Brčko (city)

Infobox Settlement
name =Brčko
official_name =
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native_name = Брчко
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pushpin_map_caption =Location within Bosnia and Herzegovina
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subdivision_type = Country
subdivision_name = BIH
subdivision_type1 = Territory
subdivision_name1 = Bosnia and Herzegovina
subdivision_type2 = District
subdivision_name2 = Brčko District
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leader_title =Municipality president
leader_party=
leader_name =Mirsad Đapo
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population_as_of =2006
population_footnotes = [http://www.world-gazetteer.com/wg.php?x=&men=gcis&lng=en&dat=32&srt=npan&col=aohdq&geo=-27 World Gazetteer: Bosnia and Herzegovina - largest cities (per geographical entity) ] ]
population_note =
population_total =39339
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latd=44.87|latm= |lats= |latNS=
longd= 18.81 |longm= |longs= |longEW=
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postal_code =
area_code =76100
website = [http://www.bdcentral.net www.bdcentral.net]
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Brčko (Serbian, Bosnian, Croatian: "Брчко" (Cyrillic) and "Brčko" (Latin)) is a city in northern Bosnia and Herzegovina, administrative seat of the Brčko District. It lies on the country's border along the Sava river across from Gunja, Croatia. Its name is very likely linked to the "Breuci", an Illyrian tribe inhabiting the area in antiquity (see [http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breuci] ).

Geography

Brčko is the seat of the "Brčko District", an independent unit of local self-government created on the territory of Republika Srpska and Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina following an arbitration process; the process is viewed by some as a violation of the Dayton Peace Accords because it created the district while it could only arbitrate the disputed portion of the Inter-Entity Boundary Line, also known as the Zone of Separation (ZOS). The local administration is aided by an international supervisory regime headed by Raffi Gregorian of the United States of America.

History

Brčko was a geographic point of contention in 1996 when the U.S.-led Implementation Forces (IFOR) built Camp McGovern on the outskirts of the city. Camp McGovern as it is known was built in the (Zone of Separation) ZOS for the purpose of establishing peacekeeping operations, specifically between Muslims in Gornji Rahić near Brka and Serbs in Brčko.

The initial US Army unit to deploy into Brcko was Task Force 3-5 CAV, a Task Force composed of individual units of the 1st Armored Division. The commander of Task Force 3-5 was LTC Anthony Cucolo. The Task Force headquarters was located at Camp McGovern.

Initially tensions were mainly over disputed properties within the ZOS which both sides claimed were theirs. In some cases, Muslims rebuilt their reclaimed properties during the day, and then would find their newly-repaired homes destroyed overnight after they left the ZOS to return to Gornji Rahić. The explosions were typically in threes, which was a symbolic gesture from the Serbs known as Trojka.

Although Brčko was a focal point for tension in the late 1990s, considerable progress in multi-ethnic integration in Brčko has since occurred including integration of secondary schooling. Reconstruction efforts and the Property Law Implementation Plan has improved the situation regarding property and return.

Brcko remains an important component of the Dayton Peace Accords and the Brcko Arbitration which ruled in May 1997 that Brcko would be a special district outside the jurisdiction of the Bosnian Croat Federation and Republika Srpska, the Serb "entity" connected by the 3 mile wide link to east and west.

Demographics

In 1991, the largest ethnic group in the town were Muslims by nationality (Bosniaks). [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
]

Since then, there has been no official census conducted (as of November 2007).

Transport

Rail

Podgorica railway station is near the city centre. There is a railway connection between Vinkovci and Tuzla. Nevertheless only 1 train crosses the border daily.

Sport

The local football club, FK Jedinstvo Brčko, plays in the First League of the Republika Srpska.

Features

Brčko has the largest port in Bosnia, on the Sava river. It is also home to an economics faculty and to a rather important theater festival.

Famous residents

The city's most famous citizens are Edo Maajka (Edin Osmić),the most famous Bosnian rapper, Lepa Brena (real name Fahreta Jahić Živojinović), a popular folk music singer in the Balkans and Croatian football player Mladen Petric.

See also

*Brčko District

References

External links

* [http://www.brcko.co.ba Brcko official web site]