Bosnian Serb Referendum Meets Chorus of Condemnation

The assembly of Bosnia's Serb-dominated entity, Republika Srpska, voted on Wednesday to hold a referendum on confidence in the country's state justice system and the authority of the international community's High Representative.

"I guarantee that the referendum will be held," the President of Republika Srpska, Milorad Dodik, said after the vote. Of 76 deputies present on the chamber, 45 voted in favour of the referendum and 31 abstained. The referendum is scheduled for mid-September.

Citizens of Bosnia's mainly Serbian entity faced a loaded question: whether or not to support the "anti-constitutional and unauthorized laws imposed by the High Representative of the international community, especially the laws imposed relating to the Court and the Prosecutor's office of Bosnia and Herzegovina".

The move has drawn widespread condemnation. Western diplomats said the referendum was meaningless since Republika Srpska had no authority to challenge Bosnia's state courts or the High Representative. Bosniak officials meanwhile said the referendum threatened an increasingly fragile peace in Bosnia.  

Emir Suljagic, Bosnia's Deputy Defence Minister, a former activist for the rights of Bosniak returnees in Republika Srpska, said the vote was an attack on the country's sovereignty and integrity.

"There is no doubt that this decision is a call for war," Suljagic said.

"I don't know who or what Dodik will be counting on if it comes to violence. Scheduling and holding this referendum will without doubt cause violence," he claimed.

On Wednesday evening, the US embassy to Bosnia said the planned referendum posed a threat "to the security, stability, and prosperity of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

"We oppose this...