Bosnian Serbs Protest Kosovo Independence

About 2,000 Serbs protested against Kosovo's independence across their half of Bosnia-Hercegovina on Thursday, clashing with police in their stronghold of Banja Luka. Some of the protesters hurled stones at police, who fought back with tear gas. The violence broke out after the crowd of protesters splintered and some of them attempted to approach the diplomatic missions of the United States, France and Germany.

Police said 14 officers were injured, two seriously, and 27 protestors were detained. Several shops were damaged including at least two shops belonging to ethnic Albanians, according to witnesses.
Chanting "Kosovo, the heart of Serbia," the protesters burned flags of the United States and the European Union, the main backers of Kosovo's unilateral declaration of independence on Sunday from Serbia.

They waved Serbian flags and held up pictures of Russian President Vladimir Putin, who along with Belgrade staunchly opposes Kosovo independence. "I came here because I am a Serb and to show solidarity with my brothers in Kosovo," said Borisa Crnic, 17. "We are here to protest against the secession of Kosovo. We will never accept it," said his friend, Biljana, who admitted to skipping class to join the demonstration.

The relatively low turnout, compared with the more than 150,000 people who showed up at a "Kosovo is Serbia" rally in Belgrade Thursday, was blamed on politicians. "I am disappointed because politicians have not shown up. They should be ashamed," said Ruzica, a pensioner.
Bosnian Serb Prime Minister Milorad Dodik condemned the violence in Banja Luka.
"Violence helps nobody," Dodik told journalists before flying to Belgrade to speak at the anti-Kosovo independence rally there. "The government supports a democratic voicing of opinions but it cannot accept violence regardless of its motives."

In separate demonstrations, several thousand Bosnian Serbs gathered in the southern town of Trebinje, the northeastern town of Doboj, the Lukavica suburb of Sarajevo and the war-time Serb stronghold of Pale, local radio reported.

Kosovo's independence proclamation has raised concerns about the future of Bosnia, which since its 1992-1995 war has been split into two entities: the Serb part, Republika Srpska, and the Muslim-Croat Federation. Many Bosnian Serbs feel their entity should follow Kosovo's lead and be allowed to secede from Bosnia and eventually to attach to Serbia, which they see as their "motherland."
Bosnian Serb politicians were divided over the Kosovo issue, as the ruling party rejected opposition nationalists' demands to follow suit.

The top international envoy to Bosnia, Miroslav Lajcak, on Thursday rejected once again any links between Bosnia and Kosovo. He described as "irresponsible" calls for independence of the Bosnian Serb entity coming from the opposition nationalist Serb Democratic Party.