Conviction of Bosnian-Serbian leader Dodik leads to tensions in Bosnia and Herzegovina

The parliament of the Autonomous Serbian region of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Republika SRPSKA, voted for a law on Friday that Bosnian police and the judiciary deny access to the Serbian region. That reports Reuters news agency. Bosnian authorities describe the mood as « a coup. »

The mood of the parliament of the Republika SRPSKA is a reaction to the conviction of Bosnian-Serbian leader Milorad Dodik. A court in the Bosnian capital Sarajevo put him a year in prison on Wednesday and forbade him to hold political positions for the next six years. Dodik would counteract the agreements and authorities surrounding the Dayton peace chords, which put an end to the bloody Bosnian Civil War (1992-1995). That is punishable, the judge ruled.

With the signing of the Dayton peace agreement in 1995, the country was subdivided into the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (now around 2.4 million inhabitants) and the northern part Republika SRPSKA (1.3 million inhabitants). In 2023, Dodik adopted two laws with which he declared the peace agreements illegally and did not recognize the power of the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

It was feared that the conviction of Dodik would lead to tensions between the Serbian and the Bosnian regions. Dodik, who has close ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin, has regularly tried to stir up Serbian nationalism in the country and threatened with separation.

Russia responded on Wednesday by saying that the court's decision was politically motivated and would destabilize the Balkans. Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban also spoke on Wednesday about the condemnation of Dodik.

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