Bosnien und Herzegowina

With Russia unwilling to ride to his rescue, Milorad Dodik now has little choice except to step down from power in Republika Srpska and focus on selecting a trusted replacement. 

The National Assembly of the autonomous Republika Srpska in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BIH) on Friday voted to call for a referendum on a federal court’s decision to ban the entity’s former president from holding office. In a late-night session, the assembly rejected the decision of BiH’s Central Election Commission to terminate Milorad Dodik’s mandate, declaring the move unconstitutional and politically motivated.

The US State Department’s annual human rights report said Republika Srpska President Milorad Dodik undermined Bosnia and Herzegovina’s constitutional order while Bosnian Serb leaders used “divisive and inflammatory rhetoric” that raised tensions.

The state court accepted a plea from Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik, who was sentenced to a year in prison and given a six-year ban on holding political office, to convert his jail term to a fine of 18,660 euros.

An appeals court in Bosnia-Herzegovina has confirmed a prison sentence for Bosnian Serb President Milorad Dodik for disregarding the decisions of an international peace envoy, a charge the pro-Russia nationalist politician has dismissed as politically motivated.

At the UN General Assembly on Tuesday, survivors of the Srebrenica genocide joined top officials in marking 30 years since thousands of Bosnian Muslims were systematically killed in the worst atrocity on European soil since World War II. The affirmed the need to counter denial, support survivors and promote lasting peace. 

[…] The German parliament, the Bundestag, extended the mandate for the EU mission EUFOR Althea in the Balkan country. The mission monitors compliance with the Dayton Peace Agreement, which ended the Bosnian War in 1995. The Bundeswehr will continue to support this with up to 50 troops.

Once again, leaders of the majority-Serb entity Republika Srpska are threatening to break away from Bosnia. While tensions between the entity and Sarajevo are longstanding, national collapse may be closer than ever before. 

A recent rise in tensions in Bosnia and Herzegovina has sparked an “extraordinary crisis” as the country continues to emerge from the shadows of the Balkan wars 30 years ago, the UN Security Council heard on Tuesday. High Representative Christian Schmidt briefed on latest developments surrounding implementation of the 1995 General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which ended more than three years of bloodshed and genocide following the breakup of the former Yugoslavia.

Bosnia's High Representative on Thursday suspended public funding for the Bosnian Serb leader's party, citing its attacks on Bosnia's 'constitutional order' - as the political crsisis in the divided country continues to escalate.