Kosovo's decision to declare independence has persuaded Serbians in the Bosnian republic of Srpska to follow the lead. They say NATO and EU forces are occupiers and are determined to move towards the formation of a united state of Serbs.
“Bosnia is occupied by western forces now. The West says they are friends, but they bombed us here and in Serbia. They have stolen Kosovo from us and I am against it, I won’t accept any foreign soldiers in my country except Russians,” said Nicola Borkovich, a student. NATO, the U.S. and the EU say that Kosovo’s independence won’t be a precedent for other disputed territories in the world. However, the mood of Serbs living in Bosnia suggests that the chain reaction has already started. Now the question is: “Who will claim their independence next”? The troubles for Serbs in this area started in 1991, when the republic of Yugoslavia fell apart and Bosnia proclaimed independence. In turn Serbs, living in Bosnia, created their own government. That led to almost four years of war which ended in 1995 with the Dayton Peace Agreement. Eventually Bosnia was divided into the Serb Republic and the Muslim-Croat Federation.