In the recently signed document of the ruling parliamentary parties in the Republika Srpska, the Government of the Republika Srpska undertakes to continue negotiations with the Government of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, in order to define the border line between the entities. There are no concrete steps taken by the Government of Republika Srpska in this direction yet, and even legal experts are divided on this issue.
“We agreed to form a special service within the MUP that will deal with the issue of the border between the two entities and the supervision of that border, whatever that means,” Milorad Dodik, president of Republika Srpska said.
The President of Republika Srpska justifies this decision by not implementing Annex 2 of the Dayton Agreement, which, as he said, foresees an inter-entity line with precise maps, which, he points out, violated the Dayton commitment. In the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the RS, there is no comment on whether and when a special department will be formed to monitor the inter-entity line, where surveillance cameras are already located. Constitutional law professor Šukrija Bakšić claims that such a move is unconstitutional. He states that the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Article 1 point 4 guarantees the freedom of movement of people and goods, with an explicit statement that the entities will not establish any kind of control on the inter-entity demarcation line.
“With a clear intention, this annex is called the agreement on the inter-entity demarcation line in order to avoid the term border and all its implications in international law. It was decisively stated by the agreement that it is not possible to establish any border control on the inter-entity line”.
“The Republika Srpska has the right to protect itself in accordance with the constitution and international standards, and there is no room for those who say that it is not in in accordance with the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina. In all those parts in which the border line is not defined, but for the most part it is defined, a demarcation should be carried out and an end should be put to that issue, because Annex 2 of the Dayton Agreement provided for it,” Vitomir Popovic, professor at the Faculty of Law in Banja Luka, says.
Law professor from Banja Luka Vitomir Popović does not agree that Dodik’s initiative is unconstitutional. He believes that it is completely legal for there to be surveillance on the demarcation line between the entities.
“After the signing of the Dayton Agreement, the SDS government advocated for the establishment of an entity line and for the establishment of some kind of guard on the border that would monitor that line between RS and FBiH. That policy was defeated precisely by the arrival of Dodik, who turned his back on such a policy.”
“It is obvious that one side is creating some kind of inflammatory statements or tensions, with the aim of continuing the rhetoric that has been collapsing us for years or decades. It’s a skillful political manipulation and an attempt to play with people’s emotions and to divert attention from the serious problems of how people live, why they leave.”, Branislav Borenovic, PDP representative in the PSBiH House of Representatives believes.
The inter-entity demarcation line passes through 42 municipalities in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Official maps of Bosnia and Herzegovina are located in the State Department. Due to the undefined demarcation line, the owners of 14,000 private plots do not know to whom the land belongs – to the Republika Srpska or the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
