A session of the National Assembly of Republika Srpska is currently underway, during which the president of the Bosnian entity Republika Srpska, Milorad Dodik, also addressed the assembly. He emphasized that the SNSD will, as expected, support the veto of the Chairwoman of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Željka Cvijanović.
“The SNSD will, as before, support the veto of the Serb member of the Presidency—not just passively, but actively. We have raised vetoes on both major and minor issues without hesitation. I have personally raised the veto in the Presidency more than eight times.
The constitutional and legal crisis was not caused by the policies of Republika Srpska, but rather by the instrumentalization of the judiciary by the illegitimate Schmidt and Bosniak politicians. This has led to a spiral of crisis without a security aspect. That is what the Bosniaks, the Muslims, want, as seen in Dr. Bećirović’s statement yesterday.
The National Assembly of Republika Srpska rejects the assigned and given claim that this is a security crisis. It is a crisis of law, and a case of majoritarianism being implemented by the Muslim factor through interventionism, with the aim of dominating and changing the decision-making process in Bosnia and Herzegovina,” said Dodik in his opening remarks.
He went on to highlight two things: the statement by Nermin Nikšić, Prime Minister of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, who—according to Dodik—said that “we don’t need entities,” and he called on everyone to watch Bakir Izetbegović’s appearance, saying that his remarks confirm exactly what they are fighting against.
“We are here to say that the SNSD will vote in favor of this veto, and each political party will express its position individually. I am grateful to the PDP president, who distinguished between the interest of the party and the vital interest of Republika Srpska and the political party. It was about an attempt to override the veto, and we refused to accept imposed solutions. We didn’t get support from others; we showed that they are not interested in dialogue. We joked about them possibly coming—but they didn’t. We did not stay silent in front of those who wanted to take our property and silence our voice,” he said, and continued:
“We are indeed in favor of dialogue in Bosnia and Herzegovina, but we see no way to conduct that dialogue. Stability is built on respect—for every individual—and when our rights are taken away, we have been inclined to respond. Stability is built on respect, and I believe the Bosniak side is a champion in distorting it. This is about a veto, and that’s all there is to it. Serbs are builders of Bosnia and Herzegovina, not its destroyers; we are not a rebellious group. We want the Constitution and Annex IV of the Dayton Agreement to be upheld. At the time, we adopted the Dayton Agreement and thus the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina, while the Federation of BiH never did,” claimed Milorad Dodik.
He further stated that this is “a matter of the people, not of an individual,” alluding to his previous statements that his indictment is not directed at him personally, but at the entire people.
“We will not retreat from our position. The Bosniaks have tried to do so by seizing control of the High Representative and attempting to prosecute. I am the only one, as president, with the constitutional right to sign a decree. That is why I was prosecuted, and I consider it an issue of carrying out official duties, not a matter of guilt. The will of the people cannot be destroyed. The president must always stand in front of it,” said Dodik, and continued:
“Everything has been focused on portraying me as insignificant, a fugitive, and the like. There are about a hundred parties in BiH, with leaders and so-called leaders—yet I am supposedly the only one who is unimportant. Of all the ‘important’ ones, citizens can’t even name one percent of them. I’m apparently so unimportant that everyone follows where I travel and what I do. That’s why it’s important that I have a position—and that we learn to respect laws and rights. It is no coincidence that this was framed as a veto.”
He reminded everyone that he was once a member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina and said that there has always been an intention to twist the facts.
“Remember Orwell: ‘Lies are truth, and truth is lies.’ To whom are we supposedly subordinate? What did you expect? There is no supremacy here—this session is proof that Bosnia and Herzegovina was formed from Republika Srpska and the Federation. We have every right to make decisions, and that is final. There is no ‘whether you want to or not’—this is a material falsehood. They’ve been trying for years to push this through and claim, ‘It was written 10 years ago.’ This assembly wouldn’t exist if we were subordinate. This is a violation of the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina and must be rejected—not because I want to work with this or that side. We are not subordinate—you are subordinate to us,” said Dodik.
Written by our correspondent D.I.
