Milorad Dodik Wants to Carve Up Bosnia. Peacefully, if Possible
- 6 years ago
Milorad Dodik Wants to Carve Up Bosnia. Peacefully, if Possible
He said that Serbs had been victims of Islamic extremism long before Al Qaeda and the Islamic State, saying
that "Serbs were beheaded not far from here during the war." It was an outrageous claim, given the mass killing of Muslims by Serb paramilitaries during the war, with men, women and children herded like cattle into concentration camps like one in Manjaca, just outside Banja Luka.
The Saturday Profile By
BARBARA SURK
FEB. 16, 2018
BANJA LUKA, Bosnia and Herzegovina — Milorad Dodik would like to make two things clear at the outset:
that he is the president of a legitimate state, rather than an ethnically cleansed territory in a country with internationally recognized borders; and that, at 58, he can still shoot hoops like a pro.
that They can accuse me of being a bad man 100 times over,
" he said, "my life is better now that she’s not coming over here to tell me what to do." Once hailed in Washington and Brussels as a moderate who would break with the militant Serbian nationalism
that led to the Balkan blood bath in the 1990s, Mr. Dodik has refashioned himself into an unapologetic nationalist, taking pages from the authoritarian playbooks of past and present patrons in Belgrade, including the Serbian president, Aleksandar Vucic. that Honestly,
Mr. Dodik has called for all Serb politicians serving in Bosnian state institutions to return
to Banja Luka, the Serb region’s capital, and has declared those who refuse traitors.
For a decade after the war, Mr. Dodik was showered with funds
and compliments from Brussels and Washington, with Madeleine Albright, the former Secretary of State, calling him a "breath of fresh air in the Balkans." Clearly out of favor with the Americans these days, Mr. Dodik has turned his attention to the East, where he now counts President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia among his closest allies.
He said that Serbs had been victims of Islamic extremism long before Al Qaeda and the Islamic State, saying
that "Serbs were beheaded not far from here during the war." It was an outrageous claim, given the mass killing of Muslims by Serb paramilitaries during the war, with men, women and children herded like cattle into concentration camps like one in Manjaca, just outside Banja Luka.
The Saturday Profile By
BARBARA SURK
FEB. 16, 2018
BANJA LUKA, Bosnia and Herzegovina — Milorad Dodik would like to make two things clear at the outset:
that he is the president of a legitimate state, rather than an ethnically cleansed territory in a country with internationally recognized borders; and that, at 58, he can still shoot hoops like a pro.
that They can accuse me of being a bad man 100 times over,
" he said, "my life is better now that she’s not coming over here to tell me what to do." Once hailed in Washington and Brussels as a moderate who would break with the militant Serbian nationalism
that led to the Balkan blood bath in the 1990s, Mr. Dodik has refashioned himself into an unapologetic nationalist, taking pages from the authoritarian playbooks of past and present patrons in Belgrade, including the Serbian president, Aleksandar Vucic. that Honestly,
Mr. Dodik has called for all Serb politicians serving in Bosnian state institutions to return
to Banja Luka, the Serb region’s capital, and has declared those who refuse traitors.
For a decade after the war, Mr. Dodik was showered with funds
and compliments from Brussels and Washington, with Madeleine Albright, the former Secretary of State, calling him a "breath of fresh air in the Balkans." Clearly out of favor with the Americans these days, Mr. Dodik has turned his attention to the East, where he now counts President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia among his closest allies.