Bodies of Bosnia and Herzegovina entities of the RS carried out a brutal attack on the foundations of the Dayton Peace Agreement and the constitutional order of the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The anti-Dayton policy should not be underestimated or relativized. That is why the new US sanctions are an important message to everyone in the region that the developed Western democracies support the preservation of peace and stability in Bosnia and Herzegovina, said Denis Bećirović, a member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
In a press release regarding the latest US sanctions imposed on politicians from the RS, Bećirović emphasized that he consistently points to the necessity of sanctioning politicians who threaten the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Toleration of anti-constitutional actions, by which the leaders of Bosnia and Herzegovina entities of the RS threaten the hard-won peace, it can have unforeseeable consequences, especially in the context of the latest geopolitical upheavals, he added.
“That is why it is very important that the principled policy of the USA, as well as the UK, is followed by the EU countries. With the introduction of the justified sanctions of the US Government against Milorad Dodik in 2017 and 2022, the sanctions of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from 2022, and the latest US sanctions, the key individuals who undermine the Dayton Peace Agreement are clearly marked,” the member of the BiH Presidency points out.
Now is the key moment, he adds, for the EU to respect the views of the European Parliament, which in several resolutions called for the introduction of sanctions against Dodik’s regime.
“Dodik and his followers perceive any delay in EU sanctions as a signal and encouragement for the continuation of separatist politics,” claims Bećirović.
He underlined that the region is at a turning point and must choose between “Dodik’s war policy and peacekeeping”. As he states, this was noticed by the biggest powers of the West and that is why they correctly concluded that Dodik’s policy threatens the stability, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the hard-won peace. The international community, witnesses of the Dayton Peace Agreement and the OHR, he adds, 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 adventurous policy.
“We have weeks and months ahead of us in which decisions will be made about the preservation of the Dayton Peace Agreement. One should not be fooled for a moment and think that Dodik’s regime will stop after the latest US sanctions. Following are new dangerous attacks on the Dayton Peace Agreement 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, with much more concrete support from the West than has been the case so far.
Confirming the alliance and friendship with the USA, of all democratic forces in Bosnia and Herzegovina, it is very important that we systematically stop the continuous attacks on the state, and that after sanctioning individuals, we enter the phase in which the mechanisms through which the blockades of the democratic development of Bosnia and Herzegovina are implemented will also be suspended.
The democratic forces in our country need the help and support of friendly countries, above all those who are gathered around the Steering Committee for the Implementation of Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina, so that all citizens can finally be given the chance to live in a peaceful and stable Bosnia and Herzegovina – the statement states. Denis Bećirović, member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
