It's a combination of above mentioned things.
Municipality should have at least one thousand people's, and have connected (or at least connectable) area under it's jurisdiction. Resources are not important, but new municipality should have administrative buildings (or possibility to raise funds needed for creation of such buildings [school, kindergarden, town hall...]).
Size of the municipality shouldn't be so important, but it should probable have at least 30km-50 km2. Usora is the obvious example how should new munnicipalities should look like...

Thanks for these links. Very interesting, because I thought this idea was a likely to fizzle out, but it seems it is still on the agenda. The following document from the Prlic trial on the founding of "Soli" might be of interest:

http://www.slobodanpraljak.com/MATERIJA ... tic/73.pdf

Sorry for posting something in Croatian on the English forum but is this story also linked to the "Soli" issue? I think the letter mentioned by "Stecak" a couple of posts ago refers to the lack of running water in Dokanj etc and that also seems to be an issue here:

Petrovići/Živinice: Kradljivci ugljena permanentno uznemiravaju hrvatske mještane

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TYt9dFHQtIM

Quick question... does anyone know if there were any other municipalities in BiH aside from Usora that were not created as a result of the war?

Domaljevac in Posavina?

lider30: no Domaljevac was created from the part of the Bosanski Šamac municipality that did not fall to the Serbs. So it was created as a result of the war. Just like many of the other municipalities created after the war where the entity boundary (and front lines) split them. I know Usora was an exception because it was created out of the parts of the Tešanj and Doboj municipalities. I was trying to see if anything else comes close and the best guess I have is Milići created out of the Vlasenica municipality.

Bužim?

I thought Bužim was somehow created after the war started. If I remember correctly it was part of the Bosanska Krupa municipality.

Yes from Krupa, but I think it was made in 95-2000 period.

I know we talked about the Gagauz earlier on page 1 of this thread... interesting how they are approaching self determination...

Source: http://www.rferl.org/content/moldova-ga ... 04816.html

Gagauzia Plans To Hold Referendum On Moldova

Lawmakers from the autonomous Moldovan region of Gagauzia have adopted a new electoral code that they hope will legally allow a referendum to be held on February 2.

The chairwoman of Gagauzia's Central Election Commission, Valentina Lisnik, told lawmakers that voters of the autonomous region -- some 80 percent of whom are Turkic-speaking Gagauz -- would use the referendum to decide Gagauzia's right to separate from Moldova if it lost its statehood after any future reunification with Romania.

Some 150,000 people live in Gagauzia.

The planned February referendum would also include questions regarding Moldova's integration with the European Union and its possible membership in a customs union of Russia, Belarus, and Kazakhstan.

The head of the parliament's judicial committee, Ivan Burguji, backed for the referendum, despite its rejection by a Moldovan court as unconstitutional.

I am posting this here because the article brings up an interesting point about the creation of a province in Iraq for the Assyrian people. A group that is facing increasing pressure to leave Iraq.

Would the creation of a Croatian entity in BiH bring Croatians home?

Source: http://www.aina.org/releases/20140122133822.htm

Will a Province for Assyrians Stop Their Exodus From Iraq?

(AINA) -- On January 21 the Iraq Council of Ministers approved a plan to establish three new provinces in Iraq. One province would be in Fallujah, in central Iraq; a second would be in north Iraq, in Tuz Khormato; the third would also be in north Iraq, in the Nineveh Plain bordering the Kurdish areas. The Nineveh Plain has the largest population of Assyrians (also known as Chaldeans and Syriacs) in Iraq.
Sargon Slewa, the Minister of Environment and a member of the Iraqi Parliament and of the Assyrian Democratic Organization, one of the largest political parties that represents Assyrians and other Christians in Iraq, requested the establishment of a province in the Nineveh Plain, pursuant to a study of the needs of Christians, as outlined in Iraqi Cabinet meeting 54 in 2011.

The Council of Ministers instructed the State Minister for Provincial Affairs to prepare a study of these projects and submit a report to the Council.

AINA asked internationally renowned journalist and Middle Eastern Expert Nuri Kino to interview Sargon Slewa regarding this important development for Iraq's beleaguered and besieged Assyrian Community.

