Izetbegovic "wants unitary, sharia state in Bosnia"

Izetbegovic "wants unitary, sharia state in Bosnia"

Previously, Izetbegovic, the Bosniak (Muslim) member of the country's Presidency, accused Dodik

of trying to achieve "with the pen what could not be done with guns."

Dodik stressed that he is the president of the Serb Republic (RS) and has a constitutional obligation to protect the entity's powers and rights.

"At the heart of everything is the conflict and the fight against unitarization represented by Bakir Izetbegovic. I am very glad if he thinks I halted that. Had the project of Bakir Izetbegovic and his father passed, it would not have been good for anyone here, Bosniaks included," Dodik said.

He noted that during the past five years, when it comes to European integrations, the RS accepted the coordination mechanism and the ruling in the Sejdic-Finci case, while Izetbegovic brought everything to a halt "because he did not want Croats to be equals."

"A few days ago Izetbegovic said he was continuing the policy of his father, which means we must be vigilant, because we don't want a unitary Bosnia-Herzegovina and we don't want a sharia state here. We are interested in Bosnia-Herzegovina as much as has been envisaged by Dayton (peace agreement)," Dodik said, and stressed that the RS wishes to strengthen its autonomy.

The RS leader said these are legitimate political goals, as is a planned referendum on the work of the Court and the Prosecution of Bosnia-Herzegovina, "that contains no threats like those found in Izetbegovic's statements."

Dodik also stressed that Izetbegovic can speak on behalf of the Bosniak people - but not on behalf of the whole of Bosnia-Herzegovina.

"Elated by the easy hugs of Belgrade, the mood and songs about Sarajevo he may be gloating now, but he is in any case a political loser," Dodik said.