The High Representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina Christian Schmidt said that he is not afraid of Dodik’s threats and that he will come to Republika Srpska. He said in Pressing N1 that he does not feel like a coward and a weakling for not going to Banjaluka yesterday, but that he turned out to be wiser than Dodik.
“Barricades were set up to prevent my arrival. Why were some streets closed? The music festival isn’t until Friday. Or have they been preparing for it for days or have they tried to prevent my arrival?! Imagine if there was an attack on me or if I was banned from entering the building, and that in front of the cameras, if someone prevented me by force, does anyone except in Banja Luka believe that anyone in Europe would be happy about that, maybe they would be happy in Moscow. You would have a situation that would cause crisis meetings and this country would be further away from Europe. I acted wisely,” said Schmidt.
Schmidt said that he will definitely come to Banjaluka, without specifying when.
“I will fulfill my obligations and many will be surprised how it will look like. If I were afraid to go to a part of the country that is a candidate for the EU because someone is threatening me, then something would be wrong with me,” said the high representative.
He explained his failure to come to Banja Luka as a wise action and a reasonable action, in the interest of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
“I say to Dodik: don’t underestimate the international community. You will have to answer for your behavior….. What does he really want, to arrest and imprison me, and then he left it all to the people, tomatoes and eggs. The tomato is Dodik’s move?! I think Dodik has a technical problem, he thinks the world revolves around him and that everyone has to play by his rules,” Schmidt said.
He did not give a precise answer to the question of the host of the show, whether he will replace Dodik and whether Dodik crossed the ‘red line’ with yesterday’s events.
At one point in the interview, he said that this is not about the citizens of the RS, but only about Dodik as an individual and his behavior, and finally, about how he behaves towards the citizens of the RS.
The High Representative asserted that he will fulfill his own obligations and that many will be surprised how it will turn out.
“In the context of the cancellation of yesterday’s trip to Banja Luka, he does not feel betrayed by the international community whose representative he is currently in office with,” he said.
“Dodik underestimated how much the international community can act together,” claims Christian Schmidt.
