Bosnia Commemorates Austrian Archduke Shooting, Serbs Hail Murderer

Bosnia's capital Sarajevo is marking 100 years since Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand's assassination in Sarajevo started World War I in 1914.

A concert by the Vienna Philharmonic is included in the program and designed to be the focal point of official ceremonies.

It is to be held at the legendary Sarajevo City Hall which suffered tremendously from the 1990s war, BalkanInsight reports.

But Bosnian Serbs are holding parallel commemorations of the event, after a ceremony held Friday in largely Serb-populated Eastern Sarajevo unveiled a life-size statue of Franz Ferdinand's murderer Gavrilo Princip, A Bosnian Serb revolutionary which sought independence from Austria-Hungary.

In Andricgrad, a mini-town director Emir Kusturica created in eastern Bosnia's Visegrad Serbian and Bosnian Serb leaders are also due to unveil a mosaic portraying Princip.

The events have also divided politicians in the country, with Bosnian Serb member of the three-people Presidency attending the statue's unveiling and boycotting the official ceremonies Saturday.