Latest news with #Sarajevo-based
Euronews
2 days ago
- Politics
- Euronews
Electoral authorities strip Bosnian Serb leader Dodik of presidency
Bosnia's electoral authorities stripped Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik of his presidency Wednesday after a state-level appeals chamber upheld a verdict sentencing him to a six-year ban from politics. The late February ruling by the Sarajevo-based Court of BiH over anti-constitutional conduct triggered a prolonged high-tension political crisis in the Western Balkan country that has since simmered down to a steady boil. However, the heat was back on after the court's appeals chamber confirmed the original verdict against Dodik, who holds the office of president of the Republika Srpska (RS), one of Bosnia and Herzegovina's main administrative units. This meant that the Central Electoral Committee, or CIK, had to open the procedure under electoral law of removing him from office and calling snap elections in the RS to fill the vacated position within 90 days. Dodik, who reacted to Wednesday's decision by stating it was "yet another sh*tshow from Sarajevo", can appeal the electoral body's decision. "There's no surrender or giving up. Surrender is not an option," Dodik said in a post on X. He has vowed to stay on as entity president regardless of CIK's dismissal. Dodik's legal representatives have already announced he will also open a separate case against the original ruling in front of the state-level Constitutional Court. It is unclear how long these processes might take. A general election in Bosnia is set for autumn 2026. Meanwhile, Dodik has attempted to rally all Bosnian Serb political actors to stand behind him in defiance of the court decisions. However, the opposition parties have largely refused to do so so far. The EU's diplomatic service (EEAS) spokesperson said last Friday that the Court of BiH's "verdict is binding and must be respected." "The EU calls on all parties to acknowledge the independence and impartiality of the court, and to respect and uphold its verdict," the statement said. In turn, Dodik has received support from Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova. Months-long pushback Since February, Dodik has repeatedly rejected the verdict of one year in prison and barred him from politics for six years for going against the decisions of the country's international peace envoy, Christian Schmidt, which constitutes a criminal act. In the RS, he introduced new laws meant to ban the operation of state-level security and judicial institutions in what comprises about half of the Western Balkan country's territory. The decisions have been temporarily suspended by the state-level Constitutional Court. "As far as I'm concerned, that verdict doesn't exist, and it is null and void," Dodik told Euronews Serbia in a June interview. Dodik has also continuously questioned the legitimacy of High Representative Schmidt, saying he acted against "imposed decisions" by the envoy whose mandate, Dodik claims, contradicts the Dayton Agreement, signed in 1995 to end the war in the country. The agreement brought about the end of the war between the country's three main ethnic groups — Bosniaks, Serbs and Croats — that began in 1992 during the dissolution of the former Yugoslavia, deemed as the bloodiest conflict on European soil since World War II. The High Representative is meant to act as the chief arbiter in high-profile disputes and the key figure overseeing the implementation of the deal. The peace agreement, parts of which act as the country's constitution, split the country into two main administrative units, or entities: the Serb-majority RS and the Bosniak-Croat Federation of BiH (FBiH), partially overseen by an umbrella state-level government. Meant to appease the former belligerents, it created a complicated system of checks and balances, said to be the world's most complex democracy. Dodik, who has served in various top roles, including the state-level presidency, for decades, has repeatedly called for the independence of the RS from the rest of Bosnia, fuelling fears of instability. He has been placed under US and British sanctions for his actions, but has had the steady support of Moscow. Test of post-war stability Dodik's ongoing challenge to the High Representative and state-level institutions' authority has been deemed to be the EU membership hopeful's biggest test of post-war stability. The Court of BiH issued a nationwide arrest warrant for Dodik in March. Since then, he travelled to neighbouring Serbia, Israel and Russia, where he attended the 9 May Victory Day celebrations in Moscow, organised by Russian President Vladimir Putin. Back home, tensions flared up once again in late April after state-level security agency inspectors tried to arrest Dodik, but were prevented from doing so. While the details around the incident remained unclear, domestic media reported that SIPA agents left after 'talking' to the RS police. Dodik later said he felt 'fine and safe". The crisis over his potential arrest was somewhat defused in July, when Dodik voluntarily came in for questioning at the state-level prosecutor's office, after which the warrant was dropped. According to Bosnian law, Dodik can pay a fine for each day of his one-year prison sentence instead of serving time in jail. The European peacekeeping force in Bosnia, EUFOR, had stepped up the number of its troops in response to the tensions earlier this year. In March, NATO's Secretary General Mark Rutte pledged the military alliance's "unwavering" support for Bosnia's territorial integrity. "Three decades after the Dayton Peace Agreement, I can tell you: NATO remains firmly committed to the stability of this region and to the security of Bosnia and Herzegovina," Rutte said at the time. "We will not allow hard-won peace to be jeopardised."
