Latest news with #Serb-controlled
The Sun
24-04-2025
- Politics
- The Sun
Bosnian Serb leader due back in East Sarajevo after arrest attempt
SARAJEVO: Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik, who is wanted on secession charges, is expected again in East Sarajevo on Thursday, hours after federal police attempted to arrest him but turned back for fear of a conflict. Dodik, the president of the Bosnian Serb statelet, is wanted by Bosnia's central judiciary after a series of secessionist moves, but continues to defy an arrest warrant issued in mid-March. Since the end of its bloody inter-ethnic war in the 1990s, Bosnia remains split into two highly autonomous halves -- the Serbs' Republika Srpska (RS) and a Muslim-Croat Federation, linked by a weak central government. On Wednesday, federal police officers tried to enter an official building in East Sarajevo, a Serb-controlled town near the Bosnian capital, to arrest Dodik but were blocked by Bosnian Serb interior ministry forces. 'Our colleagues from the RS ministry simply weren't cooperative, or rather, they believed that it shouldn't be carried out, that it could perhaps lead to some conflict,' said Jelena Miovcic, spokeswoman for the federal police force (SIPA). 'We simply assessed that proceeding might cause bigger problems... In the end, we didn't go in armed... It was meant to be handled in a civilised way, to explain things clearly -- that we are legally obliged to enforce the court order from Bosnia and Herzegovina,' she told AFP. Dodik accused the federal police at an improvised press conference Wednesday night of 'violating RS laws', referring to RS parliament legislation banning the federal police and judiciary from the statelet. Dodik, 66, has repeatedly refused to follow rulings from the international high representative who oversees the Bosnian peace deal. The court of Bosnia and Herzegovina convicted him in February, sentencing him to one year in prison and banning him from holding public office for six years. Dodik rejected the ruling and, in response, barred the federal police and judiciary from operating in Republika Srpska.
The Sun
24-04-2025
- Politics
- The Sun
Dodik defies arrest in RS, federal police forced to back off
SARAJEVO: Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik, who is wanted on secession charges, is expected again in East Sarajevo on Thursday, hours after federal police attempted to arrest him but turned back for fear of a conflict. Dodik, the president of the Bosnian Serb statelet, is wanted by Bosnia's central judiciary after a series of secessionist moves, but continues to defy an arrest warrant issued in mid-March. Since the end of its bloody inter-ethnic war in the 1990s, Bosnia remains split into two highly autonomous halves -- the Serbs' Republika Srpska (RS) and a Muslim-Croat Federation, linked by a weak central government. On Wednesday, federal police officers tried to enter an official building in East Sarajevo, a Serb-controlled town near the Bosnian capital, to arrest Dodik but were blocked by Bosnian Serb interior ministry forces. 'Our colleagues from the RS ministry simply weren't cooperative, or rather, they believed that it shouldn't be carried out, that it could perhaps lead to some conflict,' said Jelena Miovcic, spokeswoman for the federal police force (SIPA). 'We simply assessed that proceeding might cause bigger problems... In the end, we didn't go in armed... It was meant to be handled in a civilised way, to explain things clearly -- that we are legally obliged to enforce the court order from Bosnia and Herzegovina,' she told AFP. Dodik accused the federal police at an improvised press conference Wednesday night of 'violating RS laws', referring to RS parliament legislation banning the federal police and judiciary from the statelet. Dodik, 66, has repeatedly refused to follow rulings from the international high representative who oversees the Bosnian peace deal. The court of Bosnia and Herzegovina convicted him in February, sentencing him to one year in prison and banning him from holding public office for six years. Dodik rejected the ruling and, in response, barred the federal police and judiciary from operating in Republika Srpska.
