Foča Фоча
Panorama of the city
Location of Foča within Bosnia and Herzegovina
Coordinates: 44°30′N 18°47′E / 44.5°N 18.783°E / 44.5; 18.783
Country	Bosnia and Herzegovina
Government
• Mayor	Zdravko Krsmanović (NSPRS)
Area
• Total	1,180 km2 (460 sq mi)
Population (2008)
• Total	40,513
• Municipality	?
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Area code(s)	58
Website	www.opstinafoca.rs.ba

Foča (Serbian Cyrillic: Фоча, pronounced [fɔ̂tʃa]) is a town and municipality in southeastern Bosnia and Herzegovina on the Drina river, in the Foča Region of the Republika Srpska entity.

History[link]

The old clock tower of Foča

Early history[link]

The town was known as Hotča during medieval times. It was then known as a trading centre on route between Ragusa (now Dubrovnik) and Constantinople (now Istanbul, Turkey). With Gornje Podrinje Foča was part of the old Serbian State up to 1376, when it was attached to the Bosnian State under the reign of King Tvrtko. After Tvrtko's death the town was ruled by the Hum Dukes among whom the best known was Herzog Stjepan.

World War II[link]

In 1941, the Ustaše killed the leading Serbs in Foča.^[1] Between December 1941 and January 1942 over two thousand Bosnian Muslims were killed in Foča by the Chetniks.^[2] Additional Chetnik massacres in Foča took place in August 1942.^[2] On February 13, 1943, Pavle Đurišić reported to Draža Mihailović the actions undertaken by the Chetniks in the Foča, Pljevlja, and Čajniče districts: "All Muslim villages in the three mentioned districts were totally burned so that not a single home remained in one piece. All property was destroyed except cattle, corn, and senna."^[3] Furthermore, "During the operation the total destruction of the Muslim inhabitants was carried out regardless of sex and age."^[3] In the operation Chetnik losses "were 22 dead, of which 2 through accidents, and 32 wounded. Among the Muslims, around 1,200 fighters and up to 8,000 other victims: women, old people, and children."^[3] Đurišić said what remained of the Muslim population fled and that actions were taken to prevent their return.^[3] The municipality is also the site of the legendary Battle of Sutjeska between the Tito's Yugoslav Partisans and the German army. A monument to the Partisans killed in the battle was erected in the village of Tjentište.

Bosnian War and after[link]

Mehmed Pasha Kukavica mosque was dynamited on 28 May 1992. During the war, all of the mosques of Foča were destroyed.

In 1992, the city came under the control of Serbian paramilitaries. Most of the Bosniaks were expelled from the area.^[4] Foča was also the site of a rape camp in the Partizan hall which was set up by the Republika Srpska authorities in which hundreds of Bosniak women were raped.^[5]

Once the Serb forces cleared Eastern Bosnia of much of its Bosniak civilian population, the towns and villages were securely in their hands. All of the Serb forces (i.e. the military, police, paramilitaries and sometimes, villagers too) applied the same pattern: houses and apartments of the expelled population were systematically ransacked or burnt down; remaining members of the Bosniak civilian population were rounded up or captured, and sometimes beaten or killed in the process.^[6] 13 mosques including the Aladža Mosque were destroyed and the 22,500 Muslims who made up the majority of inhabitants fled.^[7] Only about 10 Muslims remained at the end of the conflict.^[6] The Tribunal Judges determined beyond a reasonable doubt that the purpose of the Serb campaign in Foča was, among others, "to cleanse the Foča area of Muslims" and concluded that "to that end the campaign was successful.^[6]

Men and women were separated, with many of the men detained in the camps. The women were kept in various detention centres where they had to live in intolerably unhygienic conditions, and where they were mistreated in many ways including being raped repeatedly. Serb soldiers or policemen would come to these detention centres, select one or more women, take them out and rape them.^[8] Years later at the ICTY, the former Bosnian Serb leader and Republika Srpska president Biljana Plavšić confirmed under a plea bargain the occurrence of these mass rapes in Foča during the war.^[9] In the judgement of Serb soldier Novislav Đajić the Bavarian Appeals Chamber found that acts of genocide were committed in June 1992 within the administrative district of Foča.^[10]

In 1995 the Dayton Agreement created a territorial corridor linking the once-besieged Bosnian city of Goražde to the Muslim-Croat Federation; as a consequence, the northern part of Foča was separated to create the city of Foča-Ustikolina.

