Bosnia to hold controversial referendum

Bosnia to hold controversial referendum
Bosnia to hold controversial referendum

Bosnia to hold controversial referendum

WBEZ brings you fact-based news and information. Sign up for our newsletters to stay up to date on the stories that matter.
This month marks the 20th anniversary of the Dayton Accords, the peace agreement that ended the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina. As part of the agreement, the country was divided into two entities: the Serb-dominated Republika Srpska [SEE-EHP-SKA] and the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which has a Bosniak and Croat majority. Now, lawmakers in the Republika Srpska [SEE-EHP-SKA] plan to hold a referendum. It will ask voters to decide whether they accept the authority of the national court (implemented via the Dayton Accords). Regional President, Milorad Dodik, proposed the referendum. He argued that the court is biased against Serbs. Some see the referendum as an attempt to gain independence. We’ll look at some of the context behind the referendum with Larisa Kurtovic - originally from Sarajevo, she’s an assistant professor of anthropology at the University of Ottawa. Photo: Bosnia’s Regional President Milorad Dodik