In Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bosnian prosecutors have ordered the detention of three high-ranking Bosnian Serb officials due to recent actions causing heightened separatist tensions in the country. This decision was made after Bosnian Serb President Milorad Dodik, Prime Minister Radovan Viskovic, and Parliament Speaker Nenad Stevandic failed to comply with two requests for questioning. They are suspected of destabilizing the country’s constitutional order with their policies, as reported by Bosnian media. Recently, Bosnian Serb legislators passed controversial laws blocking the central Bosnian state judiciary and police from functioning within Republika Srpska, the Serb-majority region. This move followed a conviction of Dodik by a Bosnian court, leading to a one-year prison sentence and a ban from public office for defying directives from a senior international official in Bosnia.
Dodik has consistently rejected the authority of the Bosnian prosecution office and stated his refusal to attend questioning in Sarajevo. These actions from the Bosnian Serb officials appear to be part of a series of steps towards secession from Bosnia, drawing condemnation from the United States and the European Union, despite receiving support from Moscow. The Republika Srpska assembly discussed a new draft constitution that could further escalate separation efforts by establishing an army and potentially forming alliances with neighboring countries. The actions that will follow remain uncertain. Bosnia’s state security agency, SIPA, confirmed its involvement in the detention of these officials.
In Banja Luka, the administrative hub of the Bosnian Serb government located in the northwest, there was an increase in police presence around the parliament ahead of a scheduled session. The rising tensions have raised concerns about potential violent clashes between Bosnia’s central security forces and the Serb police. These unfolding events bear resemblance to the separatist ambitions that ignited the Bosnian war in 1992. The conflict ended three years later with a peace agreement mediated by the United States, establishing two administrations connected through common central institutions — one Bosnian Serb and the other Bosniak-Croat. During a recent visit to Bosnia, NATO’s Secretary General, Mark Rutte, reiterated the Western military alliance’s dedication to upholding Bosnia’s unity, while the European peacekeeping force in Bosnia, EUFOR, has bolstered its troop presence.
