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Why did many Bosnian Serbs boycott the 1992 independence referendum?

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Bosnian conflict: destruction in Sarajevo — Bosnian War Buildings and vehicles destroyed in Grbavica, a suburb of Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, during the Bosnian conflict (1992–95).

Many Bosnian Serbs boycotted the 1992 independence referendum because they opposed the separation of Bosnia and Herzegovina from the Yugoslav federation.12

Leading up to the vote, the Serb Democratic Party, headed by Radovan Karadžić, actively obstructed the referendum process in most Serb-populated areas. This opposition was part of a broader political strategy; by 1991, Bosnian Serb leaders had already begun declaring "Serb Autonomous Regions" and had withdrawn their deputies from the Bosnian assembly to establish a separate "Serb National Assembly" in Banja Luka.1

Ultimately, the boycott reflected the Bosnian Serb desire to maintain ties with Serbia and their rejection of a sovereign, independent Bosnia and Herzegovina, a position that contributed to the outbreak of the Bosnian War.132