EU peacekeepers in Bosnia Herzegovina dismiss soldier over behavior at illegal ceremony

By Talha Ozturk

BELGRADE, Serbia (AA) - The EU peacekeeping mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina (EUFOR) has sent a soldier home due to misbehavior at an unconstitutional anniversary celebration.

EUFOR said in a statement that the decision came after the actions of the soldier assigned to observe the Jan. 9 ceremonies in Banja Luka, the de facto capital of the Republika Srpska parts of Bosnia and Herzegovina, were assessed.

In defiance of a ruling by Bosnia’s top court, Bosnian Serbs held celebrations on Jan. 9 to mark the anniversary of the founding of the Republika Srpska entity.

"In order to maintain the highest standards of integrity and impartiality, EUFOR has taken actions and as a result, the individual in question has been sent back home from the operation theater," said the statement, giving no further details.

Ramiz Salkic, a politician in Republika Srpska, said that being present at the ceremony as a protector of the 1995 Dayton Peace Agreement – the pact that laid the foundations for the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina – is unacceptable.

Bosnian Serbs consider Jan. 9 to be Republika Srpska's most important holiday.

Every year they hold ceremonies with high-ranking ethnic Serb politicians, defying a court order in Banja Luka.

In 2015, Bosnia's Constitutional Court ruled that celebrating Republika Srpska’s “Statehood Day” could discriminate against other ethnic groups in the country.

The Constitutional Court was established by the 1995 Dayton Peace Agreement, which ended the Bosnian War. It includes two Bosniaks, two Serbs, two Croats, and three foreign judges, and its decisions are legally binding.

However, Serbs in Republika Srpska in 2016 overwhelmingly passed a controversial referendum on a "national holiday."

Over 99% of voters in the Serb-majority territory chose to make Jan. 9 “Statehood Day,” fueling fears the referendum could be a first step towards seeking independence from Bosnia and Herzegovina, a country torn apart by violent ethnic conflict in the 1990s.