The city was renamed Srbinje (Serbian: Србиње, pronounced [sř̩biɲɛ]), "place of the Serbs" (from Srbi Serbs and -nje which is a Slavic locative suffix). In 2004, the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina declared the name change unconstitutional, and reverted it to Foča, until the National Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina passes an appropriate law.

In October 2004 members of the Association of Women Victims of War (Udruzenje Žene-Žrtve Rata) attempted to lay a plaque in front of the Partizan sports hall to commemorate the terrible crimes that occurred there. Hundreds of Bosnian Serb protestors prevented them from doing so.^[4][6]

Since the war around 4,000 Muslims have returned to their homes and several mosques have been re-built.^[7] This has taken place largely due to the administration of the current mayor, Zdravko Krsmanović, who has taken a pointed stance of opposition to much of the Serbian nationalist establishment within the Republika Srpska.^[11]

Population[link]

1971[link]

48,741 total

• Bosniaks - 25,766 (52,86%)
• Serbs - 21,458 (44,02%)
• Croats - 218 (0,44%)
• Yugoslavs - 102 (0,20%)
• Others - 1,197 (2,48%)

1991[link]

According to the 1991 census Foča municipality had a total population of 40,513. The ethnic distribution was:

• Bosniaks 20,898 (51.58%)
• Serbs 18,339 (45.27%)
• Yugoslavs 448 (1.11%)
• Croats 104 (0.26%)
• others 73

The town of Foča itself had a total population of 16,628, including:

• Serbs 8,713 (52.39%)
• Bosniaks 7,029 (42.27%)
• others 886 (5.34%)

2005[link]

No census has been taken since 1991, but data gathered from municipal sources places the current population at around 24,000, nearly all of whom are Serbs.

Settlements[link]

• Anđelije • Bastasi • Bavčići • Beleni • Bešlići • Biokovo • Birotići • Bogavići • Borje • Borovinići • Brajići • Brajkovići • Brod • Brusna • Budanj • Bujakovina • Bunčići • Bunovi • Cerova Ravan • Crnetići • Cvilin • Čelebići • Čelikovo Polje • Ćurevo • Daničići • Derolovi • Donje Žešće • Drače • Dragočava • Dragojevići • Đeđevo • Fališi • Filipovići • Foča • Glušca • Godijeno • Gostičaj • Govza • Gradac • Grandići • Grdijevići • Hum • Huseinovići • Igoče • Izbišno • Jabuka • Jasenovo • Ječmišta • Jeleč • Jošanica • Kolakovići • Kolun • Kosman • Kozarevina • Kozja Luka • Kratine • Krna Jela • Kruševo • Kunduci • Kunovo • Kuta • Lokve • Ljubina • Marevo • Mazlina • Mazoče • Meštrevac • Miljevina • Mirjanovići • Mješaji • Mravljača • Njuhe • Orahovo • Papratno • Patkovina • Paunci • Petojevići • Podgrađe • Poljice • Popov Most • Potpeće • Previla • Prevrać • Prijeđel • Prisoje • Puriši • Račići • Radojevići • Rijeka • Rodijelj • Slatina • Slavičići • Stojkovići • Sorlaci • Susješno • Škobalji • Štović • Šuljci • Tečići • Tjentište • Tođevac • Toholji • Trbušće • Trtoševo • Tvrdaci • Ustikolina • Velenići • Vikoč • Vitine • Vojnovići • Vranjevići • Vrbnica • Vučevo • Vukušići • Zabor • Zakmur • Zavait • Zebina Šuma • Zubovići • Željevo

Features[link]

Foča is the capital of the municipality of Foča and of the Foča Region.

It houses some faculties (including the Medical and Orthodox Theological Faculty of Saint Basil of Ostrog.) from the Istočno Sarajevo University. It is also home to one of seven seminaries in the Serbian Orthodox Church, the Seminary of Saint Peter of Sarajevo and Dabar-Bosna. There was also of until 1992 the home of one of Bosnia's most important Islamic high schools, the Madrassa of Mehmed-paša.

