republic, the Empire has been trying to get rid of the ruling social-democrats (SNSD) and their leader, Milorad Dodik, as they’ve successfully defended the Dayton order from social engineering "reforms" since 2006. Empire-controlled media and "civic activists" have been demonizing the incumbent government for months. These efforts, however, have been as lazy as they’ve been transparent. Copying the preparations for the October 2000 Belgrade coup, they’ve created a coalition of opposition parties and dubbed it "Alliance for Change". It’s a recycled term, previously used for another US-midwifed coalition – in the Federation, 14 years ago. The coalition’s linchpin is the Serb Democratic Party (SDS), once led by Radovan Karadzic (currently being slandered by the Hague Inqusition), just as the current quisling regime in Serbia is led by the "reformed" Radicals and Socialists – all demonized by the Empire in the 1990s as "greater-Serbian ultranationalist aggressors." Residue of such propaganda lingers in the Western coverage of the election, with the Guardian describing the SDS as "right-wing" and the incumbent SNSD as "centre-left (though in reality, nationalist)." To make everything even more obvious, the SDS candidate for president of the Serb Republic, Ognjen Tadic, actually said he would "love to be the Vucic of the Serb Republic", referring to the current quisling PM of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic. Recycled and Pointless Though Bosnia’s reality is indeed grim, the election circus has its humorous side. As noted earlier, the Empire has reused a name from 14 years ago for its pawns in the Serb Republic. Others have resorted to "recycling" as well. A major Bosnian Muslim party is running on the slogan "Strength Through Unity" – pillaged either from "V for Vendetta," or Benito Mussolini. The former chief mufti, now a private citizen, outright pilfered two Western designs – from Virginia Mennonites and a Las Vegas casino. Yet trying to be original has its perils as well. Posters for the party of a Muslim oligarch proclaimed a "Tsunami of justice and strong development." In a country that’s been hit by catastrophic floods twice this year… For all that Antonio Cortiñas is "Captain Obvious," his analysis is essentially correct: the coming elections aren’t likely to change a thing. To borrow a line from Emma Goldman, if they could, they’d be illegal. Empire’s open interference is more likely to backfire than actually bring its stooges into power. Moreover, the very reason to play Ultimate Social Engineer has been rendered moot: instead of being grateful to the Empire, hundreds of Balkans Muslims (Bosnian as well as ethnic Albanian) have joined the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. |
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Post by TsarSamuil on Feb 4, 2015 18:54:13 GMT -5
ICJ rejects both genocide lawsuits. B92, Beta, Tanjug Politics | February 3, 2015 | 12:01 THE HAGUE -- The International Court of Justice (ICJ) has rejected Croatia's lawsuit accusing Serbia of committing genocide in its territory from 1991 until 1995. The Hague-based court has found that Croatia did not prove that genocide was committed, Court President Petr Tomka announced. Tomak said the ICJ was in agreement with the conclusions of the Hague Tribunal, which said the goal of Serb units was "to forcibly remove Croats from parts of the territory, but not to physically destroy them." The court also rejected Serbia's counter lawsuit, announcing that "even if it was proven that Croatia's leaders had the intention of removing the Serb population from the Croatian territory, there is no proof that the goal was their physical destruction." Earlier, Tomak read that Serbia cannot be held responsible for acts committed prior to April 27, 1992, when the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SRJ, FRY) of which Serbia was a part, joined the UN and signed the Convention on the Prevention of Genocide. This excluded the part of the Croatian lawsuit referring to war crimes committed in Vukovar in 1991. The ruling today marks the end of a court process that has lasted for 16 years. Croatia in 1999 filed its lawsuit against Sebria, while Serbia responded ten years later, charging Croatia of committing genocide against ethnic Serbs there during and after Operation Storm in 1995. The ICJ ruling is final and cannot be appealed, and the countries will have an obligation to adhere to it. Download the summary of the ICJ judgment |
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Post by TsarSamuil on Mar 19, 2015 13:22:07 GMT -5
Islamic State flags again displayed in Bosnian village.
TANJUG
REGION | MARCH 12, 2015 | 13:46
SREBRENIK -- The flags of the terrorist Islamic State (IS) organization have once again been displayed in the Wahhabi community in Gornja Maoca in Bosnia-Herzegovina.
