Could Crimea be another Bosnia?
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'A democratic reply to undemocratic
modern day secessionism is as
pressures.‟ This is how Radovan
follows:
Karadžić's party characterised the
referendum it organised in Bosnia in I. assert a claim of victimhood as a
result
of
outrageous
acts
November 1991. The anti-democratic
perpetrated by an oppressor;
measure, as they saw it, was the
majority vote by the then Assembly of II. represent one‟s own acts as a
„legitimate response‟ to the
the Socialist Republic of Bosniaoppressor‟s acts. Here a selfHerzegovina declaring Bosnia a
organised referendum is desirable
sovereign republic within its existing
because it appears democratic;
borders. Karadžić had a legal case for
lodging a complaint against this vote III. proclaim, thereafter, in a local
assembly, a unilateral declaration of
but instead his party upped the ante,
independence (UDI) based on a
abandoned the Assembly and
„right to self-determination.‟
organised a mono-ethnic referendum
outside the existing legal structures of
While the formula is fairly clear, the
the republic. In this, ethnic Serb
details and improvisations around it
voters were asked if they wanted
matter a great deal in assessing
Socialist Bosnia to remain within the
legitimacy. The interstate system and
then Socialist Federal Republic of
international law are, as a rule,
Yugoslavia or not. Non-Serb Bosnians
strongly opposed to secessionism. But
could, in theory, also vote but on
the empirical circumstances of
separate, differently coloured ballot
oppression and response do matter.
papers. Few bothered.
Karadžić‟s party‟s claim of victimhood
at the hands of Croatian „fascists‟ and
The terms and legacy of Karadžić‟s
„Muslim fundamentalists‟ was, for
ploy in November 1991 are worth
example, based on political hysteria,
recalling as another referendum
not hard evidence of oppression.
gambit plays itself out this weekend in
Neighbouring Serbian strongman
Crimea. The essential formula for
19
Gerard Toal*