Euronews
3 days ago
- Politics
- Euronews
Electoral authorities strip Bosnian Serb leader Dodik after court ban
Bosnia's electoral authorities stripped Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik of his presidency Wednesday after a state-level appeals chamber upheld a verdict sentencing him to a six-year ban from politics. The late February ruling by the Sarajevo-based Court of BiH over anti-constitutional conduct triggered a prolonged high-tension political crisis in the Western Balkan country that has since simmered down to a steady boil. However, the heat was back on after the court's appeals chamber confirmed the original verdict against Dodik, who holds the office of president of the Republika Srpska (RS), one of Bosnia and Herzegovina's main administrative units. This meant that the Central Electoral Committee, or CIK, had to open the procedure under electoral law of removing him from office and calling snap elections in the RS to fill the vacated position within 90 days. Dodik, who reacted to Wednesday's decision by stating it was "yet another sh*tshow from Sarajevo", can appeal the Central Electoral Committee's decision. "There's no surrender or giving up. Surrender is not an option," Dodik said in a post on X. He has vowed to stay on as entity president regardless of CIK's dismissal. His legal representatives have already announced he will also open a separate case against the original ruling in front of the state-level Constitutional Court. It is unclear how long these processes might take. A general election in Bosnia is set for autumn 2026. Meanwhile, Dodik has attempted to rally all Bosnian Serb political actors to stand behind him in defiance of the court decisions. However, the opposition parties have largely refused to do so so far. The EU's diplomatic service (EEAS) spokesperson said last Friday that the Court of BiH's "verdict is binding and must be respected." "The EU calls on all parties to acknowledge the independence and impartiality of the court, and to respect and uphold its verdict," the statement said. In turn, Dodik has received support from Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova. Months-long pushback Since February, Dodik has repeatedly rejected the verdict of one year in prison and barred him from politics for six years for going against the decisions of the country's international peace envoy, Christian Schmidt, which constitutes a criminal act. In the RS, he introduced new laws meant to ban the operation of state-level security and judicial institutions in what comprises about half of the Western Balkan country's territory. The decisions have been temporarily suspended by the state-level Constitutional Court. "As far as I'm concerned, that verdict doesn't exist, and it is null and void," Dodik told Euronews Serbia in a June interview. Dodik has also continuously questioned the legitimacy of High Representative Schmidt, saying he acted against "imposed decisions" by the envoy whose mandate, Dodik claims, contradicts the Dayton Agreement, signed in 1995 to end the war in the country. The agreement brought about the end of the war between the country's three main ethnic groups — Bosniaks, Serbs and Croats — that began in 1992 during the dissolution of the former Yugoslavia, deemed as the bloodiest conflict on European soil since World War II. The High Representative is meant to act as the chief arbiter in high-profile disputes and the key figure overseeing the implementation of the deal. The peace agreement, parts of which act as the country's constitution, split the country into two main administrative units, or entities: the Serb-majority RS and the Bosniak-Croat Federation of BiH (FBiH), partially overseen by an umbrella state-level government. Meant to appease the former belligerents, it created a complicated system of checks and balances, said to be the world's most complex democracy. Dodik, who has served in various top roles, including the state-level presidency, for decades, has repeatedly called for the independence of the RS from the rest of Bosnia, fuelling fears of instability. He has been placed under US and British sanctions for his actions, but has had the steady support of Moscow. Test of post-war stability Dodik's ongoing challenge to the High Representative and state-level institutions' authority has been deemed to be the EU membership hopeful's biggest test of post-war stability. The Court of BiH issued a nationwide arrest warrant for Dodik in March. Since then, he travelled to neighbouring Serbia, Israel and Russia, where he attended the 9 May Victory Day celebrations in Moscow, organised by Russian President Vladimir Putin. Back home, tensions flared up once again in late April after state-level security agency inspectors tried to arrest Dodik, but were prevented from doing so. While the details around the incident remained unclear, domestic media reported that SIPA agents left after 'talking' to the RS police. Dodik later said he felt 'fine and safe". The crisis over his potential arrest was somewhat defused in July, when Dodik voluntarily came in for questioning at the state-level prosecutor's office, after which the warrant was dropped. According to Bosnian law, Dodik can pay a fine for each day of his one-year prison sentence instead of serving time in jail. The European peacekeeping force in Bosnia, EUFOR, had stepped up the number of its troops in response to the tensions earlier this year. In March, NATO's Secretary General Mark Rutte pledged the military alliance's "unwavering" support for Bosnia's territorial integrity. "Three decades after the Dayton Peace Agreement, I can tell you: NATO remains firmly committed to the stability of this region and to the security of Bosnia and Herzegovina," Rutte said at the time. "We will not allow hard-won peace to be jeopardised."