The third largest Serbian Orthodox Church building in the Balkans is due to be built in Foča.^{[citation needed]}

Sutjeska which is the oldest National Park in Bosnia and Herzegovina is located in the municipality.

Twin towns - sister cities[link]

Foča is twinned with:

• Kragujevac in Serbia

See also[link]

• Foča massacres

References[link]

External links[link]

• Voice of Foča
• Official site
• Foča

v t e Political divisions of Bosnia and Herzegovina v t e Entities of Bosnia and Herzegovina Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina Republika Srpska v t e Cantons of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina      Una-Sana  Central Bosnia  Posavina  Herzegovina-Neretva  Tuzla  West Herzegovina  Zenica-Doboj  Sarajevo  Bosnian Podrinje  Canton 10 v t e Districts of Bosnia and Herzegovina Brčko distrikt v t e Municipalities in Bosnia and Herzegovina Capital Sarajevo Municipalities of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina Banovići Bihać Bosanska Krupa Bosanski Petrovac Bosansko Grahovo Bugojno Busovača Bužim Čapljina Cazin Čelić Centar, Sarajevo Čitluk Drvar Doboj East Doboj South Dobratići Domaljevac-Šamac Donji Vakuf Foča-Ustikolina Fojnica Glamoč Goražde Gornji Vakuf-Uskoplje Gračanica Gradačac Grude Hadžići Ilidža Ilijaš Jablanica Jajce Kakanj Kalesija Kiseljak Kladanj Ključ Konjic Kreševo Kupres Livno Ljubuški Lukavac Maglaj Mostar Neum Novi Grad, Sarajevo Novo Sarajevo Novi Travnik Odžak Olovo Orašje Pale-Prača Posušje Prozor-Rama Ravno Sanski Most Sapna Široki Brijeg Srebrenik Stari Grad, Sarajevo Stolac Teočak Tešanj Tomislavgrad Travnik Trnovo (FBiH) Tuzla Usora Vareš Velika Kladuša Visoko Vitez Vogošća Zavidovići Zenica Žepče Živinice Municipalities of Republika Srpska Berkovići Bijeljina Bileća Brod Bratunac Čajniče Čelinac Derventa Doboj Donji Žabar Foča Gacko Grad Banja Luka Grad Istočno Sarajevo Gradiška Han Pijesak Istočni Drvar Istočna Ilidža Istočni Mostar Istočni Stari Grad Istočno Novo Sarajevo Jezero Kalinovik Kneževo Kostajnica Kozarska Dubica Kotor Varoš Krupa na Uni Kupres Laktaši Ljubinje Lopare Milići Modriča Mrkonjić Grad Nevesinje Novi Grad Novo Goražde Osmaci Oštra Luka Pale Pelagićevo Petrovac Petrovo Prijedor Prnjavor Ribnik Rogatica Rudo Šamac Šekovići Šipovo Sokolac Srbac Srebrenica Teslić Trebinje Trnovo Ugljevik Višegrad Vlasenica Vukosavlje Zvornik

Coordinates: 43°30′N 18°47′E / 43.5°N 18.783°E / 43.5; 18.783

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Milorad Dodik Милорад Додик
President of Republika Srpska
Incumbent
Assumed office 15 November 2010
Preceded by	Rajko Kuzmanović
Prime Minister of Republika Srpska
In office 28 February 2006 – 15 November 2010
Preceded by	Pero Bukejlović
Succeeded by	Anton Kasipovic (acting)
In office 18 January 1998 – 12 January 2001
Preceded by	Gojko Kličković
Succeeded by	Mladen Ivanić
Personal details
Born	(1959-03-12) March 12, 1959 (age 53) Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Yugoslavia
Political party	Alliance of Independent Social Democrats (SNSD)

Milorad Dodik (Serbian: Милорад Додик) (born March 12, 1959) is a Bosnian Serb politician. He is the President of the Republika Srpska entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the president of the Alliance of Independent Social Democrats (SNSD) political party.

