[news] If pushed, Bosnian Serbs could seek independence

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Important Notice: Jang Group of Newspapers web site can be accessed only by using http://www.jang.com.pk and http://www.jang-group.com If pushed, Bosnian Serbs could seek independence ALEKSANDROVAC, Bosnia: Serbs in Bosnia no longer dream of secession or union with Serbia because they say their autonomy as a Serb Republic within Bosnia is secure, the region’s main opposition leader told Reuters in an interview. But if that position is threatened they could seek independence using the same argument as ethnic Albanians in Serbia’s breakaway province of Kosovo, who are pushing for formal independence on the basis of the right of self-determination. "The Serbs have now definitely gone off earlier ideas about separation. They want to be part of Bosnia but the Serb Republic must be an integral part of Bosnia too," Milorad Dodik, the region’s former prime minister, told Reuters this week. Since Bosnia’s 1992-95 war the country has been made up of a Muslim-Croat federation and the highly autonomous Serb Republic of Bosnian Serbs. Belgrade says secession by the Albanian majority in the UN-run province of Kosovo would be unacceptable. But success could prompt Bosnian Serbs to adopt the same argument to secede if they see their rights dwindling in favour of a central Bosnian state. Dodik said this scenario was unlikely. "Whatever the outcome of the talks on Kosovo, it would not have an impact on the situation here, it is an issue of Serbia, not Bosnia," said Dodik. "But if you touched the Serb Republic, then some people may start pointing to Kosovo or to other similar situations in the world," the 47-year-old said in his western Bosnian hometown. Bosnian leaders started talks last month aimed at strengthening the country’s weak institutions and transferring regional powers to the central state, ten years after the US-brokered Dayton peace treaty ended the war. Muslims and Croats are generally in favour but Serbs insist on preserving much of the Serb Republic’s autonomy. "The Serb Republic should keep a certain level of legislative powers, including the parliament and its upper house and responsibility in areas such as economy, education, agriculture and, I think, police," Dodik said. "There is no readiness in the Serb Republic to talk about its abolition. It should instead be made more functional on its road to the European Union," he said. Stabilisation and Association Agreement, the last country in the region to do so. Officials say progress in the talks, which could lead to membership talks, depends on whether Bosnia’s central institutions have enough power to pull them off. Dodik said he agreed with US and Muslim officials that Bosnia should have one president instead of its current three but said the post should rotate between ethnic groups. Central government should be boosted with the post of a strong prime minister and parliament should be expanded to allow it to cope with an avalanche of legislation it would have to adopt in the EU integration process, he said. "Maybe this setup is not prefect. For me, the perfect situation would be the survival of the former Yugoslavia, but it is clear that Bosnia can somehow function. The last thing this country needs is the drawing up of new maps." Relatives of people killed or expelled by Bosnian Serb fighters want the Serb Republic to disappear and Dodik said he understood the sentiment, but added: "This is not the Serb Republic of five or ten years ago." http://www.jang.com.pk/thenews/dec2005-daily/03-12-2005/world/w2.htm Note: To protect against computer viruses, e-mail programs may prevent sending or receiving certain types of file attachments.  Check your e-mail security settings to determine how attachments are handled.