The authorities of Republika Srpska carried out an unprecedented attack on the foundations of the Dayton Peace Agreement and the full member of the United Nations – the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
In essence, it is a repetition of the unconstitutional methods used in 1992 by the legally convicted war criminal Radovan Karadžić. There is no one in Bosnia and Herzegovina and abroad who is not aware of the perniciousness and danger of the moves being made by the President of Bosnia and Herzegovina entity of the RS Milorad Dodik, said the member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina Denis Bećirović, reacting to the decisions made today by the high representative Christian Schmidt.
As announced by Bećirović’s cabinet, the decisions of the high representative are not the end of the crisis.
“They are not even the beginning of the end. This is the end of the beginning. We have uncertain weeks and months ahead of us in which decisions will be made about the preservation of peace and the survival of the Dayton Peace Agreement. At this moment there is no room for any triumphant statements, but there is room for realistic optimism that we will protect all citizens and peoples of Bosnia and Herzegovina with the combined forces of the international community and the legal bodies of the state,” said Bećirović.
The international community, the witnesses of the Dayton Peace Agreement and the OHR must now show strength and unity. Almost three decades of building peace and security for all people in Bosnia and Herzegovina have been called into question by Dodik’s irresponsible and adventurous policy, he believes.
“One should not be fooled for a single moment and think that Dodik’s regime will stop after today’s decisions of the OHR. New dangerous attacks on the Dayton Peace Agreement follow, according to the direct instructions of Dodik’s mentors outside the borders of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The peace, security and constitutional order of Bosnia and Herzegovina must be defended by all available legal and other legal means in accordance with national and international law. This must be done, above all, by the institutions provided for in the Dayton Peace Agreement and the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina,” said Bećirović.
A member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina called on the witness countries of the Dayton Peace Agreement to seriously consider the application of Article 1 b. Annex 1-A of the Agreement on the Military Aspects of the Peace Settlement, which provides a clear international legal basis for more effective action and the return of stability and security in Bosnia and Herzegovina, was added in the statement.
