Serb entity "has right to self-determination" - PM

Serb entity "has right to self-determination" - PM

BANJA LUKA -- RS Prime Minister Željka Cvijanović has said that the Serb entity in Bosnia-Herzegovina "has a right to self-determination."

According to her, "the talk about a referendum, when it comes to the Serb Republic (RS), is not taboo nor is it artificially imposed from time to time."

"I must remind you that this issue is present in both the political and the personal lives of the citizens of the RS. We have a right to self-determination, if international norms are accepted," Cvijanović told the Bosnian edition of the Croatian daily Večernji List.

Asked why RS President Milorad Dodik "again brought up the possibility of a referendum on independence following his recent return from Moscow," Cvijanović said she "did not think it was an explicit announcement of a referendum."

"Therefore, it is about putting Bosnia-Herzegovina in a broader context that has opened in the world today. Everyone must be aware that, when you open a process in one place, it will start other examples in a chain (reaction). And that's exactly the message that was conveyed by Dodik," the RS prime minister was quoted as saying.

Cvijanović added that "even before, everyone was clear on the possibility of determination that the president expressed in relation to that situation."