Fury as Bosnian Serb Army Recruits boo Bosnian anthem

BBC ^ | April 18,2005 | BBC

[oilfieldtrash]

A group of Bosnian Serb army recruits has booed the Bosnian national anthem and refused to pledge allegiance to Bosnia at a swearing-in ceremony. The recruits were the first ex-Bosnian Serb soldiers asked to swear loyalty to the Bosnian state since the Bosnian civil war of 1992-1995.

Under the peace accords that ended the war, an autonomous, Serb-run republic was established within Bosnia.

Bosnia and the international community strongly condemned the troops' actions.

During the ceremony the troops and their families jeered and whistled as the Bosnian national anthem was played.

When they were required to recite an oath of allegiance they instead uttered a pledge to the Bosnian Serb republic.

Protest condemned

The ceremony was the first since Bosnian authorities decided in 2003 to unify the country's armed forces.

Unification under the banner of the central state was intended to strengthen Bosnia as a nation, after years when the Bosnian Serb Republic and the Muslim-Croat Federation stayed largely separate.

The international community was quick to condemn the soldiers' protest.

The Nato commander in Bosnia, US General Steven Schook, called it "an illegal act", adding that the Bosnian Serb military was still influenced by opponents of reconciliation.

In a joint statement, the European Union, Nato, the US and the international envoy to Bosnia, Paddy Ashdown, insisted:

"The [Bosnian Serb Republic] must realise that it is an entity and not a state, and can only exist within Bosnia-Hercegovina....

"These events have to be taken very seriously as they indicate a deeper problem."

Bosnian Serb Defence Minister Milovan Stankovic condemned the protest and attempted to distance the republic's government from their actions.

[oilfieldtrash]

I laughed when I read this one but I would probably have dont it too if Paddy Ashdown was telling me what to do.

[tahotdog]

Maybe some of these cretins would rather Serbs didn't exist and Germany and France had been under sharia law doing it with goats for the last 1400 years...

[Cicero]

You are too polite, to assume that these cretins know anything about history, even recent history. The Serbs were declared politically incorrect by bill clinton and his media friends, and that's all they need to know.

[jocon307]

Seems like that plan isn't working too well.

[Hoplite]

EUFOR / NATO Sanctions OATH Taking Incident 16 April 05

The events at the military induction ceremonies in the Republika Srpska of 16 April constituted a serious breakdown in the constitutional obligations of the VRS within the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The behaviour and events at Manjaca and the inaction of the chain of command were in direct opposition to the central principles and obligations set out in Article 1 of Annex 1A of the Dayton Agreement. They also called into question the constitutional loyalty and military professionalism of the VRS chain of command and presented a serious challenge to the process of defence reform. As indicated in BiH Minister of Defence Radovanovic’s report to the BiH Presidency, the incidents of 16 April represented a collective disobedience of the law and a collective violation of military discipline by military trainees. They again underline the inherent systemic weaknesses in the defence establishment of BiH.

In the joint statement of 12 May, OHR, NATO and EUFOR called on the Presidency to ensure that those individuals with senior command positions are held properly to account. Minister Stankovic was asked to play his full part in making sure that this happens. On 14, May General Leakey and General Schook provided their professional view on the need promptly and effectively to restore confidence in the RS element of the armed forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The Presidency discussed this problem on 2 June, but were unable to come to a conclusion. Generals Leakey and Schook are gravely concerned that a month and a half has passed without effective action being taken to restore confidence in VRS. It would have been better if the authorities of Bosnia and Herzegovina had taken the decisive action which we are now having to take. This situation would be worsened by further delay.

Therefore, Major General Leakey, COMEUFOR, and Brigadier General Schook, COMNHQSa, have ordered the removal of General Djukic, Chief of Staff of the VRS, under powers set out in Chapter 14 of the Instructions to the Parties (which are issued under Annex 1A of the GFAP). General Djukic was ultimately responsible for the failures of planning and command that allowed these events to occur. He was also responsible for the failure of the VRS to react promptly and effectively to restore confidence in the reliability and constitutional loyalty of the VRS.

In addition, COMEUFOR, using his authority under Dayton, has required RS Minister of Defence Stankovic to suspend all recruit and conscript training at the Manjaca base, where the most serious events took place, until the training at Manjaca can be considered adequate and reliable. The conscripts at Manjaca will be dismissed.

The role of the veterans association at the events in Manjaca was particularly inflammatory and offensive to Dayton. COMEUFOR has ordered that war veterans’ representatives should not participate in an active or speaking role at official military ceremonies until the rulebook on such ceremonies is revised and rewritten at the state level. Minister Radovanovic has already asked the Defence Reform Commission to develop a new rule book for military ceremonies. The new rules will ensure that all military induction ceremonies throughout BiH reflect the fact both in style and substance that the purpose of the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina is to defend and serve the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and not the entities.

The incidents at Manjaca, coupled with the BiH Presidency's inability to take the appropriate remedial measures in its role of Commander in Chief, again underline the inherent systemic weaknesses in the defence establishment of BiH. These weaknesses have repeatedly been pointed out by OHR, NATO and ICTY. COMEUFOR and COMNHQSa are united in reiterating the need for thorough reform as outlined in HR's extension of the DRC mandate of 31 December 2004. Hence, we are eagerly awaiting the Commission's recommendations to correct these inherent weaknesses in order for BiH to make progress in its aim of integration into the Euro-Atlantic community.

As for the future, we fully expect conscription to end throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina as a result of the defence reforms creating a single ministry of defence, single joint staff and related state commands, a single defence budget and the full professionalisation of the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Source

Net result?

VRS Chief of Staff - booted.
Bosnian Serb recruits at Manjaca - booted.
Training at Manjaca base - suspended until further notice.

The Bosnian Serbs continue to provide reasons for the dismantling of the Republika Srpska, and the OHR and NATO HQ are only too happy to make it happen.