Balkans | Germany: the unity of Bosnia and Herzegovina is in danger

Berlin evaluated the decision of the Bosnian Serbs not to recognize the rulings of the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina as a “serious threat” to the integrity of the country.

Berlin has declared that it sees the safety of Bosnia and Herzegovina at stake, following Parliament’s recent decision on the Constitutional Court of Republika Srpska.

Christopher Berger, spokesman for the German Foreign Ministry, said in a statement in Berlin that the decision not to recognize the rulings of the Constitutional Court, which came out of a vote by Parliament on Tuesday, threatens the country’s unity and territorial integrity. Burger stated that the decision, which goes against the interests of the citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina, also violates the Dayton Peace Agreement. Court decisions are final and binding. “These decisions must be respected,” he said.

Berger also assessed the decision as “another serious step towards separating the Serbian presence from the entire country.”

complex political structure

Bosnia and Herzegovina consists of the “Republika Srpska” where Bosnian Serbs reside and the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina where mostly Muslims and Croats live. After the Dayton Peace Agreement, signed in 1995 that ended the Bosnian War, a complex political structure emerged in the country. In the constitution of the “new” Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbs, Bosniaks and Croats, who have fought each other for 3.5 years, are designated as the founding peoples. This structure has made Bosnia and Herzegovina one of the countries with the most complex political system in the world.

DW