The police are still looking for the IS flags and the persons who put them up in the same village in early February.
A photograph taken on Tuesday and posted on social networks shows a house in Gornja Maoca flying three IS flags.
Wahhabi Edis Bosnic is seen in the yard of the house, the same where the terrorist insignia was on display earlier.
Bosnic said at the time that he and other members of the radical Muslim movement had nothing to do with the incident, and that "two people they did not know placed the flags there," the Banja Luka daily Glas Srpske writes.
Bosnia-Herzegovina Prosecution spokesperson Boris Grubesic said he could not comment on the latest incident.
When the flags were displayed the first time, members of the State Investigation and Protection Agency (SIPA) showed up in the village - "but by the time they arrived, the flags had been removed," the newspaper said.
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Post by TsarSamuil on May 3, 2015 12:17:10 GMT -5
From young man to Wahhabi terrorist in three months.
blic.rs
30. 04. 2015. - 17:51h
Nerdin Ibric (24), who killed police officer Dragan Djuric and wounded his two colleagues two nights ago in police station in Zvornik, became a terrorist in just three months.
- Those are people who are not active in combat activities. They sit at home, they are online all the time, where ISIL has a very active campaign in recruitment of young population. Ibric was a nice young man three months ago, "bellow radar" of all security services. Then he became a friend with Avdulah Hasanovic, Wahhabi who was in Siryan war until last year. For only one month, he completely changed Ibric, brainwashed him, which resulted with this tragedy - says our source.
Hasanovic was arrested after Ibric murdered the police officer in Zvornik.
- The evidence are leading towards Wahhabi movements on other locations. We are constantly on the field with the members of SIPA and other agencies - say Minister of Interior in Republika Srpska Dragan Lukac.
Yesterday police arrested another accomplice, Kasim Mehidic, ownner of "Kale prom" company.
Nerdin Ibric came in front of police station in Zvornik last night in19.15, entered inside and started shooting from a shotgun. He was yelling "Allah is great"!
Officer Dragan Djuric died in the shooting, while his colleagues Zeljko Gajic and Stevo Milovanovic were wounded. During the shooting, the attacker Nerdin Ibric was killed too.
Both police officers who were wounded are taken care of in Zvornik hospital, and they are feeling fine.
- We feel fine, thang God. Doctors did their part good, and we are very grateful - says Stevo Milovanovic, who was wounded in both hands and in his leg, while Zeljko Gajic was shot in his right shoulder.
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Post by TsarSamuil on Jun 7, 2015 4:26:47 GMT -5
‘ISIS video’ calls for jihad in Balkans ahead of Pope’s visit.
RT.com
June 06, 2015 16:43
A video featuring extremists claiming to belong to the terrorist organization Islamic State (formerly known as ISIS or ISIL) has called for jihad in the Balkans. It appeared ahead of Pope Francis' visit Saturday to the Bosnian capital, Sarajevo.
The 21-minute video carries the logo of a production company linked to Islamic State propaganda, AFP reported Friday. It shows a dozen jihadists who say they are from Albania, Bosnia and Kosovo and speak Bosnian and Albanian.
It is not the first video calling for jihad in the Balkans, but its timing gives it more impact: it appeared as Pope Francis comes on a visit to the Bosnian capital. The video itself, however, made no reference to his visit, only stating that "horrible days" are ahead for "unbelievers" in the Balkans.
The Pope's visit carries a message of peace to a country which has seen religious tensions lead to bloody conflict in the 1990s.
He was greeted by about 100,000 people, and held a mass for 65,000 at Sarajevo's Olympic stadium on Saturday.
Bosnian Muslims, who make up some 40 percent of the country's 3.8 million population, are mostly moderate. But about 200 of them have reportedly joined extremists in Iraq and Syria. About 50 of them have come back home since, intelligence services believe.
Authorities have tried to curb Islamic extremism, adopting a law that will see jihadists and their recruiters face 20-year jail terms.
