RS not temporary arrangement, president claims

Republic of Srpska (RS) President Milorad Dodik says he respects the fact that Bosnia-Herzegovina is an internationally recognized and sovereign state. He added, however, that politicians in Sarajevo needed to respect the fact that two equal entities and three constitutive peoples existed in Bosnia-Herzegovina according to the Dayton Accords. RS not temporary arrangement, president claims “They need to accept the fact that the RS therefore got this kind of the international recognition in Dayton. If someone thinks they can say that Bosnia-Herzegovina is a permanent category and that the RS is temporary, then our reply that the Republic of Srpska is a permanent and that Bosnia-Herzegovina is a temporary arrangement could be expected,” he told Banja Luka-based daily Nezavisne novine. Commenting on Islamic Community in Bosnia-Herzegovina Chief Mufti Mustafa Ceric’s call to Muslim countries to deny him hospitality and declare him persona non grata, Dodik said that Ceric and a part of the Islamic Community “have been stepping out of the religious issues framework for quite some time and are dealing with political issues that have nothing to do with Islam and religion”. “I know that he personally has political ambitions and that he is pretty nervous about the upcoming elections in the Islamic Community, but that does not give him the right to steer political process in accordance with his wishes and to call for adoption of a new Constitution and to decide who can and who cannot speak about Bosnia-Herzegovina’s future,” the RS president was quoted as saying. Dodik suggested Ceric to form a political party or to join one of the existing parties in the Bosniak political community and then voice his political views. The RS president believes that Bosnia-Herzegovina has been in agony for years due to Bosniak politicians’ wish to dominate the Serbs and Croats in the country. “All current political processes today are disintegration processes in Bosnia-Herzegovina. But they are only a reaction in the Serb and Croat community due to the policy that has been conducted in Sarajevo for years and which is aimed at making entities completely meaningless and dominating the other two peoples,” he pointed out. Dodik once again noted that Office of the High Representative (OHR) should be closed, adding that the OHR represented “Sarajevo policy’s additional tool and it is a direct obstacle to key agreements of the legitimate representatives of the constitutive peoples”. “If someone cares about keeping Bosnia-Herzegovina in constant tensions, then the OHR should stay, I’ve got nothing against it, but it is difficult to reach agreements in such circumstances,” the RS president concluded. Milorad Dodik (FoNet, file)

RS not temporary arrangement, president claims

“They need to accept the fact that the RS therefore got this kind of the international recognition in Dayton. If someone thinks they can say that Bosnia-Herzegovina is a permanent category and that the RS is temporary, then our reply that the Republic of Srpska is a permanent and that Bosnia-Herzegovina is a temporary arrangement could be expected,” he told Banja Luka-based daily Nezavisne novine.

Commenting on Islamic Community in Bosnia-Herzegovina Chief Mufti Mustafa Cerić’s call to Muslim countries to deny him hospitality and declare him persona non grata, Dodik said that Cerić and a part of the Islamic Community “have been stepping out of the religious issues framework for quite some time and are dealing with political issues that have nothing to do with Islam and religion”.

“I know that he personally has political ambitions and that he is pretty nervous about the upcoming elections in the Islamic Community, but that does not give him the right to steer political process in accordance with his wishes and to call for adoption of a new Constitution and to decide who can and who cannot speak about Bosnia-Herzegovina’s future,” the RS president was quoted as saying.

Dodik suggested Cerić to form a political party or to join one of the existing parties in the Bosniak political community and then voice his political views.

The RS president believes that Bosnia-Herzegovina has been in agony for years due to Bosniak politicians’ wish to dominate the Serbs and Croats in the country.

“All current political processes today are disintegration processes in Bosnia-Herzegovina. But they are only a reaction in the Serb and Croat community due to the policy that has been conducted in Sarajevo for years and which is aimed at making entities completely meaningless and dominating the other two peoples,” he pointed out.

Dodik once again noted that Office of the High Representative (OHR) should be closed, adding that the OHR represented “Sarajevo policy’s additional tool and it is a direct obstacle to key agreements of the legitimate representatives of the constitutive peoples”.

“If someone cares about keeping Bosnia-Herzegovina in constant tensions, then the OHR should stay, I’ve got nothing against it, but it is difficult to reach agreements in such circumstances,” the RS president concluded.