Political career[link]

From 1986 through 1990 he was the Chairman of the Executive Board of the Municipal Assembly of Laktaši.^[1] In 1990, in the first multi-party elections in Bosnia and Herzegovina he was elected to the Parliament of the Socialist Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, as a candidate of the Union of Reform Forces.^[1] During the Bosnian War, he served as a representative in the National Assembly of the Republika Srpska.^[1] During that time, he formed the Independent Members of Parliament Caucus (Клуб независних посланика у Народној Скупштини Републике Српске, Klub nezavisnih poslanika u Narodnoj Skupštini Republike Srpske), which was the only political opposition the Serb Democratic Party (Српска демократска странка, Srpska demokratska stranka), which held the absolute majority in the war-time parliament of the Republika Srpska.

The caucus he chaired was to form the core of the Party of Independent Social Democrats (Stranka nezavisnih socijaldemokrata, or SNSD) in 1996, after the peace was signed as a result of the Dayton Agreement. He was elected as the first President of SNSD. The party later united with another social-democratic party to form the Alliance of Independent Social Democrats, of which Milorad Dodik is President. In 1997, he was elected into the National Assembly of the Republika Srpska and then became the majority leader in national assembly.

During the years in opposition, he concentrated on the strengthening of his political party, which swept the elections in October 2006. During the election campaign, which he led under the slogan "Republic of Srpska, the better part of BiH", he opposed calls from the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (namely from the Bosniak-dominated Party for Bosnia and Herzegovina (SBiH)) for the abolition of the Republika Srpska. In response to this, he said he would call for a referendum on the independence of Republika Srpska.

In 2007, Dodik was a guest on the Croatian talk show Nedjeljom u dva, in which he amongst other things discussed the return of Croatian refugees to Republika Srpska and the future status of a unified Bosnia and Herzegovina.^[2]

On 5 May 2008, Dodik and Serbian President Boris Tadić inaugurated the Park Republika Srpska in Belgrade.^[3]

On 1 June 2008, during a visit to Zagreb, Dodik stated that Operation Storm was an act of ethnic cleansing carried out against Serbs and regarded it the "greatest ethnic cleansing committed after World War II".^[4] Stjepan Mesić scrutinized Dodik for encouraging unsatisfied Serbs in Croatia to live in Republika Srpska while neglecting to invite Bosniak and Croat refugees.^[5] Ivo Banac, President of the Croatian Helsinki Committee, stated Croatia was defending itself at the time and criticized Dodik for causing provocations.^[6]

On 12 December 2008, Dodik stated that Muslim judges should not be allowed to preside over cases in Republika Srpska.^[7] Dodik elaborated that "it is unacceptable for the RS that Muslim judges try us and throw out complaints that are legally founded. And we think that it is only because they are Muslims, Bosniaks and that they have a negative orientation towards the RS, and we see the conspiracy that has been created."^[7] Dodik's comments were condemned and seen as "extremely chauvinistic" by international institutions, the United States Embassy in Sarajevo and other officials.^[7]

On 9 September 2009, Dodik and Boris Tadić, President of Serbia, opened a school in Pale with the name "Serbia".^[8] Bosniak and Croat members of the tripartite Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina were not consulted about Tadić's trip.^[8]

On 27 October 2009, Dodik provided an RS government jet to pick up Biljana Plavšić, former President of Republika Srpska convicted of war crimes, and welcomed her to Belgrade after her early release from a Swedish prison.^[9] Dodik cited "purely moral reasons" for doing so.^[10] Željko Komšić, Croat member of the tripartite Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, cancelled a planned visit to Sweden in protest.^[9]

In November 2009, Dodik refused to hand over requested documents detailing the financing of a government building complex in Banja Luka worth 110 million euro and the construction of a highway to international prosecutors at the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina.^[11] Dodik stated that the court had no jurisdiction over Republika Srpska and filed a lawsuit against Deputy High Representative Raffi Gregorian and international prosecutors.^[11] Dodik accused Gregorian of leading a plot against Republika Srpska and said a bias against Serbs existed among central-level prosecutors and judges.^[11]

On 10 November 2009, Dodik revealed that he seriously considered giving Biljana Plavšić an office in the Senate. He stated "we are working on revising the law on the President of the Republic, which would award Plavšić, and other former presidents, the opportunity to enjoy some privileges like the office, monetary compensation, counselor, secretary, official car with a driver and so forth."^[6] Mladen Bosić, leader of the Serbian Democratic Party, criticized Dodik.^[6]