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Post by TsarSamuil on Jul 11, 2015 9:14:08 GMT -5
Bosnia and Herzegovina: Serb PM attacked with stones at Srebrenica memorial. Ruptly TV Jul 11, 2015 A crowd of angry mourners chased Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic during a ceremony for the 20th anniversary of the mass killing of Muslims in Srebrenica on Saturday, pelting the Serbian leader with rocks and bottles. The prime minster was reportedly hit in the face with a stone, breaking his glasses.  |
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Post by TsarSamuil on Aug 21, 2015 14:37:14 GMT -5
Serbian linguists: Bosniak language does not exist. A Bosniak language - especially as Bosnian - linguistically does not exist, the Committee for the Standardization of the Serbian Language is convinced. VECERNJE NOVOSTI FRIDAY, AUGUST 21, 2015 | 10:23 The daily Vecernje Novosti is reporting this, and adding that the last meeting of the committee reached a decision to his effect, signed by chairman Ivan Klajn. The decision will be sent to Serbian ministries of education and justice, as well as to the prime minister. "This issue has been raised again through the story about court interpreters and Bosniak language experts, which even Bosniak (Bosnian Muslim) linguists say does not exist, as it lacks enough elements that would differentiate it from the Serbian language," Sreto Tanasic, director of SANU's Institute for the Serbian Language, told the paper. Tanasic added that "the state made a mistake a long time ago, while Slobodan Vuksanovic serves as education minister, by signing a decree introducing the Bosnian language in schools." At the time, nobody consulted experts, and later, it was too late, he said.  |
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Post by TsarSamuil on Nov 19, 2015 21:40:09 GMT -5
Suspected ‘radical Islamist’ kills 2 soldiers, injures 3 in Sarajevo, Bosnia.
RT.com
19 Nov, 2015 00:53
At least two Bosnian soldiers were killed and three civilians injured in an attack by a gunman in Sarajevo. According to unconfirmed reports, the attacker appeared to be a radical Sunni extremist and shouted “Allahu Akbar” before killing the victims.
The attack happened on the outskirts of Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
“An unknown attacker fired shots from an automatic weapon, killing two servicemen of the Bosnian armed forces,” Sarajevo police spokesman Irfan Nefic said.
The attacker also fired at a city bus as he began to flee, injuring the driver and two passengers, according to Nefic.
According to witnesses, the gunman looked like a member of the ultra-conservative Salafi Muslim movement in Bosnia. An unconfirmed report aired by local television N1 claimed that the attacker yelled “Allahu Akbar” (“God is great”), a slogan typical for Islamic militants, before firing.
Police have not confirming those reports, however. “We should wait for the investigation to complete,” Regional police directorate chief Dragan Lukac stated.
“We still have no confirmation that this was a terrorist attack, we hope it was not,” Perica Stanic, director of the State Investigation and Protection Agency (SIPA), told the journalists.
SIPA has dispatched a team to investigate the incident.
In one of the latest developments, there have been reports that security forces have surrounded a house supposedly belonging to a suspect identified as the shooter in the Sokolje neighborhood.
It is also being reported that the shooter committed suicide after the attack, but this information has not been confirmed by police.
The two soldiers killed were identified as Armin Salkic, 26, and Nedeljko Radic, 34, Bosnia Today reported. Salkic was a Bosniak Muslim and Radic was a Serbian Orthodox. The two were reportedly good friends.
According to a Bosnia Today report, the attacker’s name was Enes Omeragic, but police have yet to identify the shooter.
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Post by TsarSamuil on Dec 28, 2015 14:29:47 GMT -5
11 arrested in Bosnia raids on ISIS-linked terror suspects.
RT.com
23 Dec, 2015 00:58
Authorities in Bosnia have conducted a series of raids, arresting at least 11 people suspected of links with Islamic State group, terrorism financing and recruitment as well as plotting terror acts.
Police and country’s intelligence services raided two places of religious assembly and several residential buildings. The operation was conducted in several Sarajevo districts, including in Rajlovac, where two soldiers were killed in November in a suspected ISIS-inspired terror attack by a man who blew himself up.
“Eleven people were arrested. They are suspected of terrorism, financing and preparing a terrorist act as well as inciting candidates to go to the battlefields abroad,” a police spokesman told AFP.
The raids sanctioned by the Prosecutor's Office were conducted by more than 100 police officers.
“The objective of this major operation was to track down some 15 people who... are close to radical groups and structures of the ISIL, as well as people who are on the battlefields in Syria or Iraq,” national prosecutors said in a statement.
According to Police spokesman Boris Grubesic, the raids produced strong evidence of ISIS-linkage, where some of those detained acted as financiers, while others as recruitment agents.