Nuri Kino: What have you accomplished with this legislation?

Sargon Slewa: One of the main goals and reason for Assyrians to stay in Iraq is to have self administration. This legislation lays the foundation for achieving that goal.

Nuri Kino: Can you tell us where in the process you are?

Sargon Slewa: Recognizing the Nineveh Plain as province by the by the Council of Ministers.

Nuri Kino: How many percent of the inhabitants of the plains are Assyrians-Syriac-Chaldeans?

Sargon Slewa: Almost 40 percent. But still it depends on the borders of the province and which districts will be included.
Nuri Kino: Practically speaking, what does that mean? Will the Nineveh Plain have its own police force? Its own government? Its own budget?

Sargon Slewa: The Ministry of Provincial Affairs will conduct studies and make preparations establish this province, which would have whatever is needed in security, economy and government.

Nuri Kino: What role will the Assyrians play? On what level was the decision made? The Iraqi government? The Parliament? Will there be a voting?

Sargon Slewa: This decision was taken at the governmental level. There are special considerations for the Assyrians/Chaldeans/Syriacs. This decision was taken to insure the continued existence of our community in the region. There is much work to be done, but this was the main step and the most difficult hurdle.

Nuri Kino: What does this mean for countries dealing with Iraq?

Sargon Slewa: The international community must pay good attention to this issue, and in light of announcements to receive Christians refugees in Western countries.

Nuri Kino: Tell me about your feelings. What are you feeling and thinking right now?

Sargon Slewa: It is one of the greatest moments of my life. I feel like I want to sleep, like when you have finished an exhausting and satisfying task and you are tired and need a nap.

Reactions From the Assyrian Diaspora

Assyrians outside of Iraq greeted this news with cautious optimism.

Afram Barryakoub, the president of the Assyrian Federation of Sweden, said:

If implemented this could change the reality on the ground for Assyrians and put them in a position to have a say on their future in Iraq, hopefully reversing the emigration to the West.
Attiya Gamri, an Assyrian member of the Provincial Parliament in North Holland, said:

I am very glad the Iraqi Parliament decided this. The Arab and Kurdish political parties will get the chance to show the world they can realize an Iraq with different ethnicities and different religions. In no any other country in the Middle East is this realized; they have the opportunity to show the Assyrians in Iraq and in the Diaspora that they want and will respect national minorities by giving them the same rights as they have. The Arabs and Kurds can show the world that this can be achieved in the Middle East. I hope this will be the first step toward respect politically for the Assyrians in Iraq. What the Assyrians are asking is not something new or different from what the Kurds and Arabs already have.
Dr. Matay Arsan, president of the Assyria Foundation Netherlands, said:

The rest of Iraq should not fear to allow the Christian Assyrians to have a self-administrative region in the Nineveh Plains. They contributed to Iraq's great history and legacy enormously and this could give them the opportunity to do that again. The Iraqi Arabs and Kurds should realize that allowing the Assyrians to protect themselves and receive a part of Iraq's budget would only prove that they, Kurds and Arabs, care for Iraq and its stability.
Robert DeKelaita, executive member of the Chaldean Assyrian Syriac Council of America, said:

We congratulate our people on this first step toward a practical solution for our people and their most difficult plight over the last 10 years in the form of the recognition of the Nineveh Plain province. We thank all of those who participated, whether publicly or privately, in making this dream come true. It is a very first step to be sure. But a very critical first step. We are grateful to all of our parties on the ground, both political and non-political, for their untiring efforts and advocacy. Let it be very clear that we in the Diaspora, in particular through the medium of the Nineveh Council of America and all of the organizations and individuals that support it, intend to give our full support to the positive growth of this province in the interest of our people and all of Iraq.
Will the Assyrian Exodus From Iraq Stop?

Since 2004 Iraq's Assyrians have experienced a low-grade genocide (report), with 73 churches bombed, hundreds killed and more than half the Assyrian population forced into exile in Syria, Jordan, Turkey and Lebanon. It is estimated that half of the Assyrians who were in Iraq in 2004 have fled the country (report).

