The Serbian referendum in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Abstract:

A referendum was held on 25 September 2016 in Republika Srpska concerning the celebration of the Day of Republika Srpska on 9 January. Republika Srpska (RS) forms part of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) and is inhabited predominantly by ethnic Serbs. 56% of registered voters took part in the referendum. 99.8% of them voted to keep the holiday. The Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina deemed unconstitutional the fact that the Day of Republika Srpska received the rank of an official holiday in 2007. The government of RS branded this an attack on its autonomy and used the dispute to divert attention away from the poor economic condition there and the corruption scandals.

The vote has been criticised by the EU, the USA, and the governments of Croatia and Serbia, but it was praised by Russia. However, the fact that the referendum has been held does not mark the beginning of RS’s secession from BiH, since the Bosnian Serb elites still want to maintain the status quo laid out in the Dayton Agreement of 1995, which offers them a great degree of independence from the government in Sarajevo. Furthermore, any possible secession would not be backed by the EU, the USA and Russia. The latter, though, will use the conflict in BiH to strengthen its position in the region, which may result in increasing tension in the Western Balkans.

ESO: Background information: Handling Russia Should Not Be So Difficult for the West http://www.europeansources.info/record/bosnian-serbs-vote-to-keep-national-holiday-in-controversial-referendum/

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