(ANSA) - SARAJEVO - Any act of secession in Bosnia would mean the end of peace and the resumption of old conflicts in the Balkan country. This is what former High Representative of the international community in Bosnia Paddy Ashdown stated, adding that there is no similarity between Scotland's independence referendum which will be held on Thursday and the secession of the Republika Srpska (RS, the Serb-majority entity in Bosnia), which has often been threatened by RS's President Milorad Dodik.

Western countries have pledged to protect Bosnia by means of an international agreement, the British politician said in an interview with the daily newspaper Dnevni Avaz in Sarajevo, and any violation of Bosnia's sovereignty and territorial integrity would violate Dayton peace agreement. ''Scottish independence referendum is peaceful - Ashdown said -, since it is based on the Constitution and on an agreement made by the British people and parliament. On the contrary, a potential Republika Srpska's independence referendum would have no legal basis and would be a clear and open violation of the international law, marking the end of the peace in Bosnia''. The announcement of the Scottish referendum has reinforced fears that the Bosnian Serb authorities could use it as a precedent in order to boost RS's secession. (ANSA).