Sarajevo: 14 Lawmakers Seek Suspension of Serbia-RS Deal

Fourteen lawmakers in the House of Representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina filed an initiative today, September 10, that speaks directly to Serbia: a demand for urgent review and temporary suspension of the Agreement on Special and Parallel Relations between the Republic of Serbia and Republika Srpska. The initiative went out to more than 800 addresses across Europe, the United States and the United Kingdom, meaning the international community that guaranteed the Dayton Peace Agreement in 1995 is now formally being notified about the state of relations between Belgrade and Banja Luka.

Who signed, and who received it

The addressees include the High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Peace Implementation Council, the European Union, the United States, the United Kingdom and other signatory states of the Dayton Agreement. The document was signed by Denis Zvizdic, Sasa Magazinovic, Aida Barucija, Sabina Cudic, Jasmin Emric, Jasmin Imamovic, Albin Muslic, Rejhana Dervisevic, Ermina Salkicevic-Dizarevic, Mia Karamehic-Abazovic, Nihad Omerovic, Predrag Kojovic, Elvisa Hodzic and Semsudin Mehmedovic.

The immediate trigger: Ratko Mladic’s burial

The lawmakers cite Ratko Mladic’s burial in Belgrade on September 6 and 7, held with elements of a state and military ceremony, as the immediate trigger. But the text of the initiative makes clear they are not responding to an isolated event:

“This is not a reaction to a single event, but to a continuity of policy.”

As evidence of that continuity, they point to the declaration adopted at the so-called All-Serb Assembly in Belgrade, which they say contains positions that infringe on Bosnia and Herzegovina’s constitutional order, including denial of the Srebrenica genocide and challenges to the country’s institutions and to the office of the High Representative. On the burial itself, the initiative states:

“Ratko Mladic, finally convicted of genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes, was buried with elements of a state and military ceremony.”

Beyond suspending the agreement, the lawmakers are also seeking condemnation of the institutional glorification of war criminals, consideration of sanctions against officials they hold responsible, and inclusion of these actions in the assessment of Serbia’s path toward the European Union. The initiative further calls for full respect of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s territorial integrity and sovereignty, and of rulings by international courts.

SNSD’s response came the same day

The SNSD parliamentary group in the House of Representatives responded the same day, at 12:06 p.m., rejecting the initiative in a statement that called it an attempt to use foreign actors to limit the constitutional rights of Republika Srpska:

“This is yet another futile attempt by Sarajevo politicians to use foreigners to limit the constitutional rights of Republika Srpska.”

The group noted that Bosnia and Herzegovina’s constitution explicitly allows its entities to establish special parallel relations with neighboring states, and pointed out that all 14 signatories are lawmakers from the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. They said Republika Srpska would keep developing its cooperation with Serbia: “Republika Srpska will safeguard its rights, and the SNSD will defend them consistently.”

Why this matters for Belgrade

This is not the only initiative to come out of Sarajevo toward Serbia this week. Our paper has previously reported that a minister from the Bosnian capital called for a four-country front against Serbia, and the current demand builds on that pressure, extending it from the executive branch to the legislature in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Agreement on Special and Parallel Relations has, since it was signed in 2006, underpinned cooperation between Belgrade and Banja Luka across areas from the economy to security, so its suspension, even temporary, would directly affect the relations of both Bosnian entities with Serbia.

Neither the High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina nor the Peace Implementation Council has publicly responded to the initiative so far. The agreement remains in force while the legal and political review sought by the Sarajevo lawmakers proceeds, and the next step depends on whether any of the more than 800 addresses abroad puts the initiative on its agenda at all.