(ANSA-AFP) - SARAJEVO, MAR 6 - Bosnian Serb leader Milorad
Dodik signed laws Wednesday banning the police and judiciary of
the central government from exercising their powers in his Serb
entity, escalating a political crisis in the Balkan country.
Dodik said at a press conference the move restored
"constitutional jurisdiction" to the Serb statelet of Republika
Srpska. The laws, along with others signed by Dodik, poses a
test for the fragile central institutions in Bosnia. Since the
Dayton accords that put an end to the 1992-1995 civil war, which
claimed nearly 100,000 lives, Bosnia has been divided between
two largely autonomous entities, one Serb and one Muslim-Croat.
Dodik was sentenced last week to a year in prison and banned
from holding office for six years for refusing to comply with
decisions made by Christian Schmidt, the envoy mandated to
oversee the Dayton accords. Schmidt's legitimacy is rejected by
Bosnian Serbs, with the Republika Srpska's Parliament adopting
the law in response. Dodik, 65, has the right to appeal last
week's verdict, which he said was the result of a "political
trial" intended to "eliminate him from the political arena".
(ANSA-AFP).
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © Copyright ANSA
