Latest news with #Sarajevo-based
Euronews
3 days ago
- 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.
Bloomberg
17-03-2025
- Politics
- Bloomberg
Bosnia Police Issues Arrest Warrant for Dodik, Oslobodjenje Says
Border police representing Bosnia-Herzegovina's central authorities issued an arrest warrant for Milorad Dodik, the leader of the nation's Serb entity, according to the Oslobodjenje newspaper. Two other senior Republika Srpska officials are also subject to the warrants after they refused to comply with a summons to attend questioning by prosecutors, the Sarajevo-based edition reported Monday. Dodik responded by announcing on social media platform X that his Serb half of the country would form its own border police.
Russia Today
12-03-2025
- Politics
- Russia Today
Arrest warrant issued for Bosnian Serb leadership
Bosnian prosecutors have issued arrest warrants for the president, prime minister, and parliament speaker of Republika Srpska, the predominantly-Serb region within Bosnia and Herzegovina. They are accused of having launched an 'attack on the constitutional order' by enacting laws that restrict the operations of Bosnia's state-level judiciary and law enforcement agencies. Following a brutal civil war that pitted the former Yugoslav region's ethno-religious groups against one another, Bosnia and Herzegovina was divided into two self-governing entities, the ethnically Serbian Republika Srpska and a federation run by Bosniaks (Bosnian Muslims) and Croats, under the US-brokered 1995 Dayton Agreement. As part of this arrangement, the country is ruled by a three-member presidency – a Bosniak, a Serb, and a Croat – and includes an autonomous district at a key crossroads. The warrants were issued despite Banja Luka, the administrative center of Serb-majority Republika Srpska, not recognizing the authority of the Sarajevo-based Prosecutor's Office. The country's Prosecutor's Office issued the order after Bosnian Serb President Milorad Dodik, Prime Minister Radovan Viskovic and Parliament Speaker Nenad Stevandic failed to respond to two summonses for questioning, Serb Republic television reported, citing the regional government. A Sarajevo-based court last month sentenced Dodik to one year in prison and barred him from holding presidential office for six years for obstructing decisions made by Bosnia's constitutional court and defying the authority of international envoy Christian Schmidt. A German national, Schmidt was formally tasked with overseeing the implementation of the 1995 Dayton Peace Agreement. Dodik himself did not attend his sentencing and announced plans for the Republika Srpska National Assembly to reject the court's decision and prohibit the enforcement of any rulings made by Bosnia's state judiciary within its territory. Bosnian Serb lawmakers passed legislation that bans the central judiciary and police from operating within Republika Srpska. Bosnia's Constitutional Court temporarily suspended the laws on March 6, pending a final ruling, but Dodik insisted that the new laws must be implemented. Radovan Kovacevic, the spokesman for Dodik's party, the Alliance of Independent Social Democrats, denied that President Dodik or Republika Srpska had 'attacked' Bosnia's constitutional order. 'No one will arrest or can arrest the state leadership of Republika Srpska. Republika Srpska is not attacking the constitutional order; on the contrary, it is making decisions that it has the right to make, based on the constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Republika Srpska,' Kovacevic said. Commenting on the move, Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandar Vulin has asserted that Serbia will prevent the detention of Republika Srpska's top officials and described the order by the Prosecutor's Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina as a continuous attempt at revenge against Dodik. 'This is revenge against Milorad Dodik and revenge against the Serbs,' Vulin claimed. The Prosecutor's Office has the authority to summon individuals for questioning up to two times. If they fail to comply, a detention order may be issued. If Dodik, Stevandic, and Vickovic resist detention, a national arrest warrant could follow.
Euronews
26-02-2025
- Politics
- Euronews
Top court ruling may bar Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik from politics
Bosnia's state-level court reached a first-degree verdict Wednesday against Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik, sentencing him to one year in prison and barring him from politics for six years in a high-profile case that has sparked renewed tensions in the Western Balkan country and EU membership hopeful. The Sarajevo-based Court of BiH judges found Dodik, who serves as the president of the Serb-majority entity of the Republika Srpska (RS), guilty of criminal conduct over his defiance of the decisions of the international peace envoy in the country, German diplomat Christian Schmidt. In 2023, Dodik pushed through two laws adopted by the RS National Assembly — the entity's parliament — related to preventing the implementation of state-level Constitutional Court rulings and further amends to the entity's legislation. Both of the laws were immediately blocked by Schmidt, who serves as the international community's High Representative in Bosnia. In Bosnia, the High Representative acts as the chief arbiter in high-profile disputes and the key figure overseeing the implementation of the Dayton Agreement, signed in 1995 to stop 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 peace deal, which also acts as the country's constitution, split the country into two main administrative units, or entities: the Serb-majority RS, comprising about half of Bosnia, 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, deemed as the world's most complex democracy. 'Give him the boot' In immediate response to the sentencing, Dodik said to a crowd gathered in his support in the regional capital of Banja Luka that the National Assembly will issue a slew of decisions prohibiting the work of the state-level court, prosecutor's office and security and intelligence agencies on the entity's territory. Prior to the verdict, he also said he would ask for other Serb officials in state-level institutions to boycott them, a move which could paralyse the decision-making processes in the country. In Banja Luka, Dodik once again slammed the High Representative — whose legitimacy he keeps questioning. "When you see Schmidt, tell the police so we can arrest him and give him the boot here," Dodik said on Wednesday. "He committed the (first act of) violence, and I have the right to defend myself," he added. "I need the people's support, and I'll pursue this to the end," Dodik stated. He has the right to appeal Wednesday's verdict. In neighbouring Serbia, President Aleksandar Vučić reacted to the sentencing by calling a national security council meeting and announcing he would travel to Banja Luka on Wednesday evening. Dodik, who has been calling for the separation of the Serb entity from the rest of Bosnia for over a decade, has faced British and US sanctions for his policies but has had Russia's support. Prior to the sentencing, the state-level Prosecutor Nedim Ćosić requested that the court convict Dodik to serve up to five years in prison and ban him from political activity for 10 years. His defence asked for all charges to be dropped.
