The Dayton Accords did not characterize the conflict in BiH as a “civil war”

The guest of the morning show of the Radio Television of the Republic of Srpska, on November 15, 2021, was the director of the Republic Center for Research of War, War Crimes and Search for Missing Persons, Milorad Kojic. Among other things, Kojic spoke about the amendments to the Criminal Code of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which were passed by Valentin Inzko, the former High Representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Continuing the conversation, RTRS journalist Sanja Stankovic asked Kojic the following question: When it comes to the institutions of Srpska, can we form a legal team that would deal with all those, say in Sarajevo and the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, who use the formulation of aggression in public discourse, if we know how the character of war is defined by the Dayton Peace Agreement, that is a civil war? So, asking a question to her interlocutor, the journalist stated that the war conflict in Bosnia and Herzegovina in the 1990s, by the General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina, was characterized as a “civil war”. Kojic answered the following: If we look at it in general, these provisions of the law imposed by Inzko, there are also general provisions of the Criminal Code in which if it says that aggression was committed, and we know that the Dayton Peace Agreement characterized the war as a tragic conflict in the region or, as we say, civil war, this also may represent the spread of national, racial or religious hatred.

What are the facts?

A recording featuring a part of Kojic’s guest appearance, in which the stated allegations were made, is available on the official YouTube channel of the Radio Television of the Republic of Srpska and in a post on the RTRS’ website dating from November 15. The question asked by the RTRS journalist and the answer Milorad Kojic provided can be heard at 2:10. The claim that the Dayton Peace Agreement, that is, the General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina, defines the past war as a “civil war” is incorrect. The first sentence of this agreement states, among other things, the following: The Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Republic of Croatia and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (“the Parties”), • Recognizing the need for a comprehensive agreement to end the tragic conflict in the region, (…) Thus, the agreement states that the war was a “tragic conflict in the region”. The phrase “civil war” is not mentioned in any part of the General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina. In his answer to the journalist, Kojic did use the correct phrase – a tragic conflict in the region – however, he also made an incorrect statement: “or, as we say, a civil war”. It is also true that the Agreement does not define conflict as aggression, but the claim suggesting that “civil war” took place in Bosnia and Herzegovina is not true. In accordance with the facts, we rate the claim of the RTRS journalist, and her interlocutor Kojic, as fake news.