SARAJEVO, March 17 (Reuters) - Bosnian Serb separatist leader Milorad Dodik declared on Monday the establishment of a border police force for the Serb-dominated region, in response to a top Bosnian court issuing a warrant for his arrest for evading prosecutors' summons.
Dodik, the president of Bosnia's autonomous Serb Republic, has introduced laws challenging state authorities and the constitution, triggering the most significant constitutional crisis since the Balkan country's 1990s war.
Through social media, Dodik announced that the region's leadership had agreed to form a border police force in compliance with the Dayton Peace Accords that ended the 1992-1995 war. This move is part of his efforts to reverse post-war reforms intended to strengthen the fragile country.
Following a U.S.-backed peace agreement, Bosnia was divided into two autonomous regions, the Serb Republic and the Bosniak-Croat Federation, connected by a limited central government overseen by an international envoy whose role is to maintain peace and prevent renewed conflict in the diverse Balkan state.
The conflict, involving Dodik, his allies Russia and Serbia, against the United States and European Union, originated in February when a court sentenced him to a year in jail and a ban from holding office for six years due to his opposition to the envoy's decisions—an outcome he intends to appeal.
Dodik responded by enacting laws excluding the state judiciary and police from the region, a move temporarily halted by the Constitutional Court due to the perceived threat to the country's legal framework and sovereignty.
State prosecutors recently summoned Dodik, the region's Prime Minister Radovan Viskovic, and parliament Speaker Nenad Stevandic, who all defied the summons in an investigation into an attack on constitutional order.
The retreat of these officials was deemed dangerous, as the regional police pledged to shield them from arrest.
In light of reports that state prosecutors have issued warrants for the three officials, Dodik's decision to form a separate border police force may prevent them from leaving Bosnia as any police unit is mandated to apprehend them.
Dodik had already announced his upcoming trip to Moscow. The 66-year-old pro-Russian nationalist has held key political positions at both state and regional levels for about three decades, advocating fervently for the separation of the Serb region from Bosnia and its union with Serbia.