Bosnian prosecutor to probe disputed Bosnian Serb referendumSarajevo, 26 September 2016 (MIA) - Bosnia's state prosecutor has issued a summons to Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik who initiated a Bosnian Serb referendum that was held in violation of the constitution, the prosecution office said Monday.
A statement from Chief Prosecutor Goran Salihovic said the case will be treated as a "priority," and a number of people will be called for questioning. His spokesman Boris Grubesic told The Associated Press that the summons has been sent to Dodik.
Once Dodik receives the invitation, he will have to appear before the prosecutor. If he refuses, the court police will be ordered to detain him.
Bosnian Serbs voted overwhelmingly Sunday to keep a disputed holiday that a constitutional court had said discriminates against non-Serbs. The court had also banned the referendum, which was organized by the local government in the Serb region of Republika Srpska.
Referendum organizers said that preliminary results showed 99.8 percent of voters in Republika Srpska were for the holiday and that turnout was 55.7 percent. Non-Serbs living in Republika Srpska mostly boycotted the vote.
During the 1992-95 war — which killed 100,000 people and turned half of the country's population into refugees — Bosniaks and Croats were persecuted and almost completely expelled from Republika Srpska's territory.
The region didn't gain independence after the war, but ended up as an autonomous part of Bosnia.
Bosniaks and Croats who returned there view the holiday as a celebration of their expulsion while Republika Srpska marks the day with religious ceremonies, hinting the region is still meant just for Serbs.
The West had called for the referendum to be canceled, but Russia backed the Bosnian Serbs. Western officials said they might consider halting projects in the mini-state or impose travel bans and asset freezes on their assets.
Dodik celebrated the result with thousands of people, fireworks and Serb flags late Sunday in Pale, the wartime capital of Republika Srpska.
"I'm so proud ... of all those who voted today, and I have to say: shame on all Serbs who did not show up at the referendum today," he said.
Opposition parties in Republika Srpska claim Dodik scheduled the vote a week before a local election to divert attention from campaign issues including corruption and poverty.
"Obviously this was a pre-election gathering," which cost taxpayers 750,000 euros ($840,000) and only served the interests of Dodik's party, said Bosnia's foreign minister, Igor Crnadak.
Bosnian Serb authorities said they plan to change their law on holidays in line with the constitutional court's ruling, most likely so that the holiday stays but those who don't want to celebrate don't have to.
Even if this solves the dispute over the holiday, the referendum itself defies the constitutional court's ban and violations of the constitution can be punished with a jail term of up to five years.
Dodik previously said he will not respond to the prosecutor's invitations. Last year, he initiated another referendum on the jurisdiction of the Bosnian state court and prosecution on the territory of the Bosnian Serb autonomous region.
Although the Bosnian Serb parliament approved that referendum, Dodik never signed the act. lk/18:14
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US condemns Republika Srpska referendum for defying Bosnia’s High Court
Washington, 27 September 2016 (MIA) - The United States has expressed concern the referendum is an exercise of political brinkmanship that could eventually lead to an attempt by Republika Srpska to declare itself independent of Bosnia-Herzegovina.
"The United States condemns this illegal referendum and will support local institutions as they seek to hold the RS leadership accountable for undermining the rule of law and obstructing implementation of the Dayton Peace Accords," Toner said in the release on Monday.
The release urged all parties in Bosnia-Herzegovina to refrain from further divisive actions and rhetoric, and focus on urgently needed social, political and economic reforms.
The referendum occurred in response to a decision by the Bosnia-Herzegovina Constitutional Court to strike down a holiday held on January 9 marking the founding of Republika Srpska in 1992. sk/08:20
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Extremism ‘exported’ to Kosovo from other regions: FM
New York, 27 September 2016 (MIA) - Kosovo’s foreign minister said Monday that other nations have exported violent extremism to his country, which has seen a greater percentage of its citizens fight for the Islamic State group than any other nation in Europe.
Authorities say that about 70 citizens of Muslim-majority Kosovo are believed to be active fighters in Syria and Iraq.
Enver Hoxhaj told The Associated Press in an interview on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly that “radicalization of young people in the Balkans has been exported from different NGOs and clerics” from the Mideast.
He added “we can’t blame foreign governments” for the spread of radicalization in the Balkans because “we don’t have evidence for that.”
Last year the government passed a law that could see Kosovo citizens who participate in armed conflicts outside Kosovo being sentenced to 15 years in prison.
The Kosovo government also said earlier this year that draft measures against terror funding and money laundering have been given the go-ahead to be put to Parliament for approval.
“We are very proud that since last September nobody from Kosovo left the country and joined Daesh,” Hoxhaj said, using the Arabic acronym for IS.
A NATO bombing campaign in 1999 stopped Serbia’s crackdown against ethnic Albanian separatists, ending Belgrade’s rule over Kosovo.
Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008.
Kosovo’s independence has been recognized by more than a hundred countries, including the U.S. and major European Union nations. But it is rejected by Serbia, with support from Russia, which has blocked Kosovo from becoming a U.N. member.
Last year, Kosovo’s bid to become a member of the U.N. cultural agency UNESCO was narrowly defeated in a victory for Serbia and Russia and a blow to Kosovo’s mission for global recognition as a state.
Hoxhaj expressed confidence that “the next time whenever we apply, we will have enough votes” to become a UNESCO member, which will help the country on its “unstoppable course” toward full international recognition. ik/10:41
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Boris Johnson wants 'jumbo' Turkish trade deal
Ankara, 27 September 2016 (MIA) - Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson says he hopes for a new "jumbo" free trade deal with Turkey after the United Kingdom leaves the European Union, BBC reports.
Speaking during a visit to Ankara, Mr Johnson added that the UK and Turkey had similar positions on Syria.
He called for a "new partnership" between the two countries.
And he told journalists a lewd poem he wrote about Turkey's president had "not come up at all" during first official visit to the country.
Turkey is not a member of the European Union, but has a longstanding ambition to join and its candidacy was a key part of the UK's referendum debate, in which Mr Johnson campaigned for Leave.
Having voted for Brexit, the UK will be able to negotiate its own trade deals with other countries once it leaves the EU.
During a joint press conference with Turkish EU affairs minister Omer Celik, Mr Johnson said: "We are lucky in the United Kingdom to be one of the biggest recipients of Turkish goods. I am certainly the proud possessor of a beautiful, very well-functioning Turkish washing machine, like so many other people in my country."
At another press conference alongside Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, he said: "What I hope for is a jumbo free trade deal between the United Kingdom and Turkey," adding: "We are leaving the EU, but we are not leaving Europe."
During his visit, the foreign secretary also visited a refugee camp and said the international community must continue to pressure Russia to "stop the carnage" in Syria.
After the EU referendum, Turkish Prime Minister prime minister Binali Yildirim said Mr Johnson needed to "make it up" with the Turks for comments made during the campaign.
"May God help him and reform him," he told the BBC in July.
The foreign secretary, who has Turkish ancestry, has also faced criticism for penning the winning entry in a Spectator magazine competition for offensive poems about Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in May.
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