Bosnia is dysfunctional, says Dodik

luciano pretty much nailed it on the dot.

Serbs never protested a Yugoslavia. It was the Slavic Muslims who live in Bosnia. Well if you wanted the breakup of Yugoslavia then we will call for the breakup of this strange monster you call Bosnia and Hercegovina.

International pressure or not, Bosnia cannot remain a state for far to much longer because when the majority of the population (Serbs+Croats) do not want to be apart of the country then it will collapse, which is identical to what happened in Yugoslavia.

It is the height of hypocrisy to favor decentralization in places like Belgium or what was once Yugoslavia but insist on a centralized Bosnia.Why do the Slavic Muslims want to force the Serbs into a dysfunctional marriage?Do they love the Serbs so much that they want them in bed in Bosnia but did not want to be together with them in a strong Yugoslavia?A croat would never give up his Roman Catholic identity so to any objective observer it is common sense that these so called Bosniacs are serbs who converted to Islam for oppurtunistic reasons during the Ottoman occupation.

MikeC, I couldn't agree with you more. Why all this nonsense about self-determination for Albanians in Serbia but forced centralization in Bosnia, AND within Kosovo itself? It's either centralization for all or self-determination for all.

For those that aren't aware, the Federation of Muslims and Croats is bankrupt and the only means of survival is to somehow gain control over the prospering RS. Their bitterness comes from seeing Serbians strengthening while they can't seem to get anything right. They've blamed the Serbians for all of their other problems so why not continue?

We should all know that RS wants nothing to do with the Federation and as far as I'm concerned, the only way for BiH to survive is to form some kind of union with Serbia.

If the Croatian parts prefer to merge with Croatia, then they will have a choice to exchange Krajina for it.

The Serbs of the ex-Yugoslav regions have been told constantly by foreigners to "stop living in the past" and "deal with the reality on the ground". Well, the Bosnian Serbs are dealing with reality, its time for the foreigners to deal with the reality on the ground in Bosnia; Banja Luka can survive and thrive without Sarajevo.

Look guys we can argue until we turn blue.
Facts are:
that the RS is established with the Dayton accords and its cemented in Bosnias institution and it cannot be changed without the approval of the Serbs + even they are no Serblovers Holbrooke,Biden and Obama always underscored that there will be no discussion about the abolishment of RS.

That are the facts,and no wishful thinking of Albanian and Muslim extremists will change them.
And for Kosovo,it is an occupied part of Serbia and the Albanians will not get a square micrometer of Serbian soil.Period.

Dear 'Outsider',

I would like to answer your question on "why RS shouldn't be given the right to join Serbia?"... There are a number of undeniable facts that ultra-nationalist secessionist Serbs ignore at all cost.

1) The RS is the primary result of an endless list of crimes against humanity, ethnic cleansing, war crimes and genocide. It has no historical basis for existence, and represents the spoils of war through the above-mentioned widespread breaches of international law and all levels of human morality. If we allow the RS to continue existing, then we do not learn the reason why the binding Geneva Conventions and UN Human Rights Charters were established.
2) The current RS institutions are legal inheritors of the crimes committed by their predecessors - their leaders in the recent wars, and therefore its existence is a reward for genocide in Srebrenica and across Bosnia by Karadzic and Mladic's ultra-nationalist war criminals. Many (or most) current RS political parties have their leaders and founders convicted with the above-mentioned crimes against humanity, genocide, etc...
3) The RS forms 49.5% of Bosnian's territory, yet Serbs only make up a third of Bosnia's population, as a result of the forced removal and ethnic cleansing of non-Serbs in these areas.
4) Minority returns have been proactively and widely blocked by RS institutions which is a breach of the Dayton Accords. The perpetuity of the RS is a continuation of the breaches of international law that were instilled upon the victims of genocide and ethnic cleansing.
5) The current Bosnian constitution means that corruption is rife - particularly in the RS as exposed by Transparency International (falsification of CIPS cards, privatisations, illegal infrastructure contracts, etc). Both entities need to be abolished, with a unified country, to simplify the political and bureaucratic processes, with the aim of streamlining decision making and progress.
6) Bosnia cannot join the EU with an ethno-centric constitution and entity system. Why should a Bosnian Muslim (or Croat) living in Srebrenica not be allowed to represent the RS at federal level? Similarly, why should a Bosnian Jew be prevented from representing any of the three "constituent people"?

