Infighting stalls reforms in Bosnia

Infighting stalls reforms in Bosnia

Police reform is an essential step for Bosnia's possible admission to the European Union.

The U.S.-brokered peace agreement that ended the 1992-1995 Bosnian war left the country divided into a Bosnian Serb mini-state and a Muslim-Croat Federation. Each have their own government and police and are linked by joint state institutions and a three-man presidency.

Haris Silajdžić, the Muslim member of the Bosnian Presidency and other Muslim leaders in the Federation have stepped up their demands for abolition since the International Court of Justice (ICJ) based in The Hague, Netherlands, ruled in February that Bosnian Serb forces committed genocide in July 1995 when they overran the eastern enclave of Srebrenica, killing up to 8,000 Muslim men and boys.

Dodik was especially outraged by the latest calls of Silajdžić for the abolition of Republika Srpska. During his recent visit to London, Silajdžić asked British diplomats to support the abolition of the Bosnian Serb Republic "because it was created through genocide."

"We have no intention of talking to Silajdžić about any issue as long as he continues to claim that the police in Republika Srpska committed genocide. That is a lie and this must stop," Dodik said and added that the ICJ verdict did not incriminate institutions in Republika Srpska, but individuals and groups of individuals.

Silajdžić responded on Bosnian television, saying that Dodik should divert  his accusations to the ICJ in The Hague as it was the ICJ that said that institutions, the police and the army of Republika Srpska committed genocide.

"I will continue to talk about genocide and remind everyone that the results of  genocide cannot be acknowledged and have to be eliminated," Silajdzic said.

At an open meeting of the UN Security Council in May, the international community issued a tough warning to Bosnian politicians to stop nationalistic rhetoric and start essential reforms or else EU membership will remain a distant dream.