Sarajevo - The chairman of the Bosnian Presidency, Zeljko Komsic, on Tuesday canceled his visit to Sweden as a protest against the early release of former Bosnian Serb president Biljana Plavsic. Plavsic was released Tuesday from a Swedish prison where she served two-thirds of an 11-year jail term for crimes against humanity.
Komsic had been expected to visit Sweden on November 4, but canceled his trip, saying the Swedish government made a choice in releasing Plavsic.
"The Swedish government wanted to do it; they were not forced," Komsic said in a statement.
Komsic had already asked Sweden not to release Plavsic, making his request in a September 2008 letter to Per Westerberg, the speaker of the Swedish Parliament.
"That kind of mercy shown to a person who as a Bosnian Serb war leader committed the worst crimes against humanity and participated in planning, creating and implementing the destruction of Muslims, Croats and other non-Serbs in Bosnia, would be a great mistake," Komsic said then.
Bosnia's tripartite presidency consists of three members - one Serb, one Croat and one Muslim. The presidency acts as a central government conducting foreign policy and representing Bosnia in international organizations, while the country is divided into two largely autonomous regions - the Serb Republic and the Muslim Croat Federation.