These few points are just an outline of an endless list of reasons why RS, and thus entities, are untenable and should be abolished in Bosnia. The antagonistic attitude of the RS, blocking all political progress, has gone on for far too long. Things will change, and inevitably it will not be for the benefit of the RS.

Long story short - the RS has no basis for existence, and will be abolished. If Serbs think the RS should be allowed to secede, then Sandzak and Vojvodina should have the same option. Seems to me that the more Serbs demand RS independence, the smaller piece of paper is required to represent their "mother" country, while their wishes never eventuate.

@robert-o,ben,bad gorila etc,all of serbophobes and haters,what you people are accomplishing by posting on this web site day after day?For long time I read your posts and try to understand what is your goal? All of you just keep repeating yourself,serbs did this,serbs guilty of that,serbs,serbs...There is no subject in which you don't blame serbs. As serb I can say I hate nobody,I do get upset when injustice is on full force on any side,but no hate in my heart. Is it demonizing of nation still on or you just get some weird satisfaction of posting hate spites every day? Here is suggestion,write a book,put down all what is on your mind and read it yourself,just to see how it feels. Maybe if you are that good and accurate you get a publisher and make some money at the end?! By the way S.Milosevic was not the only butcher of the balkans,no he had company in that bloody tango(which takes two of course)right with him were Tudjman,Izetbegovic,Taci..All of them the same,ex communists turned nationalists, only they thought they were patriots!All of them did horrible things,full stop,they can rot in hell together for all I care. The rest of the people,my serbs,croats,bosnia muslim,albanians should think of the present and how to handle things in a peaceful manner.Think about future,live and let the others live.Hate is like poison,it kills everything and leaves nothing behind.Love is so much better,but if you can not love then just accept.Thank you b-92 for space.

It's dysfunctional because of Dodik and his Republika Srpska.

Dodik is a wise politician but unfortunately the only one that knows what's best for Bosnia. Can't understand why the West is pressuring poeple in Bosnia to live together when they have shown through war that they don't want to. If America and the EU wish to avoid another civil war let the people of Bosnia decide their own future.

If Serbia can be split due to ethnic tensions almost 20 years ago, there is no reason as to why Bosnia and Herzegovina should not be split either. Nobody wants to live with anybody, but international law must be respected, so one of two things must happen for all parts of ex-Yugoslavia:

1) Either the borders of all the ex-republics are respected without exception (Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Slovenia and Montenegro), based on the ex-Yugoslav constitution. Or...

2) All the constitutional areas of the republics should be allowed to decide whether or not they would like to live in the republic.

This is why it was such a pity that Yugoslavia split.

Cutura

Then why can't Kosovo split from Serbia? Whatever happened to international law?

Bad Gorilla

Why should Kosovo then be allowed to split from Serbia? Should Thaci have been stopped too before Feb 18th?

The Balkans is a weird place.

@ bad gorilla

Take everything you wrote in post 13, and subsitute RS for Kosmet and 1945 for 1995 and you have the same paralels.

Milosevic want to ethnically cleanse kosmet? Just look at demographics, you'll see that since 1999 there are hardly any serbs in kosovo! Do you not see how subjective your writing is! I hope other posters realize!

@roberto, you remind a lot of the fox news channel. Alotta complaining but no substance.

"Practically" a province doesn't cut it bad gorilla. Don't you already know that your anglo saxon masters from the west only look at things in black and white?

History repeats itself. The serbs have been given the short end of the stick many times, but like the old saying goes..what goes around comes around.

Without looking into whether the Bosniaks became Muslims for the right reasons back in ottoman times, or thinking of how best to punish those Serbs who dreamt Milosevic's dream in those days, I look at the situation as it is now and has been for a decade. I think a state cannot function if some large chunks of it want to be part of another existing state. I also look at all the tripartite institutions and wonder how that was ever meant to work. It seems I am not the only one to think this strange construction is not viable.

So would anyone of you be so kind as to give me one reason (not grounded on the past, but on the present situation and future perspectives) why RS shouldn't be given the right to join Serbia? Thank you.