Middle East Eye
11-07-2025
- Politics
- Middle East Eye
UN peacekeepers failed to protect us in Bosnia. They will fail in Gaza too
On 11 July 2003, large posters appeared on the streets of Sarajevo, showing a young woman staring directly at the camera. Handwritten in English across the image were the words: No teeth...? A moustache...? Smell like shit...? Bosnian girl! At the bottom, a caption explained: "Graffiti by an unknown Dutch soldier on the wall of the army barracks in Potocari, Srebrenica, 1994/95. Royal Netherlands Army troops, part of the UN Protection Force (Unprofor) in Bosnia and Herzegovina from 1992 to 1995, were responsible for the Srebrenica safe area." The work, which gained international recognition after being exhibited in galleries around the world, was created by Sarajevo-based artist Sejla Kameric, using a photograph taken by local photographer Tarik Samarah in Potocari sometime after 2001. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters Three decades later, I hear renewed calls for UN peacekeepers to be deployed to Gaza and other parts of Palestine. But I struggle to see what benefit that would bring to people living under occupation, denied even their most basic rights - including the right to live. The UN's betrayal Eight years before Kameric created her artwork, on the morning of 3 July 1995, military and police forces led by convicted war criminal Ratko Mladic entered the city of Srebrenica. After more than three years under siege, tens of thousands of residents fled. The genocide in Srebrenica was committed in plain sight of UN peacekeepers, who failed not only to prevent it but even to attempt to stop it They moved towards the UN base in Potocari, desperate for protection and hoping that the several hundred Dutch peacekeepers stationed there since 1993 would provide it. Soon, more than 6,000 people were crammed inside the UN compound, with another 20,000 sheltering in nearby buildings. On 11 July 1995, Mladic's troops began separating men from women, children, and the elderly. Buses arrived to transport around 25,000 people out of Srebrenica to areas outside Mladic's control. The remaining men - more than 8,000 - were taken away, and most were never seen alive again. Those whose remains were found, sometimes just a single bone, are now buried in the Memorial Centre, the site of the former UN base. Seven identified bones will be buried on 11 July this year, 30 years after the genocide. Thousands more are still missing. For Bosnians, on that sweltering July day in 1995, even the idea of UN protection died in Potocari. The genocide in Srebrenica was committed in plain sight of UN peacekeepers, who failed not only to prevent it but even to attempt to stop it. The primary concern for the UN and the international community became how to evacuate the Dutch soldiers and international personnel from Srebrenica. They did not request reinforcements, although they could have. They did not use their weapons to defend civilians. They stood by as people were separated, murdered, expelled, raped and robbed. For years after that summer, no one entered the UN base in Potocari. When people finally gained access in 2001, they found graffiti left behind by Dutch soldiers - including the one used in Kameric's artwork. Graffiti scrawled by a Dutch UN peacekeeper in Potocari during the 1994-1995 deployment, left, later incorporated into Sejla Kameric's 2003 artwork 'Bosnian Girl', right, photographed by Tarik Samarah (Supplied) When exactly the graffiti was written is unclear, but it tells us how Dutch soldiers saw the women who were - like everyone else in Srebrenica - trapped in a besieged city, holding on to their bare lives. In October 1995, Human Rights Watch published its first report on Srebrenica and the UN's role. It concluded: "Although the safe areas may have been created with good intentions, in actuality, they became UN-administered ethnic ghettos." (Un)safe areas After the war ended with the signing of the peace agreement in December 1995, survivors from Srebrenica began their long struggle for justice. They demanded - and continue to demand - that the bodies of all the disappeared be found and identified, and that those responsible for the crimes be brought to justice. Part of this struggle, led primarily by survivor women's associations, focused on holding the UN and the Dutch battalion accountable. War on Gaza: Did we learn nothing from the Srebrenica genocide? Read More » Some even launched court cases in the Netherlands. In one of the first, 11 plaintiffs accused the Netherlands and the UN of failing to prevent genocide. But in July 2008, a Dutch court dismissed the case, stating that it had no jurisdiction over the UN, citing the organisation's immunity from prosecution