Bosnia: Serbs Vote to Strip Power from Central Institutions

Guess diversity isn’t a strength in Bosnia either.

Deutsche Welle:

The parliament of the Serb part of Bosnia-Herzegovina decided Friday to transfer powers away from the country’s central institutions.

The approval by the regional legislature of Republika Srpska (RS) comes in spite of warnings against such a move from the international community and an opposition boycott.

What did the Republika Srpska parliament agree?

MPs voted to strip the Bosnian state of competencies in the areas of taxation, justice, and security and defense for the RS region.

The three institutions represent key pillars of joint security, the rule of law and the economic system in Bosnia, which was divided into two autonomous regions after its 1992-1995 war.

The proposal won a clear majority with 49 votes in favor in the 83-seat chamber.

The vote amounted to a non-binding agreement that fell short of a final decision to quit the institutions — a move that would have needed the support of the region’s upper house.

Who is behind the move towards succession?

Milorad Dodik, head of the SNDS party and a Serb member of the Presidency of Bosnia-Herzegovina, was the driving force behind the initiative.

Dodik, a former Western protege turned nationalist, has been threatening for years to separate Republika Srpska from the Bosnian state.

He has long complained about state institutions, saying they were established based on decisions by international peace envoys and were not enshrined in the constitution.

Bosnia-Herzegovina is nothing more than “a paper republic,” Dodik told the Banja Luka parliament on Friday.

He announced that within six months, he would initiate legislation to reorganize the areas for which the central state no longer has jurisdiction.

It is not yet clear whether he will follow through on a promise made in September to create a separate army.

I don’t think any war’s gonna start in Bosnia in the near future, but it will eventually happen.

It’s absurd to think a “country” like this can realistically exist for long.

Anyone who really wanted this to not turn into a bloodbath would figure out some kind of plan for a peaceful partition based on ethnic lines.

But that’s not gonna happen, because diversity is our greatest strength and so on and so forth.