SARAJEVO — Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik’s intensified push for secessionist policies has drawn international criticism after the Republika Srpska president called on ethnic Serbs to quit the federal police force and judiciary.
The call came after the Bosnia-Herzegovina Constitutional Court on March 7 suspended legislation proposed by Dodik that rejected the authority of the federal police and judiciary within the country’s Serb-controlled part.
On February 27, the National Assembly of Republika Srpska voted on the laws just a day after the State Court in Sarajevo issued a nonfinal verdict sentencing Dodik to one year in prison and barring him from politics for six years for defying an international peace envoy’s order.
Dodik, who denied the charges, was accused of refusing to enforce the decisions of the high representative for Bosnia-Herzegovina, Christian Schmidt, in July 2023.
In response to the ruling, Dodik warned he would “radicalize the situation” in the country.
Leaders in Sarajevo and Bosnia’s Western backers have accused the entity’s ethnic-Serb leaders of seeking eventual separation from Bosnia, although the leaders have denied the charges.
The United States was quick to respond, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio condemning Dodik’s actions as “dangerous and destabilizing” and urging regional partners to resist such provocations.
“Our nation encourages political leaders in Bosnia and Herzegovina to engage in constructive and responsible dialogue,” Rubio wrote on X on March 8.
Washington has already sanctioned Dodik, citing corrupt practices and attempts to undermine the 1995 Dayton Peace Agreement, which ended Bosnia’s war and shaped its current political structure. More recently, the US Treasury imposed sanctions on individuals and companies linked to Dodik, accusing him of using his position for personal gain.
The European Union said it will send additional peacekeeping forces to Bosnia-Herzegovina as tensions continue to rise between the central government and leaders of the Balkan nation’s ethnic-Serb entity.
The European Union Force (EUFOR) on March 7 said it would “temporarily increase the size” of its peacekeeping force in the Western Balkan nation, although it did not disclose specific numbers.
“This is a proactive measure aimed at assisting Bosnia-Herzegovina in the interest of all citizens,” EUFOR said in a statement, adding that it remains an “impartial” force in the country.
EUFOR has about 1,500 troops as part of the Multinational Battalion based in Sarajevo and involves troops from Austria, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Moldova, North Macedonia, Romania, and Turkey.
Dodik’s supporters, however, have come out in his defense in the past week.
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic has taken a cautious stance, calling for “wise decisions” to avoid escalating tensions further. Meanwhile, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has openly defended Dodik, arguing that international sanctions against him are unjustified and that his prison sentence is a “political witch hunt.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin has also backed Dodik, telling Vucic during a phone call on March 7 that Moscow “expresses solidarity” with the Bosnian Serb leader, according to a Kremlin statement.
The system of government in Bosnia-Herzegovina — a country of some 3.1 million people — is among the most complex in the world.
Since the Dayton peace agreement, which was signed in 1995 and ended the war in Bosnia, the country has consisted of the Bosniak-Croat Federation and the ethnic Serb-dominated Republika Srpska under a weak central government.
While Republika Srpska can pass laws on internal matters, state-level laws and institutions remain supreme according to the constitution.