Milorad Dodik, President of Republika Srpska, the Serb-dominated entity in Bosnia, has said it would be the best for Bosnia and Herzegovina to split it into two.
Speaking in Belgrade on Wednesday to law students, he said that Republika Srpska already has all the elements of a state in terms of the number of citizens, its size, competences and independent relations to other countries.
“It would be best if Republika Srpska was a state”, Dodik said, adding: “It will happen one day, we just have to have patience.”
Ahead of the 18th anniversary of the 1995 Dayton Accords on November 21, which ended the 1992-95 war in Bosnia, his cabinet also published a document detailing the roots of Republika Srpska, its authorities and significance.
Meanwhile Cedomir Antic, historian and analyst,this week said in Belgradethat the Dayton Peace Accords had been a victory for Serbs.
The solution for Bosnia was to turn it into a confederation or split it onto two units, he added.
Some experts say Serbian calls to divide Bosnia are being rendered redundant by the EU accession process, however.
Vehid Sehic, member of the experts group drafting a new constitution for Bosnia's Federation entity, told Balkan Insight that history showed how difficult it was to divide Balkan states peacefully.
“Bosnia and Herzegovina surely sees its future in the EU, in which case it will not matter if it is a federation or a confederation,” Sehic maintained.
Recalling that Bosnia comprises three constituent peoples, Bosniaks, Serbs and Croats, he said none can claim exclusive rights to any part of the country.
In his latest report to the UN Security Council, Valentin Inzko, the High Representative to Bosnia, tasked with overseeing implementation of the Dayton Accords, voiced concern about Bosnian Serb calls for independence.
“The Republika Srpska President remains the most frequent and vocal critic of the territorial integrity and sovereignty of BiH, recently boasting again that he will lead the entity to independence,” Inzko said in New York last week.
