During the swearing-in ceremonies in the Republika Srpska Army barracks at Manjaca near Banja Luka and in Bileca, recruits refused to repeat the words "to protect and defend Bosnia-Herzegovina", but pledged in unison their loyalty to Republika Srpska, which surprised the officers and delighted thousands of citizens, who whistled and booed during the playing of the Bosnian national anthem.
The international institutions demanded that the incidents be taken very seriously because "they indicate a deeper problem within the RS" and described statements by Bosnian Serb Premier Pero Bukejlovic and Defence Minister Milovan Stankovic as "wholly inadequate", the newspaper said.
The international institutions expect Stankovic to make clear "his unqualified condemnation of the events", to initiate an investigation and report to Bosnia-Herzegovina Defence Minister Nikola Radovanovic.
"We expect the report to identify those responsible for the incident and detail further actions to be taken by April 19 in time for NATO consideration at the Vilnius meeting," the joint statement said.
The EU, the US Embassy, NATO and the OHR believe that Republika Srpska must realise that it is an entity and not a state, and that it can only exist within Bosnia-Herzegovina and as part of it.
"These events also raise serious questions about the RS Ministry of Defence and underline the need identified by (Hague Tribunal Chief Prosecutor) Carla Del Ponte and NATO to eliminate systemic weaknesses in the security structure of Bosnia-Herzegovina, including entity ministries of defence," the statement said.
The NATO commander in the country, General Steven Schook, said in Sarajevo on Monday that Bosnian Serb authorities must carry out a full investigation into the incident by Wednesday and punish those responsible.