The decision to create a province in the Nineveh Plain comes on the heels of a decision made two weeks ago by The Iraqi National Assembly to recognize Assyrian and Turkmen as official languages. Arabic and Kurdish are also official languages. This decision allows public and private schools at all levels to teach in Assyrian and any other officially recognized language. Government documents are required to be provided in Arabic and Kurdish only.

The decision to make the Assyrian language official also instructs the Minister of Education to open literacy centers for teaching Assyrian. The Ministry of Education has sent a letter to to churches to urge people to register for the literacy programs. The government will pay students to attend classes twice a week and issue a certificate of completion.

Many Assyrian observers say these steps are too little and too late. Given the drastic exodus of Assyrians from Iraq and the general mood of the Assyrians, who see no future in a country torn apart by Sunni-Shiite bloodletting and lack of economic opportunities, the Assyrians continue to leave. Recently the Chaldean Church said that six Assyrian families leave Iraq daily. For the first time in their history, there are more Assyrians living outside of Iraq.

Observers also point out that many such decisions have been made in the past but never been implemented, and are adopting and wait and see attitude.

The Cornish people of the UK are looking to form their own entity. I am thinking of splitting this thread and keeping this part for discussion relating to the creation of a Croatian entity in BiH and maybe make a separate thread for peoples wanting to create their own entities elsewhere in the world....

Source: http://www.westernmorningnews.co.uk/Meb ... story.html

Mebyon Kernow roadshow re-ignites campaign for Cornish Assembly

Mebyon Kernow members took their campaign for a law-making Cornish Assembly on to the streets of Truro at the weekend in the hope of persuading local people to come on board.

The event, on Lemon Quay, was the first in a series of roadshows promoting the party’s campaign for greater powers to be devolved to Cornwall.

Activists say the aim is to offer the public an opportunity to meet MK members and ask questions – in particular about a Cornish Assembly. They will also be invited to sign a declaration in support, as well as meeting prospective parliamentary candidates.

Stephen Richardson, who has just been selected as MK’s prospective parliamentary candidate for Truro and Falmouth, said: “There were several things in particular that really pleased me on Saturday. I got to meet and listen to the concerns of the people in the Truro and Falmouth constituency. There is a clear groundswell of opinion that Cornwall gets a raw deal from Westminster and that the London-based parties are all much of a muchness.

“The people I met responded to the publicity that our social media team had given to the event and I spoke to people from all over Cornwall, some of whom had made a special trip to express their support for our campaign.”

This is not the first time MK and others have campaigned for greater devolved powers. Twelve years ago, some 50,000 people – more than ten per cent of the Cornish electorate – pledged their support for a directly elected assembly. The names were handed in at 10 Downing Street on December 12, 2001. And some would say, promptly ignored.

Mebyon Kernow – which translates as “Sons of Cornwall” – was formed more than 60 years ago during in Redruth. Ann Trevenen Jenkin, pictured, who was present at the inaugural meeting and was recently elected the party’s life president, said: “MK should be proud of its idealism and its persistence. The party has always stood for Cornwall and has always put Cornwall first. We must thank its leaders for carrying on and not giving up.”

Mrs Trevenen Jenkin, who was also the first female Grand Bard of Gorsedh Kernow, urged today’s members and supporters to continue to fight for a better deal for Cornwall, to win more council seats at all levels and, like Wales, to achieve an assembly.

Speaking after Saturday’s roadshow, Stephen Richardson said he was heartened by the number of young people becoming interested in Cornish politics in recent years. He said: “It was particularly encouraging to meet lots of the new MK activists in Truro. When you hear how membership of Westminster political parties is declining it is wonderful to see MK membership blossoming. We must be doing something right. The icing on the cake is the number of young people who are taking up the MK cause.”

More than 200 people signed declarations in support of a Cornish Assembly on Saturday. For further information visit

Source: http://dalje.com/en-world/croatian-meps ... boo/503423

Croatian MEPs say third entity in Bosnia is not taboo

Establishing a third entity in Bosnia and Herzegovina should not be a taboo subject when it comes to the issue of ensuring equal status for the Croats as one of the three constituent peoples in that country, Croatian members of the European Parliament said at a panel discussion on the European Union's new approach to Bosnia and Herzegovina, held in Zagreb on Thursday evening.

