Bosnia remains mired in divisions

SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Aug. 23 (UPI) -- Bosnia remains mired in ethnic divisions 14 years after a peace agreement brokered largely by the United States came into effect, analysts say.

Bosnian leaders say Bosnia is hardening along ethnic and religious lines as U.S. and European hopes that it could be rebuilt as a pluralistic democracy appear stymied by political gridlock and economic hard times, The Washington Post reported Sunday.

The newspaper said Bosnian Serbs are talking openly of secession, while ethnic Croatians are leaving the country and religious schisms with Muslims are widening, evidenced by street protests late last year sparked when Bosnian Muslim school officials in Sarajevo tried to ban "Santa Claus" from delivering Christmas gifts to kindergartens.

Valentin Inzko, an Austrian official who serves as the international high representative, or viceroy, to Bosnia says it suffers from a "dependency syndrome" that dates back centuries to when it was part of the Ottoman Empire, telling the Post that problems don't get solved because Bosnians look to others to fix disputes for them.