for crimes committed during missions. Following this ruling, a group of survivors filed a new lawsuit, this time against the Dutch government. They argued that, although the soldiers were part of a UN mission, the Dutch government still had de facto control over its troops in Srebrenica. Dutch courts initially dismissed this case too, claiming that the Dutch battalion peacekeepers were acting under a UN mandate and were therefore not the responsibility of the Dutch state - a catch-22. Finally, after years of legal battles and several court rulings, in 2019 the Dutch Supreme Court found the state partially responsible - but only for 10 percent of the deaths of 350 Bosnian men who had been expelled from the UN compound. The court reasoned that there was a 10 percent chance the Dutch soldiers could have prevented the killings had they acted differently. Follow Middle East Eye's live coverage of the Israel-Palestine war During the war in Bosnia, six cities - including Srebrenica and Sarajevo, where I live - were declared UN "safe areas" by the UN Security Council. Peacekeepers were deployed but with no clear mandate, including on whether troops were authorised to use force to protect we, the civilians, learnt was that they were not. Or rather, that it depended on individual commanders. While we were dying, UN officials held endless meetings, gave promises, expressed shock and disbelief - but did nothing to stop the crimes. UN peacekeeping missions have long been mired in controversy, wherever they have been deployed. One of the most serious and persistent issues is the sexual exploitation of women. UN peacekeepers are armed forces drawn from different countries and are required to follow the policies of their respective states. Often, they know little to nothing about the people or places where they are deployed. At the same time, they are instructed not to interfere with locals - a setup that creates, as conflict scholar Severine Autesserre writes in her book Peaceland, "a pervasive power disparity between the interveners and their intended beneficiaries". Moreover, peacekeeping deployments are costly, and the funds rarely reach local communities. In Sarajevo, another "safe area" during the 1990s, UN soldiers from Unprofor were a constant presence - white tanks, blue helmets, full protection gear. Armed, well-fed, and with enough water not only to drink but also to shower - a luxury for us - they were visible on the streets. Usually, we would see them driving around or standing aside, watching us run for our lives - or be killed. At one point, they began placing improvised barricades around the city to serve as visual protection against snipers. That seemed to be the maximum they were prepared to do. Each of these containers bore a large black sign: UN - a stark reminder that even when real protection disappears, the UN's public image endures. Someone later scrawled "forgiven" in red paint beneath it - a haunting commentary. Illusion of protection The role of the UN and its peace forces has remained problematic, and I see no reason to believe the Palestinian case will be any different. Deploying UN peacekeepers implies a false symmetry - that two sides are at war and must be kept apart. It ignores decades of settler-colonialism, apartheid, land theft, incarceration, violence, and systematic human rights violations. Rather than addressing these widespread abuses, it covers them with a blue lid. There are other proposals, such as the use of private security - an even worse and less accountable option, as seen in places like Afghanistan and Iraq. Deploying UN peacekeepers implies a false symmetry - that two sides are at war and must be kept apart. The genocide of Palestinians, ongoing for decades and now at its most extreme, demands different solutions. And if we look to the recent past, we must admit that the international community has yet to find any. So far, every external intervention has brought more misery for local people - and more profit for those who intervene. Real solutions require a new way of looking at conflict and militarisation, grounded in the lessons of the past, including the Bosnian experience. More importantly, they must come from survivors themselves, based on their own knowledge and lived reality. But no solution is possible without taking the first step: a total ceasefire. Until that happens, discussions about peacekeepers or similar proposals are a distraction - a way of prolonging the violence, rather than stopping it. And they will serve to further extend the permission granted by the West to Israel to kill. On the 30th anniversary of the Srebrenica genocide, let us remember: peace comes with freedom, not the UN. The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Eye.
