Protests in support of the pro-Russian leader of the mostly Serb-populated entity of Bosnia-Herzegovina, who has been indicted for disrespecting the decisions of the Office of the High Representative (OHR), took place on September 1 in several locations across Bosnia.
Milorad Dodik, president of the Republika Srpska, has been charged over two controversial laws he signed in July that allow the Bosnian Serb entity to bypass or ignore decisions made by the high representative, the top international envoy to Bosnia.
About 2,000 people from Republic of Srpska gathered near the administrative line that divides two entities in East Sarajevo and three other cities in the north and south of the country.
Under the slogan "The Border Exists," the protesters said their aim was to stop traffic for half an hour at these locations.
High Representative Christian Schmidt said in a statement that it was "irresponsible to stage divisive political events at the interentity boundary line," adding that this is not a border between Republika Srpska and the Bosniak-Croat federation but a "purely administrative line."
The protests were organized by the Committee for the Protection of Rights of Serbs in Bosnia. A request to protest in front of the building that houses the Bosnian Court and Prosecutor-General's Office was denied by the police.
Republika Srpska and the Bosniak-Croat federation, the two highly autonomous entities of Bosnia, were created by the Dayton accords, which ended the Bosnian War in 1995. Bosnia has been governed and administered along ethnic lines established by the agreement with a weak and often dysfunctional central government.
The accords also set up the position of OHR, an internationally appointed foreign diplomat who has the power to impose laws as the final interpreter of the state constitution, though his decisions can be reviewed and questioned by the Constitutional Court of Bosnia.
The controversial measures signed into law by Dodik on July 7 were approved earlier by the deputies in the National Assembly of Republika Srpska.
One of the laws blocks the publication of decisions made by the high representative in the Official Gazette of Republika Srpska, effectively meaning the entity can disregard them.
The protests on September 1 also showed support for Milos Lukic, acting director of the publication, who has also been indicted.
The other law concerns the nonimplementation of decisions by the Constitutional Court in the territory of the entity.
A day after he signed the decrees, Dodik was accused by U.S Secretary of State Antony Blinken of violating the Bosnian Constitution and undermining the Dayton peace accords.
Dodik is under sanctions by the U.S Department of Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) over alleged corruption and threatening the stability and territorial integrity of the country.
He has also been designated for sanctions by the U.K. government because of his attempts to push for "de facto secession of Republic of Srpska."