The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina told BHRT that he is not surprised by the actions of HDZ BiH president Dragan Čović regarding the opposition from the Republika Srpska entity.
Čović did not respond to the invitation from the entity’s opposition, nor to Dodik’s invitation for a meeting.
“He has now essentially formalized it. Although his initial reactions after Milorad Dodik’s brutal attack on the constitutional order were rational, he sent a clear message that such individuals are not allies or partners of HDZ. He even said that the opposition is a partner of HDZ,” he said.
Konaković emphasized that Čović stated court rulings must be respected.
“And then, in a relatively short period of time, he began sending completely different messages. I can say that in the past few weeks, he has been sending some inappropriate messages, which is not typical of Čović, who is generally a cold, measured politician, who—although I disagree with him on many things—has at least communicated in an articulate and rational way until now. He seems different now—more nervous—with messages that are borderline threatening. And especially the way he has been addressing the Bosniak people in the past few weeks is unacceptable to us,” Konaković stated.
He warned that portraying Bosniaks as the main problem in the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina, at a time when Dodik—under full command and control of Moscow—is dismantling the Bosnian state system, endangers the interests of all citizens.
“It endangers the interests of Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina as well. In fact, to absolve Dodik of what is happening now or to stand shoulder to shoulder with him—when he is clearly a politically ‘infected’ man—risks spreading that infection to Čović himself and to the Croatian people, who are still seen in Europe as pro-European. I fear that the actions of the current HDZ leadership do not support that image,” he added.
Konaković also confirmed that under no circumstances will he agree to talks with SNSD or Dodik.
Written by our correspondent D.I.