According to local TV reports, one of the leaders of Bosnia’s Islamic movement, Muric Kemal, was among those arrested. His father, Musa Murić, says that as far as he knows, his son is “clean 100 percent.”
“I never saw anything suspicious, no assembly or anything. I know that man is a carpenter,” neighbor Fikret Kalkanž told PTC News.
Around 40 percent of Bosnia’s 3.8 million people follow a moderate form of Islam. According to the authorities, some 200 Bosnian nationals joined extremist groups in Syria and Iraq in 2012 and 2013. At least 26 have died while about 50 are believed to have returned to the Balkan country.
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Post by TsarSamuil on Sept 26, 2016 14:30:53 GMT -5
Bosnian Serbs Vote in Favor of Controversial Holiday.
EUROPE 04:47 26.09.2016
Republika Srpska voters backed the initiative to make January 9 a state holiday in a Sunday referendum.
MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Republika Srpska voters backed the initiative to make January 9 a state holiday in a Sunday referendum that the Bosnia and Herzegovina court declared illegal, media reported.
The preliminary results showed that out of 70 percent of ballots already counted, 99.9 percent supported the idea of the holiday, according to Financial Times newspaper.
Republika Srpska is one of the two autonomous entities of Bosnia and Herzegovina, while the other is the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Their relations are largely affected by the civil war among Serbs, Bosnian Muslims and Croatians in 1992-1995.
Republika Srpska does not agree to celebrate the national day of Bosnia and Herzegovina on March 1, for on that day in 1992 the Bosnian parliament proclaimed the independence of Bosnia and Herzegovina without the presence of Bosnian Serbs. Republika Srpska proposed a different date for its own national holiday, January 9, which is a Serbian Orthodox Christian holiday and the anniversary of Bosnian Serbs declaring independence in 1992.
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Post by TsarSamuil on Oct 2, 2016 14:55:54 GMT -5
Bosnian niqab-wearing politician seeks office to ‘reduce prejudice’ & help poor.
RT.com
1 Oct, 2016 09:34
A niqab-wearing politician in Bosnia seeks to become the first fully veiled woman in the Balkan country to run for public office. If elected, Indira Sinanovic says she wants to help the poor and “break down prejudice” experienced by those wearing niqabs.
The 37-year-old mother of two is running in her hometown of Zavidovici, which is about 100 kilometers (62 miles) north of the capital Sarajevo. She wears the niqab, which is a veil worn by Muslim women that covers the whole face, except the eyes.
Speaking ahead of the election on Sunday, she said that she wants to help “socially vulnerable families” as she has become aware of their problems after carrying out humanitarian work. She also says that she wants to stop discrimination against women who wear the veil.
“I will try to break down discrimination and the distorted image of women who wear the hijab. People need to have the chance to meet us and to get to know who we are. My experience shows that, after knowing us, people always say they are sorry for having prejudices and for perceiving us as something we are not. We are ordinary citizens,” she said, as cited by RT’s video agency Ruptly.
Sinanovic, who aside from her humanitarian work is employed as a journalist, believes that if she is elected, she will have the opportunity to meet more people, while also being able to help people “know more about us.”
Bosnia, which has a large indigenous Muslim population, due to having once been part of the Ottoman Empire, has no laws against members of the public wearing the niqab or the burqa. Sinanovic, however, says she is alarmed by a recent ruling that says court officials are no longer allowed to wear headscarves.
“It’s the basic right of every citizen,” she said, adding that she has suffered from discrimination in the past and has been called names on the street such as ‘ninja’ or ‘terrorist,’ and has been told, ‘go to Afghanistan’ or ‘go to Syria.’
Although Islam has been traditionally liberal in Bosnia, which is an ethnic mix of Orthodox Christians, Catholics, and Muslims, there has been a rise in radical Islam which partly stems from the influence of Saudi-sponsored mosques, which began to appear following the Bosnian War in the 1990s.
In November, two Bosnian soldiers were killed and three civilians injured in an attack by a radical Sunni Muslim extremist who shouted “Allahu Akbar” (God is Great in Arabic) before killing his victims. The attack took place on the outskirts of Sarajevo.
Sinanovic is fighting a rising tide of opposition to the niqab and burqa in Europe. On Friday, the Bulgarian parliament passed legislation which effectively bans burqas in public places. The measure was introduced to step up security in the country following a series of terrorist attacks in Europe.