Euronews
05-06-2025
- Politics
- Euronews
Bosnian Serb leader rejects verdict appeal amid political turmoil
Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik has not appealed his verdict and will not attend the state-level court session next Thursday — the latest development in a prolonged high-tension political crisis in the Western Balkan country that has since simmered down to a steady boil. The crisis reached its peak in late February, when the Sarajevo-based Court of BiH convicted Dodik of going against the decisions of the country's international peace envoy, Christian Schmidt, which constitutes a criminal act. The verdict is not final, and Dodik had the option to appeal it. In the meantime, however, the president of Bosnia's Serb-majority entity of the Republika Srpska (RS), Dodik introduced new laws meant to ban the operation of state-level security and judicial institutions in what comprises about half of the Western Balkan country's territory. The decisions have been temporarily suspended by the state-level Constitutional Court. "As far as I'm concerned, that verdict doesn't exist, and it is null and void," Dodik told Euronews Serbia. "I didn't even appeal because the RS parliament stated that the work of that court is banned in the territory of RS, as the court itself is unconstitutional," he argued. At the same time, Dodik firmly rejected allegations that his actions have alienated him from political actors from the other entity of the Federation of BiH and inched the country, which already went through a bloody war in the 1990s, closer to renewed conflict. "What I want is to establish communication and maintain peace," Dodik said. "A year ago, according to (leaders of the other entity), the main warmonger was Milorad Dodik. But nothing happened." "You won't find a single action of mine heading in that direction, nor will you find even one such statement," he said. Dodik also questioned the legitimacy of High Representative Schmidt, saying he acted against "imposed decisions" by the envoy whose mandate, Dodik claims, contradicts the Dayton Agreement, signed in 1995 to end the war in the country. The agreement brought about the end of the war between the country's three main ethnic groups — Bosniaks, Serbs and Croats — that began in 1992 during the dissolution of the former Yugoslavia, deemed as the bloodiest conflict on European soil since World War II. The High Representative is meant to act as the chief arbiter in high-profile disputes and the key figure overseeing the implementation of the deal. The peace agreement, parts of which act as the country's constitution, split the country into two main administrative units, or entities: the Serb-majority RS and the Bosniak-Croat FBiH, partially overseen by an umbrella state-level government. Meant to appease the former belligerents, it created a complicated system of checks and balances, said to be the world's most complex democracy. Dodik's ongoing challenge to the High Representative and state-level institutions' authority has been deemed to be the EU membership hopeful's biggest test of post-war stability. The Court of BiH issued a nationwide arrest warrant for Dodik in March, but he has not been apprehended since. In the meantime, he has travelled to neighbouring Serbia, Israel and Russia, where he attended the 9 May Victory Day celebrations in Moscow, organised by Russian President Vladimir Putin. Back home, tensions flared up once again in late April after state-level security agency inspectors tried to arrest Dodik, but were prevented from doing so. While the details around the incident remained unclear, the domestic media reported that SIPA agents left after 'talking' to the RS police. Dodik later said he felt 'fine and safe". The European peacekeeping force in Bosnia, EUFOR, has stepped up the number of its troops in response to the tensions. In March, NATO's Secretary General Mark Rutte pledged the military alliance's "unwavering" support for Bosnia's territorial integrity. "Three decades after the Dayton Peace Agreement, I can tell you: NATO remains firmly committed to the stability of this region and to the security of Bosnia and Herzegovina," Rutte said at the time. "We will not allow hard-won peace to be jeopardised."
Yahoo
01-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Art installation to be displayed during NATO summit in Dayton
DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) — Rep. Mike Turner announced Monday that a public art installation will be on display during the NATO Parliamentary Assembly Spring Session in May. 'Think Freedom,' a comprehensive public art project, will be on display in the Dayton Arcade this May. This is the first time the Sarajevo-based art piece will be on display in the United States. 'The arrival of the 'Think Freedom' art installation in Dayton for Dayton 2025 is a powerful symbol of resilience, unity, and the enduring pursuit of freedom,' said Congressman Mike Turner. The piece incorporates sculpture, installation, light, text and new global communication technologies to make a statement. 'I believe that art still has the universal power to inspire, that art can give impulses of hope, imagination, and creativity in order to build freedom and connectivity – simply put, to build a better world,' said Edina Seleskovic, Creator, Think Freedom. Local schools and artists of the Miami Valley will help the creator during installation by sharing their words and phrases of peace. 'Think Freedom' will be on display to the public May 21-31 in the Rotunda of the Dayton Arcade at 31 S. Main Street. Click here for updates on viewing times and activities. To learn more about the piece and the creator, click here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