“The heart of the war” in Bosnia was the brutal desire of Milosevic, Arkan, Mladic and Karadzic to tear up Bosnia and expand the borders of Serbia beyond the territories of Central Serbia and Vojvodina.

And Dodik is just one more of these peopleo want to consolitate the results of war, from Bijelina 1992 to Srebrenica 1995, by destroying Bosnia and creating an “independent” RS that would be more Serb and more nationalist than Serbia itself! It would be absurd.

Dodik must be stopped by the OHR, EU or NATO right now, or else the situation of the division of the country of Bosnia would become worse than today.

And Bosnia is not a country that deserves to be destroyed because of the ambitions of some politicians.

Dodik as all other politicians has an agenda which is to seceede and make him self the head of a new State. The peoples of B&H have lived in a ethnic mix for hudreds of years. Being from Bosnia I am ashamed to say that today Bosnias towns can be compared to 2nd WW ethnically clean ghettos. Even the kids are divided in schools according to what religion they are. I do not think that most people of Bosnia support such divisions. Ethnic divisions in Bosnia are only created to stop the war by signing the dayton peace accord. We should not forget that half of BiH peoples had to move to different towns during the war in order to please the ethnically clean maps of the masterminds of the war. Bosnia is disffunctional because the ultra nationalist leader want it so.

"“The heart of the war” in Bosnia was the brutal desire of Milosevic, Arkan, Mladic and Karadzic to tear up Bosnia and expand the borders of Serbia beyond the territories of Central Serbia and Vojvodina.

And Dodik is just one more of these peopleo want to consolitate the results of war, from Bijelina 1992 to Srebrenica 1995, by destroying Bosnia and creating an “independent” RS that would be more Serb and more nationalist than Serbia itself! It would be absurd.

Dodik must be stopped by the OHR, EU or NATO right now, or else the situation of the division of the country of Bosnia would become worse than today.

And Bosnia is not a country that deserves to be destroyed because of the ambitions of some politicians."
(Bad Gorilla, 26 October 2008 20:12)

thank you, bad gorilla, for echoing my thoughts, and articulating a strongly principled argument against the nationalists. it is absolutley the case that dodik and his followers wish to succeed where karadzic and co. could not. they will ultimately be unsuccessful, but the intl. community must stay firm and take strong action, which it is not doing.

the bit about eternal and irrevocable differences is a major lie, pushed mostly by serb extremists in order to promote segregation, and more to the point, a greater serbia. but it won't happen.

thank you. and thank you to all friends and allies of a free and independent bosnia.

robert-0
san francisco

“Nobody wants to live with anybody”

This is somehow a lie, because for many centuries Catholics, Mulsims and Orthodox Bosnians lived togheter in the same areas and cities, and even inter-married, before the war of 1992.

The didvisions were caused by the return of religious — mainly Christian, in this case — fundamentalism, a war provoked by Milosevic’s Belgrade and the current politicians which rely on religion and lies propagated by regional, politician-controlled media and politician-controlled schools to keep people separated.

“Why should Kosovo then be allowed to split from Serbia?”

Because Serbia, more specifaclly Solobodan Milosevic, wanted to wipe out (killing and/or expelling them to Albania and Macedonia) the absoulte majority of the population of Kosovo to create an ethnically cleansed, Serb-dominated Kosovo... as the same way that happened with the west side of Drina river (remember Bijelina, Gorazde, Foca, Srebreinca, etc.) during the 1992-1995 “creation” of the gerrymandered territory of Republika Srpska.

Kosovo is much more legitimate (it existed in a separate form from Central Serbia since 1945), much more consistent (it had Albanian-language press and universities for a long time), much more autonomous (it has an autonmous, Belgrad-independent, Albanian-majority parliament since 1945, and practically the same powers as other Yugoslav republics after 1974) and much more ancient than the creation of the Milosevic regime.

So Kosovo deserves to be independent of Serbia, and the separation of the territory controlled by RS from Bosnia, absurd and a reward to those who commited the Massacre of Srebrenica.

ZK

Speaking about kindred spirits

Thanks for your continued posts. Saves me typing on many occassions

Is Bosnia more functional now than what it was in 1995? Hardly. It's still a political stalemate on most important issues, and still deep ethnic tensions.