These who fail to comply will face fines of up to 1,500 leva (approx. $860) and be stripped of social privileges. Muslims make up around 12 percent of the population of Bulgaria.
“The law is not directed against religious communities and is not repressive,” senior lawmaker of the ruling center-right GERB party Krasimir Velchev insisted, according to Reuters. “We made a very good law for the safety of our children,” he added.
Days earlier, the Swiss parliament approved a draft bill aiming for a nationwide burqa ban, initiated by the right-wing Swiss People’s Party (SVP). “No person shall cover [his/her] face in public and in places accessed by the public (exempt for holy places),” the statement of the initiative reads.
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Post by TsarSamuil on Feb 5, 2017 8:06:24 GMT -5
Why Bosnia May Become 'Ideal Refuge of Last Resort' For Daesh.
Sputnik
EUROPE 10:12 03.02.2017
If Russia and the United States join their counterterrorism efforts and launch a comprehensive large-scale operation to tackle Daesh in the Middle East, the militants will most likely flee to the Balkans, primarily Bosnia and Herzegovina, experts told Sputnik Serbia.
Bosnia will become an "ideal refuge of last resort" for terrorists fleeing Iraq and Syria due to the existing infrastructure, an expert on terrorism Djevad Galijasevic asserted.
"Islamist infrastructure has been around in Bosnia for the last three decades. There are no obstacles preventing it from developing. Propaganda of [radical ideas] and financial assistance [to extremists] have continued unabated. One can buy any weapon in Bosnia. Some terrorists have their own banks," he detailed.
Milan Pasanski, president of the Forum for the Study of International Terrorism, shared these sentiments, saying that militants will most likely refrain from crossing the borders of the European Union since EU law enforcement and counterterrorism services have been on high alert. They will instead settle in the European periphery, primarily Kosovo, the Serbian region of Sandžak and Bosnia, he suggested.
The latest developments in Austria appear to confirm Pasanski's assessment.
Last week, imam Nedžad Balkan was arrested in the Austrian capital of Vienna. Galijasevic described him as the most radical, but not the most dangerous Islamic fundamentalist of Bosnian origin.
"Balkan is considered to be an expert in interpreting Islamic religious texts, particularly those on prophet Ibrahim. Balkan founded the İbrahim Milleti project. Several years ago the German police conducted a large-scale operation arresting Wahhabis affiliated with the project," the analyst said. "He is the most radical Islamist with ties to Bosnia and Herzegovina in Vienna, but he is not the most dangerous one. In this respect, hafiz Muhamed Fadil Porča, who represents the Dawa Salafia union, is more dangerous."
The analyst added that Nedžad Balkan is active beyond Vienna, conducting operations in the Austrian cities of Linz, Klagenfurt and Graz. He was also active in other countries, most notably Switzerland and Germany.
"By detaining Nedžad Balkan Austrian authorities have indicated that if a second wave of refugees comes, they will not turn the blind eye on the fact that terrorists could be among them. It's common knowledge that Vienna has become a place where Islamic fundamentalists, with some coming from Bosnia, gather," Pasanski said.
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Post by TsarSamuil on Feb 24, 2017 15:31:49 GMT -5
Bosnian Muslims appeal UN top court's ruling which cleared Serbia of 1990s 'genocide'
RT.com
24 Feb, 2017 11:00
The Muslim-Bosniak member of Bosnia-Herzegovina’s tripartite presidency is appealing the decision that cleared Serbia of genocide charges during the 1992-95 civil war. He has launched a case with the Hague-based International Court of Justice.
Member of the presidency Bakir Izetbegovic is seeking to reverse the UN’s decision, telling journalists in Sarajevo on Thursday that “the request is being submitted at this very moment,” according to Reuters.
“I think that I am on the path of truth and justice,” he added.
The appeal is being launched just before the 10-year deadline for such a request expires on February 26.
Bosnia has three major ethnic groups – Bosniaks (Bosnian Muslims), Croats, and Serbs – and is governed by a respective tripartite presidency.
It initially filed the charges against Serbia in 1993, accusing Belgrade of masterminding a program of widespread “ethnic cleansing” during the war that split Yugoslavia and claimed more than 100,000 lives. However, the case was dismissed and only one charge of failing to prevent genocide was leveled in 2007 – that which relates to the Srebrenica incident of 1995, when Serb forces had captured the eastern town and executed 8,000 Muslim men.
