Republika Srpska Official Declares 'War' Amid Political Disputes

Nenad Stevandić, President of the Republika Srpska (RS) parliament, recently claimed "war has been announced" against the entity. He made this statement after the RS parliament's constitutional committee responded to a BiH Constitutional Court request. The court asked about an RS veto. This veto aimed to block new appointments to the BiH Commission for the Protection of National Monuments.

The BiH Presidency, with votes from Denis Bećirović and Željko Komšić, appointed foreign experts to the commission. Željka Cvijanović from RS vetoed this, saying it harmed Serb interests. The RS parliament supported her. Bećirović then questioned the veto's constitutionality, arguing such appointments are not foreign policy.

Stevandić views this challenge as an act of war. He also pointed to many complaints about people glorifying Ratko Mladić, a convicted war criminal. The BiH Prosecutor's Office confirmed thousands of these reports. Glorifying war criminals can lead to a five-year prison sentence in BiH. Stevandić believes these are organized attacks to destroy RS, part of an international conspiracy. He concluded that the "announcement of war" was orchestrated by the Bosniak member of the BiH Presidency.