High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina, Christian Schmidt, gave an interview to the public broadcaster Deutschlandfunk, in which he criticized the passivity of the international community but also expressed hope that the current crisis in Bosnia and Herzegovina is solvable.
“With the attack on the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the red line has been crossed,” said Christian Schmidt for Deutschlandfunk (DLF).
On Wednesday, Dodik signed laws aimed at weakening the police and judiciary of the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the entity of Republika Srpska (RS). This move seeks to limit the influence of state institutions in the region. The Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina temporarily suspended the controversial law yesterday.
The High Representative stated that Dodik is once again trying to exploit the complex international situation with Ukraine and the U.S. position to push his agenda.
“Milorad Dodik has been testing his luck for years, attempting to change laws in a way that would allow Republika Srpska to secede,” Schmidt said.
He attributed the overall situation in Republika Srpska to insufficient efforts in the reconciliation process, which has only been partially initiated over the past 30 years.
“The political class, especially the people around Dodik, have realized that using a nationalist-ethnic approach in debates makes it easier to score points with citizens than with arguments for reconciliation,” Schmidt told.
He also emphasized the need to send a clear message to the authorities in Belgrade that crossing red lines is unacceptable, particularly concerning Bosnia and Herzegovina’s territorial integrity.
“This means that Dodik must not receive support from Belgrade in this regard,” Schmidt stated.
Schmidt also criticized the European Union’s and Germany’s approach to Bosnia and Herzegovina, arguing that their engagement has been largely reactive.
“For too long, silence from Southeast Europe has led to the perception that things are simply moving along. That was a mistake. In the past 10 to 15 years, developments in Republika Srpska have taken a specific direction. We relied too much on the assumption that everyone wants to join Europe and that they would somehow find common ground. That is a very short-sighted approach,” the German politician said.
Regarding the change in administration in Washington, Schmidt highlighted a positive signal from the U.S., emphasizing that Bosnia and Herzegovina’s territorial integrity must remain unchanged. This was evident in the response of the new U.S. Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, who sent a warning to the authorities in Banja Luka.
“I believe that the current situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina can be resolved, but it requires high-level action because citizens trust us and believe that we will prevent escalation,” Schmidt concluded.
Given the latest tensions, the EUFOR mission has announced a temporary reinforcement of its forces on the ground, a move also mentioned by Schmidt in his interview, stating that citizens “need to be given a sense of security.”
Written by our correspondent D.I.