Then why on earth should we continue to pursue this folly? Serbs have lived in Bosnia since time immemorial, as have Bosniacs and Croats. Hence, it's everybody's country, and they don't want to live together.

Only a long term solution would make them live together - that solution is the EU. Until then, let them live separately, in independent states.

@ bad gorilla

Take everything you wrote in post 13, and subsitute RS for Kosmet and 1945 for 1995 and you have the same paralels.

Milosevic want to ethnically cleanse kosmet? Just look at demographics, you'll see that since 1999 there are hardly any serbs in kosovo! Do you not see how subjective your writing is! I hope other posters realize!

@roberto, you remind a lot of the fox news channel. Alotta complaining but no substance.

"Practically" a province doesn't cut it bad gorilla. Don't you already know that your anglo saxon masters from the west only look at things in black and white?

History repeats itself. The serbs have been given the short end of the stick many times, but like the old saying goes..what goes around comes around.

You are a true kindred spirit.

First of all it is technically impossible to divide Bosnia without a war. I also, like Victoria, don't hate anybody, many Serbs and Croats are friend of mine but would give my life easily for Bosnia. So, I just feel it is a just, human and moral thing to keep Bosnia united as one country. After all, in the best interest of Serbia and Croatia is to have a peaceful and prosperous Bosnia. Obama and Biden won't allow a new war in Balkans to start any time soon. Plus, last but not the least, Bosnia will never ever be military so weak like she was in the last war.

Everybody who is unbiased can see that Dodik is intentionally making Bosnia dysfunctional but his attempts will be stopped soon one way or another.

it's really funny how everyone in the balkans will say "i don't hate anyone", yet they are all prepared to "give their lives" (which is a euphemism for "i'm prepared to kill") those who might have different ideas about where their country or region needs to go. and if somebody wants something else it's simply because they are being brainwashed by the media.

how about trying to understand the other side's position and how about trying to do that without "help" from foreigners?

Izetbegovic was no dictator, and no butcher. To put him on the same plate as Milosevic is supreme injustice.

And the funny thing about the Greater Serbian nationalists here is that many of them agree that Milosevic was a butcher, but say no word about his followers Zelijko Arkan Raznatovic, Ratko Mladic and Radovan Kradzic (the first dead, the second in prision, the third on the run).

“it's everybody's country, and they don't want to live together”

But they lived together in the same cities and villages and inter-married for centuries... until 1992! And the main “they” in this case are the Bosnian Serbs — the Bosnian Muslims and Croats are, in their majority, not separatist.

And more specifically, the only people who really don’t want to see Bosnia united are the politicians and the ecclesiastical-nationalist cabal that rules RS and control its press, TV, radio and schools. I doubt children there see or learn anything about the mass rapes in Foca or the Srebrenica Massacre.

Well said Bad Gorilla, I'm impressed and I really appreciate your comments.
Only becasue you have the authority and army doesn't mean you have to use it for crazy purposes. Remember one of Holbrook's visits in Belgrade. He said to Milosevic. Mr. President how do plan to deal with K-Albanians since they want Independence. Milosevic's answer was "We Kill Them". Kosova and so-called RS can't be compared at all. Reason-s: Kosova existed even before Serbia and RS was created during early 90's. There are cases when we don't like to say it but since it's reality we must say it and we must stand for it. Thnx all who stand and support the truth.

Bosnia is a dysfunctional state. No agrument about it. It will fall appart. This surely is coming. Is Serbia about to gain anything from such a development? Not really! Well some nationalist may feel good about the break up. Tit for tat! "You broke "our" Yugoslavia, we broke "your" BiH. Yet when the smoke goes up and the dust comes down, Serbs will discover that they lost tw generations for nothing! Yougoslavia fell appart because the different subjects were far too different! Not just different mationalities, but different living standards, different standards of administrative capacity, different mentalities! Separating slovenia from Kosovo was a sensible thing to do!
Breaking BiH on two or three pieces was a sheer madness. It involved spilling rivers of blood just for spite. " Just because our pipedream of creating a big Serbian centered Yugoslavia fell, we shall tear appart an functional country, that could have taken the role of a "Switzerland between warring Serbia and Croatia".
And loose the chance of a quick integration in the EU on the way.