Time of India
24-04-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Bosnian Serb leader back in Sarajevo after arrest attempt
Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik (Image: AP) SARAJEVO: Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik, who is wanted on secession charges, returned to the Serb portion of the capital on Thursday, hours after federal police tried to arrest him but backed down for fear of a conflict. Dodik, the president of the Bosnian Serb statelet, is wanted by Bosnia's central judiciary after a series of secessionist moves but continues to defy an arrest warrant issued in mid-March. Since the end of its ethnic war in the 1990s, Bosnia remains split into two highly autonomous halves -- the Serbs' Republika Srpska (RS) and a Muslim-Croat Federation -- linked by a weak central government. On Wednesday, federal police officers tried to enter an official building in East Sarajevo , a Serb-controlled area on the east of the Bosnian capital, to arrest Dodik but were blocked by Bosnian Serb interior ministry forces. "Our colleagues from the RS ministry simply weren't cooperative or, rather, they believed that it shouldn't be carried out, that it could perhaps lead to some conflict," said Jelena Miovcic, spokeswoman for the federal police force (SIPA). "We simply assessed that proceeding might cause bigger problems... In the end, we didn't go in armed... It was meant to be handled in a civilised way, to explain things clearly -- that we are legally obliged to enforce the court order from Bosnia and Herzegovina ," she told AFP. Dodik accused the federal police at an improvised press conference on Wednesday night of "violating RS laws", referring to RS parliament legislation banning the federal police and judiciary from the statelet. He reappeared in East Sarajevo on Thursday, attending the inauguration of a university building amid a heavier than usual police presence. Dodik, 66, has repeatedly refused to follow rulings from the international high representative who oversees the Bosnian peace deal, Christian Schmidt . Schmidt on Thursday announced the immediate suspension of all government aid to Dodik's party. The court of Bosnia and Herzegovina convicted Dodik in February, sentencing him to one year in prison and banning him from holding public office for six years. Dodik rejected the ruling and, in response, barred the federal police and judiciary from operating in Republika Srpska.
Voice of America
14-03-2025
- Politics
- Voice of America
Constitutional crisis shakes Bosnia
The national assembly of Bosnia's Serb-controlled Republika Srpska on Thursday adopted the draft of the new Republic Constitution, introduced by the autonomous republic's president, Milorad Dodik, that includes articles that violate Bosnia's constitution. Bosnian state prosecutors on Wednesday had ordered the arrest of Dodik and his aides for ignoring a court summons for allegedly trying to undermine Bosnia's constitution. Republika Srpska is an entity within Bosnia and Herzegovina. Last month, a Bosnian court sentenced Dodik to one year in prison and banned him from politics for six years over his separatist activities and for defying decisions by the international High Representative that oversees the 1995 Dayton Accords. That agreement ended an ethnically rooted war that lasted more than three years and killed 100,000 people. Dodik rejected the arrest warrant, telling journalists in the regional capital, Banja Luka, on Wednesday that it was politically motivated and that he would ask Russia to veto an extension of the presence of EUFOR, the European Union's peacekeeping force in Bosnia, at the U.N. Security Council. In an interview Thursday with VOA's Bosnian Service, Dodik's lawyer, Anto Nobilo, said Dodik does not recognize either the Bosnian court or state prosecutor's office, and thus does not need legal defense. "I do not believe there will be Dodik's arrest," Nobilo said. "Mr. Dodik will not cooperate, or name his defense team, because he does not consider the proceedings legitimate. ... Bosnia needs this situation defused immediately. This is a huge constitutional and legal and political crisis and has to be resolved politically." Nenad Stevandic, president of Republika Srpska's national assembly and a close ally of Dodik, denounced the moves against the Serb-controlled autonomous republic as an attack on the constitutional order. "We are absolutely right," he said Wednesday. "However, to be right in Bosnia and Herzegovina means to be persecuted." Meanwhile, in Washington, three members of the U.S. Senate — Chuck Grassley, Jeanne Shaheen and Jim Risch — led a group of nine other members of the U.S. Congress in calling on Secretary of State Marco Rubio to prevent further deterioration in Bosnia. "We are deeply concerned about the recent actions of Milorad Dodik, the