On 19 January 2010, outgoing Croatian president Stjepan Mesić stated that if Dodik were to call an independence referendum for Republika Srpska he would send the Croatian military to intervene.^[12] On 21 January 2010, Dodik accused Stjepan Mesić of leading the wartime Croatian government "that ethnically cleansed that country of its ethnic Serb population" and that he helped "to promote the Ustaša program dating back to the Second World War” in Australia, and in Široki Brijeg in Bosnia and Herzegovina.^[13]

On 30 November 2010, leaked United States diplomatic cables revealed that Dodik supported the Ahtisaari plan for the independence of Kosovo.^[14] The cable was sent by Daniel Fried, a U.S. State Department official, in May 2007 and quoted Dodik as stating that "Kosovo's recognition would follow after such a decision (to adopt the plan) by the UN Security Council". Dodik denied the accusations and stated that Daniel Fried was a liar and a troublemaker.^[15]

In May 2011, Dodik planned to have a referendum held in June that he viewed would reflect on the rejection of Bosnian state institutions, including the war crimes court. The High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina, Valentin Inzko, warned that the referendum could potentially jeopardize the Dayton Agreement.^[16] However, shortly after tensions increased in regards to the proposed referendum, Republika Srpska decided to cancel the referendum, after Catherine Ashton, EU's High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy reassured Dodik in Banja Luka that EU will examine the complaints of RS on abuses in justice system of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and recommend the changes.^[17]

On 25 October 2011, Dodik spoke on "An American Foreign Policy Success Story: The Dayton Accords, Republika Srpska and Bosnia's European Integration" at Columbia University.^[18] The event was protested by numerous organizations including the Congress of North American Bosniaks,^[19] the Advisory Council for Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Canadian Institute for the Research of Genocide,^[20] the Bosnian American Genocide Institute and Education Center, and the International Center for Transitional Justice.^[21][22] Protests also took place while the speech was in progress.^[23]

Controversy[link]

Opinion on the Tuzla massacre and Markale massacres[link]

In 2009, Dodik stated that the Tuzla Massacre was staged and questioned the Markale massacres at Sarajevo. The Tuzla municipality filed charges against Dodik over these statements. The city of Sarajevo filed criminal charges against Dodik for abuse of power, and inciting ethnic, racial and religious hatred.^[24]

The Office of the High Representative said Dodik denied the war crimes committed and stated that "When such skewed facts come from an official in a position of high responsibility, an official who is obliged to uphold the Dayton Peace Accords and cooperate with the Hague Tribunal, then they are particularly irresponsible and undermine not only the institutions responsible for upholding the rule of law, but the credibility of the individual himself".^[25]

Opinion on the Srebrenica massacre[link]

On 21 April 2010, the government of Dodik initiated a revision of the 2004 report saying that the numbers of killed were exaggerated and the report was manipulated by a former peace envoy.^[26][27] The Office of the High Representative responded and stated that: "The Republika Srpska government should reconsider its conclusions and align itself with the facts and legal requirements and act accordingly, rather than inflicting emotional distress on the survivors, torture history and denigrate the public image of the country".^[28]

On July 12, 2010, at the 15th anniversary of the Srebrenica Massacre, Dodik declared that he acknowledges the killings that happened on the site, but does not regard what happened at Srebrenica as genocide, differing from the conclusions of the ICTY and of the International Court of Justice. "If a genocide happened then it was committed against Serb people of this region where women, children and the elderly were killed en masse," Dodik said, in reference to eastern Bosnia.^[29]

In December 2010, Dodik condemned the Peace Implementation Council, an international community of 55 countries, for referring to the Srebrenica massacre as genocide.^[30] The council reaffirmed "genocide in Srebrenica, war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in the course of the conflict in Bosnia-Herzegovina must not be forgotten or denied."^[31]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official biography
• SNSD Official Website
• President of the Republic Milorad Dodik

v t e Prime Ministers of Republika Srpska Branko Đerić · Vladimir Lukić · Dušan Kozić · Rajko Kasagić · Gojko Kličković · Milorad Dodik · Mladen Ivanić · Dragan Mikerević · Pero Bukejlović · Milorad Dodik · Anton Kasipović (acting) · Aleksandar Džombić

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