Alliance of the Independent Social Democrats

Taking advantage of the tensions caused by a controversial document predicting the dissolution of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bosnian Serb political leaders said on Tuesday that they want to formally discuss the future of the country with Croat and Bosniak politicians.

The Bosnian Serb parliament will discuss a request from Bosnia's international overseer, the Office of the High Representative, OHR, to revoke decorations given to convicted war criminals.

Bosnia and Herzegovina will be suspended from the work of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, the PACE, for failing to appoint new representatives to that body.

According to the Council of Europe's Rules, member states must nominate new delegations to the Parliamentary Assembly within six months of the day of an election.

Chairman of Bosnian Presidency Milorad Dodik (R) and Member of Bosnian Presidency Sefik Dzaferovic (L) Caption, Photo: EPA/Fehim Demir

Bosnian Serb President Milorad Dodik, who was recently elected as the Serb member of the tripartite state-level presidency, said on Thursday that his party colleague Radovan Viskovic should be given a mandate to establish Republika Srpska's new government after this month's elections.

Ignoring objections from Bosniak political leaders and international officials, Bosnia's Serbs prepared the biggest-ever celebration of their disputed January 9 'statehood' holiday, underlining the continuing divisions in the country.

Decorations have been in place for weeks, overshadowing those installed for New Year's Eve, with thousands of flags flying throughout Banja Luka.

The parliament in Bosnia's Serb-majority entity, Republika Srpska, will hold a special session on Monday on shelving an earlier decision to hold a referendum on the powers of Bosnia's state-level judiciary.

Bosnian Serb President Milorad Dodik said on Tuesday that his ruling Alliance of the Independent Social Democrats, SNSD, was no longer pushing for a referendum on the jurisdiction of the state courts over the courts of the Serb-led entity, Republika Srpska.

The chairman of the presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Dragan Covic, announced on Wednesday that a planned working lunch in the town of Mostar with presidency members and the country's political party leaders has been cancelled.

The official reason given by Covic's office was the "inability of the participants to arrive".

A court in Bosnia has confirmed an indictment against 16 people in relation to a scam in which a now-defunct bank in Republika Srpska, RS, issued nearly 123 million KM [63 million euros] in fraudulent loans and guarantees, according to Bosnia's prosecution.