There really is no other way to describe the recent action by the RS government to remove the "Bosnian" prefix from the names of the cities Bosanski Brod and Bosanska Kostajnica.
Thanks to Owen for bringing this issue to my attention; you can read more about this blatant act of ultranationalism here. If you are inclined to regard this is as a meaningless gesture, I would direct your attention to the fact that the law stipulates a monetary fine between 1,500 to 20,000 KM for anyone who uses the old names in official correspondence.
The partition of Bosnia continues, and will continue until the entities are eliminated. The continued existence of the Republika Srpska does little more than provide an institutional base for nationalists, and official sanction to continued segregation.
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I would also direct readers to Daniel's always-excellent Srebrenica Genocide Blog. He has a new post up on the latest developments in the lawsuit brought against the Dutch state by the survivors of Srebrenica, and has promised another update as well.
1 comment:
Horrible. Basically, whoever uses the proper terminology for a number of pre-war cities in Bosnia-Herzegovina (e.g. Bosanski Brod, Bosanska Kostajnica, or any other city starting with the term "Bosnian") would be fined up to $20,000.
I cannot believe this is happening. "Bosnian" means: Bosniak, Bosnian Serb, Bosnian Croat, and everybody else. There is no ethnic conotation to this term. I am speechless. The law will be repealed at some point - I hope.
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