A triptych entitled "Philately"- three skulls wearing hats traditional for the main ethnic groups in BiH show just how useless the ethnonationalist fights in Bosnia are. Emir Hodzic/All rights reserved. “The referendum is like throwing sand into the eyes of the voters”, says Boris Mrkela while stirring his Turkish coffee in Rahatlook, one of the cosiest cafes in Baščaršija, Sarajevo. “This is Dodik’s way to make them forget about the low pensions, the lack of salaries in the public administration, the loans”, he continues.
Mrkela is telling me how he sees the upcoming plebiscite in his native Republika Srpska (RS). While Europe’s eyes are focused on the Middle East and the threat of terrorism, Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) is on the brink of facing new major challenges that could possibly lead to disintegration or new conflicts. Soon, part of its citizenry will go to a referendum and be asked whether two of the state institutions should have authority over them. The actual question sounds quite long and complicated:
"Do you support the unconstitutional and illegal imposition of laws by the High Representative of the international community and in particular the imposed law on the Court and the Prosecutor's Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the implementation of their decisions in the territory of Republika Srpska?"
