Bosnian Serbs Unveil Controversial New Gendarmerie Force

Republika Srpska's interior ministry officially unveiled its new gendarmerie police unit on Tuesday at a ceremony in Zaluzani, near the entity's administrative centre Banja Luka - a move that sparked criticism from Bosniak politicians in the Serb-dominated entity.

The establishment of the gendarmerie comes after Republika Srpska dropped a plan in June to establish a new reservist police force - a proposal which was strongly criticised by Bosniak war victims' groups and Bosnia and Herzegovina's Western allies.

Speaking at Tuesday's ceremony, the Serb member of the country's tripartite presidency, Milorad Dodik, who is Republika Srpska's most powerful politician, said that he has not given up on the idea of establishing a reservist police force as well.

"To be clear, we will consider and wait for the opportunity to form a reservist force. This is the best way to protect and defend the territory of Republika Srpska," Dodik said during his speech.

The Bosniak vice-president of Republika Srpska, Ramiz Salkic, expressed strong concern about the new gendarmerie unit.

"A unit that is well-equipped and trained, although much smaller in number, can be much more dangerous if misused by the system against a target group," Salkic told TV station N1.

Aljosa Campara, the interior minister of Bosniak- and Croat- dominated Federation entity, also criticised the establishment of the gendarmerie unit.

"This is everything that citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina do not need, instead of turning to the fight against corruption and organised crime," Campara told FENA news agency.

Serb officials in Republika Srpska had insisted that the entity needed a reservist police force because the entity doesn't have enough manpower to deal with...