The European Parliament passed a resolution on Bosnia and Herzegovina in February, urging constitutional and institutional reforms to ensure a functioning state and guarantee the equal status of the country's constituent peoples.

Ivan Vukoja, a sociologist from Herzegovina, said that the resolution was "epoch making". He said that in order to avoid thinking of the third entity as a strictly Croat one, he would call it "an institutional federal unit with Croats as a majority".

MEP Davor Stier of the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) said that in order to resolve the issue of equality of the Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina the future of that country should be presented "in concepts that can be accepted by the West". "No to nationalism, yes to federalism," he said.

MEP Tonino Picula of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) said that a discussion on a third entity was legitimate because the Croat issue in Bosnia and Herzegovina remained open. "But the Croats should make sure that they themselves do not close it by repeating mistakes from the past or by insisting on what they cannot get right now," he said.

Picula does not see a third entity as a solution. "If we are to remodel Bosnia and Herzegovina, let's cantonise the entire country, but let's do it rationally, without a flourishing bureaucracy. Let's ensure both collective and individual rights," he concluded.

The panel was organised by a club of Herzegovina students in Zagreb and a civil society group.

This is interesting. I know we have spoken a lot about creating new municipalities but I didn't know Montenegro created a new municipality of Gusinje or Gucia in Albania

According to the ZAKON O DOPUNI ZAKONA O TERITORIJALNOJ ORGANIZACIJI CRNE GORE the new municipality of Gusinje includes the following settlements:
Gusinje, Dolja, Dosuđe, Grnčar, Koljenovići, Kruševo, Martinovići, Višnjevo and Vusanje. It looks like it will be a mixed Bosnian Muslim and Albanian municipality. I can get an idea of what it would include if I look at this map, but does anyone have a map with the borders of the municpality?



It would be nice if Sarajevo did not treat the borders of existing municipalities as set in stone...

The Occitans in France get an entity. I thought I had a better place for this but I will leave it here.

Source: http://www.nationalia.info/new/10854/fr ... n-region-m

France accepts “Occitania” as final name for Midi-Pyrénées and Languedoc-Roussillon region merger

"Occitania" approved as regional official denomination for the first time ever · Name excludes reference to Catalonia

A landmark decision or a big disappointment depending on one's outlook, "Occitania" has finally been accepted by the Council of State and the French government as the official name of the Midi-Pyrénées and Languedoc-Roussillon region merger. This is the first time ever that the French Republic agrees to have a region baptized as "Occitania". A North Catalan request for a mention of the Catalan character of the new region has been rejected.

The name "Occitania" has been made official through the approval of a decree signed by French PM Manuel Valls, minister of the Interior Bernard Cazeneuve and minister of Territorial Planning Jean-Michel Baylet. The decree places the new region's capital in Toulouse. Government approval comes after the Council of State too validated the new denomination.

The name debate has been long within Occitanist milieus. On the one hand, the most positive feature of the name the fact that "Occitania" is finally recognized as a territorial entity, something that French nationalism had striven to deny. The potential for self-identification and visibility that this bears is hardly deniable.

But on the other hand, some voices argue that "Occitania" will from now onwards exclusively refer to that nation's central region, which merely occupies 35% of its territory. Gascony, Limousin, Auvergne and Provence will thus be left outside Occitania's official borders.

Winning option in popular vote

"Occitania" was the winning option (44.9% of votes) in the non-binding referendum that was held before summer in order to choose a new name for the merged region. In a distant second place, "Languedoc-Pyrénées" received 17.8% of the ballots. Turnout stood at a little more than 200,000 people.

The new region is made up of Occitan lands except for Northern Catalonia. In that territory, SEM and Yes To Catalan Country alliances unsuccessfully demanded that the region's Catalan component be taken into account. But the groups' proposal for the name -"Occitania-Catalan Country"- has finally been rejected.

