The Minister of Defense of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Zukan Helez, announced that he refused to give consent for a military aircraft or helicopter of the Republic of Serbia to fly over the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina, according to the flight plan submitted by the Embassy of Serbia in Bosnia and Herzegovina for January 8 and 9, 2025.
Helez stated on Facebook that he had informed the OHR, NATO Headquarters in Sarajevo, EUFOR and the EU Delegation to BiH of his response to this request.
“This flight of the helicopter of the Republic of Serbia and the visit of the delegation of the Ministry of Defense of Serbia undoubtedly points to the conclusion that the intention is to attend events related to the celebration of January 9, which the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina declared unconstitutional as the day of Republika Srpska in its decisions in 2015 and 2019,” stated Minister Helez.
He added that disrespect for the decisions of the Constitutional Court in all democratic countries constitutes an undermining of the rule of law, and in addition, in Bosnia and Herzegovina, a potential criminal offense.
Helez states that all signatories of the Dayton Peace Agreement and witnesses have guaranteed by their signatures the respect of the Dayton Agreement in all its parts, including Annex 4, which, in addition to jurisdiction, also regulates the organizational structure and procedures, as well as the finality and binding nature of the decisions of the Constitutional Court.
According to him, failure to respect the final and binding decisions of the Constitutional Court ultimately implies a violation of the General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which may have unpredictable consequences for peace and stability.
“I would like to remind you that the Republic of Serbia, by ratifying the ‘Declaration of the All-Serbian Parliament’ in the section: The All-Serbian Parliament expects the Republika Srpska to continue to celebrate January 9th as the Day of the Establishment of the Republika Srpska and the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord’, is challenging the Decisions of the Constitutional Court of BiH and I believe that the announced visit may have political and security implications.
Also, in the ‘Declaration of the All-Serbian Parliament’ in the section: ‘The All-Serbian Parliament supports the policy of military neutrality of the Republic of Serbia in relation to all existing military alliances, and the Republika Srpska fully agrees with such a political commitment, which will fight to preserve military neutrality in Bosnia and Herzegovina’, they directly violate Article 84 of the Law on Defense of Bosnia and Herzegovina and have directly interfered with the internal and external sovereignty of BiH,” Helez stated.
Furthermore, he adds, “by giving the consent of the Ministry of Defense of Bosnia and Herzegovina, I, as the Minister of Defense and an official in the institution of Bosnia and Herzegovina, would not respect the final and binding decision of the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and ultimately would be an accomplice in obstructing the respect and implementation of the decision of the Constitutional Court, thereby violating Article 239 of the Criminal Code of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which prescribes the penalty for preventing or otherwise obstructing the application, implementation or execution of the decision of the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina”.
“I ask the authorities of the Republic of Serbia to respect the parliamentary, judicial and other decisions of the institutions and bodies of the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina and to respect the constitutional order of Bosnia and Herzegovina in accordance with the Dayton Peace Agreement,” stated the Minister of Defense of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Zukan Helez.