“The heart of the war” in Bosnia was the brutal desire of Milosevic, Arkan, Mladic and Karadzic to tear up Bosnia and expand the borders of Serbia beyond the territories of Central Serbia and Vojvodina.

And Dodik is just one more of these peopleo want to consolitate the results of war, from Bijelina 1992 to Srebrenica 1995, by destroying Bosnia and creating an “independent” RS that would be more Serb and more nationalist than Serbia itself! It would be absurd.

Dodik must be stopped by the OHR, EU or NATO right now, or else the situation of the division of the country of Bosnia would become worse than today.

And Bosnia is not a country that deserves to be destroyed because of the ambitions of some politicians.

It's dysfunctional because of Dodik and his Republika Srpska.

"“The heart of the war” in Bosnia was the brutal desire of Milosevic, Arkan, Mladic and Karadzic to tear up Bosnia and expand the borders of Serbia beyond the territories of Central Serbia and Vojvodina.

And Dodik is just one more of these peopleo want to consolitate the results of war, from Bijelina 1992 to Srebrenica 1995, by destroying Bosnia and creating an “independent” RS that would be more Serb and more nationalist than Serbia itself! It would be absurd.

Dodik must be stopped by the OHR, EU or NATO right now, or else the situation of the division of the country of Bosnia would become worse than today.

And Bosnia is not a country that deserves to be destroyed because of the ambitions of some politicians."
(Bad Gorilla, 26 October 2008 20:12)

thank you, bad gorilla, for echoing my thoughts, and articulating a strongly principled argument against the nationalists. it is absolutley the case that dodik and his followers wish to succeed where karadzic and co. could not. they will ultimately be unsuccessful, but the intl. community must stay firm and take strong action, which it is not doing.

the bit about eternal and irrevocable differences is a major lie, pushed mostly by serb extremists in order to promote segregation, and more to the point, a greater serbia. but it won't happen.

thank you. and thank you to all friends and allies of a free and independent bosnia.

robert-0
san francisco

“Nobody wants to live with anybody”

This is somehow a lie, because for many centuries Catholics, Mulsims and Orthodox Bosnians lived togheter in the same areas and cities, and even inter-married, before the war of 1992.

The didvisions were caused by the return of religious — mainly Christian, in this case — fundamentalism, a war provoked by Milosevic’s Belgrade and the current politicians which rely on religion and lies propagated by regional, politician-controlled media and politician-controlled schools to keep people separated.

“Why should Kosovo then be allowed to split from Serbia?”

Because Serbia, more specifaclly Solobodan Milosevic, wanted to wipe out (killing and/or expelling them to Albania and Macedonia) the absoulte majority of the population of Kosovo to create an ethnically cleansed, Serb-dominated Kosovo... as the same way that happened with the west side of Drina river (remember Bijelina, Gorazde, Foca, Srebreinca, etc.) during the 1992-1995 “creation” of the gerrymandered territory of Republika Srpska.

Kosovo is much more legitimate (it existed in a separate form from Central Serbia since 1945), much more consistent (it had Albanian-language press and universities for a long time), much more autonomous (it has an autonmous, Belgrad-independent, Albanian-majority parliament since 1945, and practically the same powers as other Yugoslav republics after 1974) and much more ancient than the creation of the Milosevic regime.

So Kosovo deserves to be independent of Serbia, and the separation of the territory controlled by RS from Bosnia, absurd and a reward to those who commited the Massacre of Srebrenica.

Dear 'Outsider',

I would like to answer your question on "why RS shouldn't be given the right to join Serbia?"... There are a number of undeniable facts that ultra-nationalist secessionist Serbs ignore at all cost.