leader of the Republika Srpska entity within Bosnia and Herzegovina," they wrote in a letter to Rubio. "For years, he has engaged in secessionist activity, challenging Bosnia and Herzegovina's state institutions, undermining the constitution and threatening the territorial integrity of the country." The U.S. imposed sanctions on Dodik and his "patronage network" in 2023 and again in January of this year. Asked by VOA while en route Monday to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, if the U.S. was considering "any punitive action against Dodik," Rubio said the Trump administration did not want to see a partition of Bosnia. "The last thing the world needs is another crisis, and we've spoken out about that already," he said. "As far as what we maybe do next, we're reviewing those options. But it's been abundantly clear that whatever differences may exist internally there, this cannot lead to a country breaking apart, and it cannot lead to another conflict." Experts say the actions of Dodik and the Republika Srpska national assembly have precipitated Bosnia's most serious constitutional crisis since 1995. "First of all, it is a reflection of [Dodik's] disrespect for fundamental state institutions, meaning, the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina and all those fundamental postulates on which the constitutional-legal order rests," Milos Davidovic, professor of law at the University of Sarajevo, told VOA's Bosnian Service. Ahmed Kico, a political and security expert, told VOA the actions of Dodik and the Republika Srpska national assembly were among "hybrid operations … realized at the behest of the Russian Federation and Serbia … therefore, it is a really dangerous situation where they are trying to show and prove that Bosnia and Herzegovina's survival is not possible as a democratic state." Amid the growing crisis, additional European peacekeepers arrived in Bosnia on Wednesday to bolster those of EUFOR.
Yahoo
12-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Bosnia prosecutor seeks detention of separatist Serb leaders amid mounting tensions
SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herzegovina (AP) — Bosnian prosecutors on Wednesday ordered the detention of three top Bosnian Serb officials over a series of separatist actions in recent weeks that have heightened tensions in the Balkan country. The Bosnian Prosecutor's Office issued the order after Bosnian Serb President Milorad Dodik, Prime Minister Radovan Viskovic and Parliament Speaker Nenad Stevandic failed to answer two summons for questioning. The three are suspected of violating Bosnia's constitutional order with their policies, Bosnian media reported. See for yourself — The Yodel is the go-to source for daily news, entertainment and feel-good stories. By signing up, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy. Last month Bosnian Serb lawmakers passed a set of disputed laws that barred the central Bosnian state judiciary and police from operating in the Serb-controlled part of the country, called Republika Srpska. The lawmakers passed the laws after a Bosnian court convicted Dodik of disobeying orders from the top international official in Bosnia. The court sentenced him to a year in prison and banned him from public office. Dodik has repeatedly said he does not recognize the Bosnian prosecution office and would not go to Sarajevo for questioning. The recent Bosnian Serb moves are seen as part of escalating efforts to break the territory away from Bosnia and have been condemned by the United States and the European Union. Dodik, who has faced U.S. and Bristish sanctions, is backed by Moscow. The assembly of Republika Srpska on Wednesday debated a new draft constitution that would advance the separation process even further by creating an army and allowing the entity to join a union with neighboring countries. It was not immediately clear what would happen next. Bosnia's state security agency known as SIPA has confirmed they were asked to assist in the detention of the three officials. In Banja Luka, the northwestern town that is the seat of the Bosnian Serb government, police could be seen deployed around the parliament building ahead of a session. The latest tensions have raised fears of violent incidents between Bosnia's central security forces and the Serb police. They also recall separatist aspirations that sparked Bosnia's war in 1992. The conflict ended three years later in a U.S.-sponsored peace accord that created two administrations — one Bosnian Serb, the other Bosniak-Croat — that are tied together by joint central institutions. During a visit this week to Bosnia, NATO's Secretary General Mark Rutte pledged the Western military Alliance's support for Bosnia's integrity while a European peacekeeping force in Bosnia, EUFOR, stepped up the number of its troops.