Source: http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/article ... 11-07-2016

War Crime Arrests May Fuel Bosnian Croat Separatism

The arrests of ten Bosnian Croats on war crimes charges is likely to further encourage Bosnian Croat demands for their own entity, experts warn.

The visit to Zagreb by Bosnian Croat presidency member Dragan Covic on Monday was overshadowed by the reports of the recent arrest for war crimes of ten Bosnian Croats - prompting analysts to warn that the tension could well strengthen Bosnian Croat calls for a third, Croat-led entity in Bosnia.

“Many who have been calling for [the third entity], but not in a direct and straightforward manner, are now much more open because they think that this arrest ... is final proof that Croats are not protected, are unequal, and are discriminated against in Bosnia,” Senada Selo Sabic, a Zagreb-based analyst at the Institute for Development and International Relations, told BIRN.

The 1995 Dayton Agreement that ended the war in Bosnia of 1992 to 1995 provided for the creation of two sub-state entities – a Serb-led entity, Republika Srpska, which occupies about 49 per cent of Bosnian territory, and the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which occupies the other 51 per cent and is primarily inhabited by Bosnian Muslims and Croats.

But many Croats would prefer their own entity, and Covic has been calling for years for the formation of one – an initiative taken up again in 2014 when Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic won the Croatian presidency on a ticket that urged holding an international conference to reorganise Bosnia.

Grabar-Kitarovic belongs to the Croatian Democratic Party, HDZ, while Covic is head of the HDZ’s sister party in Bosnia.

“My visit to Zagreb, although it was previously planned, was to be about the European path and economic cooperation between our two countries. Now it will unfortunately be primarily dedicated to events in [the northeastern Bosnian town of] Orasje,” Covic said, according to the Banja Luka-based news site Nezavisne Novine.

The arrests for alleged war crimes against Bosnian Serb prisoners of war in 1992 and 1993 angered an array of Croatian politicians who saw them as an attack on Croatia and on the position of Bosnian Croats in Bosnia, according to Selo Sabic.

Selo Sabic commented that the “emotionally charged” situation could lead to a shift in Croatia's relationship with Bosnia and strengthen support there for calls for a third, Croat-led entity.

She said that the new Croatian Prime Minister, Andrej Plenkovic, who is usually profiled as centrist and pro-European, was being pulled to the right by those who would rather he adopted a more nationalist position.

September’s illegal referendum in Republika Srpska on the entity's national day had helped pave the way for such a shift, she said.

“The Croatian leadership is buying into [Republika Srpska president Milorad] Dodik’s recent rhetoric that peaceful territorial partition [of Bosnia] is possible,” she said.

She added that she believed the approach was misguided.

Zagreb-based political analyst Zarko Puhovski, however, said that although the topic of a third entity was sometimes mentioned by Croatian leaders, he doubted that there was “a serious plan inside the government to open the discussion.

“There was perhaps a good chance immediately after the end of war in Bosnia in 1995 but now it would mean changing the Dayton Agreement and other serious changes,” he said.

In Croatia, the issue had always been on the margins and nobody had “clearly explained the position for it,” he concluded.

This is being discussed on the Croatian forum here: politika/sda-tre-eg-entiteta-i-administrativno-teritorijalnog-preure-enja-koji-zagovara-hns-ne-e-biti-t15186.html

Source: http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/article ... 01-30-2017

Bosniaks Slap Down Calls for Bosnian Croat Entity

The mainly Bosniak Party for Democratic Action, SDA, has condemned the latest call for the creation of third entity in Bosnia, mostly comprising the country's Croats.

Bosnia’s Party of Democratic Action, SDA, the country’s main Bosniak party, has rejected calls for the establishment of a third entity, made at a meeting on Saturday of the Croatian National Congress of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Such calls were “unacceptable”, the SDA said, referring to a statement issued by the Congress following its seventh session in Mostar.

“If Bosnia and Herzegovina wants to become self-sustaining, then it is necessary to have an administrative-territorial reorganization, which would include a federal unit with a Croatian majority. It remains the permanent aspiration of the Croatian people of Bosnia and Herzegovina,” the HNS said on Saturday.

