West Condemns Bosnian Serb Charges Against Envoy

The Serb republic government filed charges this week against a number of international prosecutors accusing them of plotting against it.

Bosnia's international peace overseers warned the Bosnian Serb government on Friday that its decision to file criminal charges against a U.S. envoy and international prosecutors was intolerable.

The Serb republic government filed charges this week against U.S. diplomat Raffi Gregorian and a number of international prosecutors, local judges and other officials, accusing them of plotting against it.

The move has hurt relations between the West and Serb republic Prime Minister Milorad Dodik, who has pushed for greater autonomy since he came to power in 2006. Bosnia also comprises the Muslim-Croat federation.

"Milorad Dodik is clearly making use of Republika Srpska institutions and personnel to try to intimidate the international community," said ambassadors of the Steering Board of the international body overseeing the Bosnian peace process.

Gregorian is the senior deputy to the international High Representative in Bosnia, a figure with sweeping powers to impose laws and sack officials seen as obstructing the Dayton peace accords that ended the Bosnian war in 1995.

Dodik has repeatedly accused Gregorian of exerting pressure on Western prosecutors and judges at Bosnia's state court to investigate his government's infrastructure deals, which he says are outside their jurisdiction.

Under Western pressure, the Serb republic government on Wednesday handed over to prosecutors documents relating to the construction of a lavish 110 million euro ($140 million) government building in Banja Luka. It filed charges against Gregorian and prosecutors the same day.

"Challenging the authority of the High Representative, his staff and the Peace Implementation Council (PIC) will not be tolerated," the PIC Steering Board ambassadors said in a statement.

The Serb republic government said it was not taking action against the international community but against "individuals who have persistently misused office to harm the Republika Srpska's institutions".