1) The RS is the primary result of an endless list of crimes against humanity, ethnic cleansing, war crimes and genocide. It has no historical basis for existence, and represents the spoils of war through the above-mentioned widespread breaches of international law and all levels of human morality. If we allow the RS to continue existing, then we do not learn the reason why the binding Geneva Conventions and UN Human Rights Charters were established.
2) The current RS institutions are legal inheritors of the crimes committed by their predecessors - their leaders in the recent wars, and therefore its existence is a reward for genocide in Srebrenica and across Bosnia by Karadzic and Mladic's ultra-nationalist war criminals. Many (or most) current RS political parties have their leaders and founders convicted with the above-mentioned crimes against humanity, genocide, etc...
3) The RS forms 49.5% of Bosnian's territory, yet Serbs only make up a third of Bosnia's population, as a result of the forced removal and ethnic cleansing of non-Serbs in these areas.
4) Minority returns have been proactively and widely blocked by RS institutions which is a breach of the Dayton Accords. The perpetuity of the RS is a continuation of the breaches of international law that were instilled upon the victims of genocide and ethnic cleansing.
5) The current Bosnian constitution means that corruption is rife - particularly in the RS as exposed by Transparency International (falsification of CIPS cards, privatisations, illegal infrastructure contracts, etc). Both entities need to be abolished, with a unified country, to simplify the political and bureaucratic processes, with the aim of streamlining decision making and progress.
6) Bosnia cannot join the EU with an ethno-centric constitution and entity system. Why should a Bosnian Muslim (or Croat) living in Srebrenica not be allowed to represent the RS at federal level? Similarly, why should a Bosnian Jew be prevented from representing any of the three "constituent people"?

These few points are just an outline of an endless list of reasons why RS, and thus entities, are untenable and should be abolished in Bosnia. The antagonistic attitude of the RS, blocking all political progress, has gone on for far too long. Things will change, and inevitably it will not be for the benefit of the RS.

Long story short - the RS has no basis for existence, and will be abolished. If Serbs think the RS should be allowed to secede, then Sandzak and Vojvodina should have the same option. Seems to me that the more Serbs demand RS independence, the smaller piece of paper is required to represent their "mother" country, while their wishes never eventuate.

Izetbegovic was no dictator, and no butcher. To put him on the same plate as Milosevic is supreme injustice.

And the funny thing about the Greater Serbian nationalists here is that many of them agree that Milosevic was a butcher, but say no word about his followers Zelijko Arkan Raznatovic, Ratko Mladic and Radovan Kradzic (the first dead, the second in prision, the third on the run).

“it's everybody's country, and they don't want to live together”

But they lived together in the same cities and villages and inter-married for centuries... until 1992! And the main “they” in this case are the Bosnian Serbs — the Bosnian Muslims and Croats are, in their majority, not separatist.

And more specifically, the only people who really don’t want to see Bosnia united are the politicians and the ecclesiastical-nationalist cabal that rules RS and control its press, TV, radio and schools. I doubt children there see or learn anything about the mass rapes in Foca or the Srebrenica Massacre.

Dodik as all other politicians has an agenda which is to seceede and make him self the head of a new State. The peoples of B&H have lived in a ethnic mix for hudreds of years. Being from Bosnia I am ashamed to say that today Bosnias towns can be compared to 2nd WW ethnically clean ghettos. Even the kids are divided in schools according to what religion they are. I do not think that most people of Bosnia support such divisions. Ethnic divisions in Bosnia are only created to stop the war by signing the dayton peace accord. We should not forget that half of BiH peoples had to move to different towns during the war in order to please the ethnically clean maps of the masterminds of the war. Bosnia is disffunctional because the ultra nationalist leader want it so.

luciano pretty much nailed it on the dot.

Serbs never protested a Yugoslavia. It was the Slavic Muslims who live in Bosnia. Well if you wanted the breakup of Yugoslavia then we will call for the breakup of this strange monster you call Bosnia and Hercegovina.

International pressure or not, Bosnia cannot remain a state for far to much longer because when the majority of the population (Serbs+Croats) do not want to be apart of the country then it will collapse, which is identical to what happened in Yugoslavia.

For those that aren't aware, the Federation of Muslims and Croats is bankrupt and the only means of survival is to somehow gain control over the prospering RS. Their bitterness comes from seeing Serbians strengthening while they can't seem to get anything right. They've blamed the Serbians for all of their other problems so why not continue?

We should all know that RS wants nothing to do with the Federation and as far as I'm concerned, the only way for BiH to survive is to form some kind of union with Serbia.

If the Croatian parts prefer to merge with Croatia, then they will have a choice to exchange Krajina for it.