Srebrenica was pronounced Europe’s worst atrocity since World War II, but has been a topic of much contention for the split former Yugoslavs and the world. To this day, not everyone is in agreement over what led to the incident, or which outside political forces – aside from Belgrade – played a role.
Serbs did not take the news of the appeal too well – both in Belgrade and in Banja Luka, the seat of the Republika Srpska government in Bosnia. They fear that a new crisis could be brewing if the ICJ’s decision were to be reversed, and that, at the very least, the decision should have been the result of a consultation between all three parts of the presidency – which also includes the Bosnian Croats.
“I am afraid that we have entered a really serious crisis,” the Bosnian Serb leader of the presidency, Mladen Ivanic, later told a press conference.
Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic referred to Izetbegovic’s decision as “bad” for relations between the two countries.
At the national parliament, Serb lawmakers had earlier indicated they may boycott the institution until the ICJ emerges with its verdict.
However, according to AFP, Izetbegovic says he is ready with “new arguments” in the case, relating particularly to Serb General Ratko Mladic, who is currently on trial at the ICC in the Hague.
The ambassadors from countries involved in the implementation of Bosnia’s peace agreement met Thursday in the capital, Sarajevo to discuss how to proceed.
Bosnia has been independent since 1995, after the war ended. Although it is one country, it is administered internationally, and its Serb and Croat government entities enjoy a degree of semi-independence, while the Muslim seat in Sarajevo does not hold much power. Political clashes often occur in the former Yugoslav country.
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Post by TsarSamuil on Apr 19, 2017 13:02:22 GMT -5
In Ottoman Traditions? Why Muslims in Serbia, Bosnia Hail Erdogan's Victory. Sputnik POLITICS 12:59 19.04.2017 Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan's declaration of victory in Sunday's constitutional referendum to expand his presidential authority has been hailed by the Muslim communities in Serbia and neighboring Bosnia and Herzegovina. Political analysts and diplomats explained to Sputnik Serbia what they now expect from the Turkish leader. On Sunday, President Tayyip Erdogan declared victory in a referendum to replace Turkey's parliamentary system with an all-powerful presidency and abolish the office of prime minister. His victory has been hailed in Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina, one of the successor states of the former Yugoslavia. The Turkish leader was congratulated by Bosnian politician Bakir Izetbegović, the Bosniak member of the tripartite Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina and President of the Party of Democratic Action. The results of the vote have been also hailed by Sulejman Ugljanin, the first and current president of the Bosniac National Council, a representative body of the Bosniak national minority in Serbia, who said that "any Erdogan's success is the success of Bosniaks of Sandžak" (Serbia's region, former Ottoman administrative district). Sputnik Serbia discussed the issue with Serbian-American political analyst Srdja Trifkovic, who explained that since the very start of his political career, Erdogan has been supporting those in the Balkans whom he considered continuators of the so-called "Ottoman tradition." It is also worth reminding that the Turkish leader earlier claimed that Bosnian politician Alija Izetbegović, the first President of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, who died in 2003, once said that he had "left Bosnia to Erdogan to take care of." "The Muslims in Serbia and Bosnia do have reasons to welcome Erdogan's victory. They hope that after the referendum he will be more active in pursuing Turkish ambitions in the Balkans. I also think this will be the case as Erdogan is no longer bound with any obligations to the EU and the US. Their relations have soured after the failed coup attempt," the political analyst said. He also suggested that there might be continuation of what is being called a "NeoOttoman strategy of Ankara", which is being pursued in three directions: Caucasian, Middle Eastern and the Balkan. "We should also expect greetings coming from Kosovo, Albania and western Macedonia. There is no doubt that Erdogan considers the Albanians his key allies and partners in strengthening Turkish strategic presence in the region," Trifkovic concluded. Former Serbian diplomat Srecko Djukic however has a different point of view. He told Sputnik Serbia that Erdogan will most likely deal with his national issues first. "I think we should wait and see whether Turkey will have enough power to get closer with the Balkan countries. Turkey is likely to face lots of challenges as its economic situation is different now. And I don't think that Ankara will expand its presence in the Balkans in the nearest future," he suggested. |
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