On its party website, the SDA – which is headed by the Bosniak member of Bosnia's presidency, Bakir Izetbegovic – said the party would “never accept any constitutional reform that would lead the country into further divisions”.

Calls by the HNS for a third entity for Bosnian Croats were “unrealistic maximalist demands”, it said, pointing out that Croats make up a smaller proportion of the population than either Bosniaks and Bosnian Serbs.

Such calls undermine the country’s constitution, according to the SDA, and follow offers by Bosniak parties to help resolve issues of Croat representation in the country’s institutions.

“The [main Croat-led party] HDZ obviously does not want anything other than division, and thus we are moving away from institutional solutions that would benefit the Croatian people. A third entity and ‘administrative-territorial’ reorganization as advocated by the HNS will not be,” said the SDA.

Bosnia has a complicated system of government prescribed in the Dayton Peace Agreement that ended the war of 1992 to 1995.

It comprises two semi-autonomous entities, the Serb-dominated Republika Srpska, and the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which is home to Bosniaks and Croats but in which Bosniaks are de facto dominant. There is also a special "district", Brcko.

The 2013 census in Bosnia showed that Croats make up 15.43 percent of the country’s population. Just over 91 per cent of Bosnia's Croats live in the Federation entity.

The issue of Croat representation in the country’s institutions has become a major grievance for Bosnian Croat politicians, who argue that the Dayton agreement – which mandates equal representation for each of Bosnia's three “constituent peoples” – is not honoured by the current complex systems of electing delegates to the houses of the Federation entity parliament.

Bozo Ljubic, president of the General Council of the HNS, won a case at Bosnia's Constitutional Court in December 2016 in which the court ruled that the current method of electing delegates to the Federation’s House of Peoples was unconstitutional.

Ljubic argues that the current system allows Bosniaks to manipulate these elections and select their own favourites for seats that should be held by Croats.

Croat nationalists are aggrieved that Bosniaks - who are in the majority in the Federation entity - were able through the current rules to help ensure the election victories of the former Croat member of Bosnian presidency, Zeljko Komsic, who held the post for eight years until 2014. They claim it is unfair for Bosniaks to be able to use their superior numbers to effectively choose the Croat member of the Bosnian presidency.

The Constitutional Court ruling lent further weight to calls for a Croat-led third entity, long championed by the Croat member of the country’s tripartite presidency, Dragan Covic.

This latest spat between Croat nationalists and the SDA follows increasing secessionist rhetoric from leaders in Republika Srpska, including the entity president, Milorad Dodik, who recently orchestrated the holding of a referendum on the entity's public holiday, the Day of Republika Srpska, despite a ban by the Constitutional Court.

^ I take the above as mostly good news. Could it be possible that BiH's constitutional court is finally seeing that a Croatian entity is the only way real equality can exist as to respect the constitutional rights of all three of BiH's constitute nations?

I don't see how this is so complicated. Real equality between three nations doesn't involve just two entities. Either you have 3 equal entities or no entities at all and I highly doubt the latter could ever happen without risking another bloodbath.

You didn't live with Muslims obviously. Agresiviness and hegemony is their way of life and political agenda. When they are minority, they are ostensibly passive and calm, and when they got feel that they are majority in a certain area, they become more agressive.

Good point, @lider30.
If anyone wonders why is that the case. Check here.

Interesting.

I'm posting this here. Unfortunately it is a premium article and you can only access a part of it.

My point on this thread has been to argue that a third entity would help stabilize the country.

Source: http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/article ... 03-24-2017

<i>The quest by Bosnian Croats for an entity of their own has been a security and political challenge for Bosnia and Herzegovina for three decades now, and its outcome could well determine Bosnia's future. Yet, no one knows how, where or even whether such a region can or might be constituted.</i>

That portal "Balkaninsight" really represents Bosniak political ideology and they lobby incessantly for Bosniak's nationalistic interest.

Why do they have columnists from ethnically pure Muslim Sarajevo ?
Of course they cannot be independent and objective.