Over at Teekay’s

Today is a holiday in Bosnia. It marks the day when the country decided to seek independence from Yugoslavia.

Or rather, today is a holiday in the (mainly Muslim-Croat) Federation, one of two statelets that make up Bosnia. It marks the day when most Bosnian Serbs boycotted a referendum on whether to seek independence from Yugoslavia.

BBC Monitoring carries this report, from a local wire service:

Bosnia-Hercegovina Presidency chairman Borislav Paravac said he does not consider 1 March, the BiH Day of Independence, a state holiday, due to the “fact that it is a day that evokes negative memories of the anti-Serb referendum, when a decision was passed on the separation of BiH from former Yugoslavia, without prior consent from Serbs”.

“We should focus on values that contribute to progress and tolerance,” Paravac said sarcastically.

Question to Mr President: how could BiH seek separation from Yugoslavia if Yugoslavia was, in his words, already “former” at the time?

Technorati Tags: Balkania