The Bosniak leading party, the Party of Democratic Action (SDA), refused as unacceptable the statements of top international institutions in Bosnia, which assessed as "irresponsible and counterproductive" SDA’s initiative to challenge the name of Bosnia’s Republika Srpska entity before a court.
Instead of “fierce and strong” reactions to the SDA’s announcement to ask for discrimination against the non-Serbs in the RS entity to be removed in line with law and constitutional procedures, SDA said, “we ask the OHR, the OSCE, and the member states of the Peace Implementation Council to stop pulling back before daily assaults on Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Dayton Peace Agreement coming from Milorad Dodik and other officials of the RS entity.”
The Bosniak leading party announced earlier this week it would challenge the name of Bosnia’s Serb-dominated entity before Bosnia’s Constitutional Court, arguing that the name ‘Republika Srpska’ discriminates the non-Serbs living in that entity.
This triggered strong reactions among the Serb leadership but also the response of top international institutions in the country including the Office of the High Representative (OHR), its Peace Implementation Council (PIC) and the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).
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The foreign offices in Sarajevo said the Constitution clearly recognised Bosnia’s two entities, Republika Srpska and Federation, and that SDA’s initiative coming amid the talks on post-election government formation was “irresponsible and counterproductive.”
“It is an obvious shift of arguments,” said SDA accusing the foreign institutions of the lack of reaction.
“It is exactly their passiveness, lack of timely reaction and specific moves, and often their cowardly stance towards continuous undermining of the institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina with only proverbial ‘concern’ that encouraged the policy of apartheid towards the non-Serbs in the RS entity and destructive policy towards the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina,” the party said.
The international community's High Representative was installed to oversee the civilian part of the implementation of the Dayton Peace Agreement, the peace treaty that ended the 1992-95 Bosnian war.
Its Peace Implementation Council (PIC)'s Steering Board, which is composed of foreign ambassadors in Bosnia, meets twice a year to assess the progress in this process.