@robert-o,ben,bad gorila etc,all of serbophobes and haters,what you people are accomplishing by posting on this web site day after day?For long time I read your posts and try to understand what is your goal? All of you just keep repeating yourself,serbs did this,serbs guilty of that,serbs,serbs...There is no subject in which you don't blame serbs. As serb I can say I hate nobody,I do get upset when injustice is on full force on any side,but no hate in my heart. Is it demonizing of nation still on or you just get some weird satisfaction of posting hate spites every day? Here is suggestion,write a book,put down all what is on your mind and read it yourself,just to see how it feels. Maybe if you are that good and accurate you get a publisher and make some money at the end?! By the way S.Milosevic was not the only butcher of the balkans,no he had company in that bloody tango(which takes two of course)right with him were Tudjman,Izetbegovic,Taci..All of them the same,ex communists turned nationalists, only they thought they were patriots!All of them did horrible things,full stop,they can rot in hell together for all I care. The rest of the people,my serbs,croats,bosnia muslim,albanians should think of the present and how to handle things in a peaceful manner.Think about future,live and let the others live.Hate is like poison,it kills everything and leaves nothing behind.Love is so much better,but if you can not love then just accept.Thank you b-92 for space.

Look guys we can argue until we turn blue.
Facts are:
that the RS is established with the Dayton accords and its cemented in Bosnias institution and it cannot be changed without the approval of the Serbs + even they are no Serblovers Holbrooke,Biden and Obama always underscored that there will be no discussion about the abolishment of RS.

That are the facts,and no wishful thinking of Albanian and Muslim extremists will change them.
And for Kosovo,it is an occupied part of Serbia and the Albanians will not get a square micrometer of Serbian soil.Period.

Well said Bad Gorilla, I'm impressed and I really appreciate your comments.
Only becasue you have the authority and army doesn't mean you have to use it for crazy purposes. Remember one of Holbrook's visits in Belgrade. He said to Milosevic. Mr. President how do plan to deal with K-Albanians since they want Independence. Milosevic's answer was "We Kill Them". Kosova and so-called RS can't be compared at all. Reason-s: Kosova existed even before Serbia and RS was created during early 90's. There are cases when we don't like to say it but since it's reality we must say it and we must stand for it. Thnx all who stand and support the truth.

Bosnia is a dysfunctional state. No agrument about it. It will fall appart. This surely is coming. Is Serbia about to gain anything from such a development? Not really! Well some nationalist may feel good about the break up. Tit for tat! "You broke "our" Yugoslavia, we broke "your" BiH. Yet when the smoke goes up and the dust comes down, Serbs will discover that they lost tw generations for nothing! Yougoslavia fell appart because the different subjects were far too different! Not just different mationalities, but different living standards, different standards of administrative capacity, different mentalities! Separating slovenia from Kosovo was a sensible thing to do!
Breaking BiH on two or three pieces was a sheer madness. It involved spilling rivers of blood just for spite. " Just because our pipedream of creating a big Serbian centered Yugoslavia fell, we shall tear appart an functional country, that could have taken the role of a "Switzerland between warring Serbia and Croatia".
And loose the chance of a quick integration in the EU on the way.

The Serbs of the ex-Yugoslav regions have been told constantly by foreigners to "stop living in the past" and "deal with the reality on the ground". Well, the Bosnian Serbs are dealing with reality, its time for the foreigners to deal with the reality on the ground in Bosnia; Banja Luka can survive and thrive without Sarajevo.

It is the height of hypocrisy to favor decentralization in places like Belgium or what was once Yugoslavia but insist on a centralized Bosnia.Why do the Slavic Muslims want to force the Serbs into a dysfunctional marriage?Do they love the Serbs so much that they want them in bed in Bosnia but did not want to be together with them in a strong Yugoslavia?A croat would never give up his Roman Catholic identity so to any objective observer it is common sense that these so called Bosniacs are serbs who converted to Islam for oppurtunistic reasons during the Ottoman occupation.

Dodik is a wise politician but unfortunately the only one that knows what's best for Bosnia. Can't understand why the West is pressuring poeple in Bosnia to live together when they have shown through war that they don't want to. If America and the EU wish to avoid another civil war let the people of Bosnia decide their own future.

MikeC, I couldn't agree with you more. Why all this nonsense about self-determination for Albanians in Serbia but forced centralization in Bosnia, AND within Kosovo itself? It's either centralization for all or self-determination for all.

If Serbia can be split due to ethnic tensions almost 20 years ago, there is no reason as to why Bosnia and Herzegovina should not be split either. Nobody wants to live with anybody, but international law must be respected, so one of two things must happen for all parts of ex-Yugoslavia:

1) Either the borders of all the ex-republics are respected without exception (Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Slovenia and Montenegro), based on the ex-Yugoslav constitution. Or...

2) All the constitutional areas of the republics should be allowed to decide whether or not they would like to live in the republic.

This is why it was such a pity that Yugoslavia split.

Cutura

Then why can't Kosovo split from Serbia? Whatever happened to international law?

Bad Gorilla

Why should Kosovo then be allowed to split from Serbia? Should Thaci have been stopped too before Feb 18th?

The Balkans is a weird place.

Without looking into whether the Bosniaks became Muslims for the right reasons back in ottoman times, or thinking of how best to punish those Serbs who dreamt Milosevic's dream in those days, I look at the situation as it is now and has been for a decade. I think a state cannot function if some large chunks of it want to be part of another existing state. I also look at all the tripartite institutions and wonder how that was ever meant to work. It seems I am not the only one to think this strange construction is not viable.

So would anyone of you be so kind as to give me one reason (not grounded on the past, but on the present situation and future perspectives) why RS shouldn't be given the right to join Serbia? Thank you.

You are a true kindred spirit.

ZK

Speaking about kindred spirits

Thanks for your continued posts. Saves me typing on many occassions

First of all it is technically impossible to divide Bosnia without a war. I also, like Victoria, don't hate anybody, many Serbs and Croats are friend of mine but would give my life easily for Bosnia. So, I just feel it is a just, human and moral thing to keep Bosnia united as one country. After all, in the best interest of Serbia and Croatia is to have a peaceful and prosperous Bosnia. Obama and Biden won't allow a new war in Balkans to start any time soon. Plus, last but not the least, Bosnia will never ever be military so weak like she was in the last war.

Everybody who is unbiased can see that Dodik is intentionally making Bosnia dysfunctional but his attempts will be stopped soon one way or another.

Is Bosnia more functional now than what it was in 1995? Hardly. It's still a political stalemate on most important issues, and still deep ethnic tensions.

Then why on earth should we continue to pursue this folly? Serbs have lived in Bosnia since time immemorial, as have Bosniacs and Croats. Hence, it's everybody's country, and they don't want to live together.

Only a long term solution would make them live together - that solution is the EU. Until then, let them live separately, in independent states.

@ bad gorilla

Take everything you wrote in post 13, and subsitute RS for Kosmet and 1945 for 1995 and you have the same paralels.

Milosevic want to ethnically cleanse kosmet? Just look at demographics, you'll see that since 1999 there are hardly any serbs in kosovo! Do you not see how subjective your writing is! I hope other posters realize!

@roberto, you remind a lot of the fox news channel. Alotta complaining but no substance.

"Practically" a province doesn't cut it bad gorilla. Don't you already know that your anglo saxon masters from the west only look at things in black and white?

History repeats itself. The serbs have been given the short end of the stick many times, but like the old saying goes..what goes around comes around.

it's really funny how everyone in the balkans will say "i don't hate anyone", yet they are all prepared to "give their lives" (which is a euphemism for "i'm prepared to kill") those who might have different ideas about where their country or region needs to go. and if somebody wants something else it's simply because they are being brainwashed by the media.

how about trying to understand the other side's position and how about trying to do that without "help" from foreigners?

@ bad gorilla

Take everything you wrote in post 13, and subsitute RS for Kosmet and 1945 for 1995 and you have the same paralels.

Milosevic want to ethnically cleanse kosmet? Just look at demographics, you'll see that since 1999 there are hardly any serbs in kosovo! Do you not see how subjective your writing is! I hope other posters realize!

@roberto, you remind a lot of the fox news channel. Alotta complaining but no substance.

"Practically" a province doesn't cut it bad gorilla. Don't you already know that your anglo saxon masters from the west only look at things in black and white?

History repeats itself. The serbs have been given the short end of the stick many times, but like the old saying goes..what goes around comes around.