The President of the Bosnian-Herzegovinian entity Republika Srpska (RS), Milorad Dodik, has once again stated that the RS is in the final phase of its political struggle and journey and that, as he stated, if it does not distance itself from Sarajevo in its search for its Dayton rights, it will “cease to exist”.
“We have a serious problem, we are at the end of our political struggle and journey. This time, either the Republika Srpska will distance itself from Sarajevo in its search for what is its Dayton right, or the Republika Srpska will truly not exist,” said Dodik, who was sentenced in early August by the Court of BiH to a year in prison and a six-year ban from holding the office of President of the RS.
He, appearing on the morning program of RTV Republika Srpska, asserted that this is a political showdown that has a religious dimension.
“Everyday life here is full of deception and attempts to reduce and abolish the Republika Srpska. The same people, Bosniaks, Muslims, are always doing this. They are very compact. For them, the Republika Srpska is synonymous with evil.”
He also touched on the role of high representatives in BiH, reiterating his position that high representatives have previously illegally and unconstitutionally dismissed politicians, mostly from the RS.
He said that there is a strong will in the RS to defend it and added: “This is an attack by Muslims on Christians. They want to create an oasis called Bosnia and Herzegovina.”
In early August, the Court of BiH sentenced Dodik to one year in prison and a ban on holding the office of entity president and other political positions at all levels in the country for the next six years for signing a decree promulgating a law that the High Representative in BiH, Christian Schmidt, had previously repealed.
Dodik also told RTRS that he was charged because he signed the decree, and added that for 20 years, “they have been trying to find some act to prosecute.”
The aforementioned verdict found Dodik guilty of refusing to implement the High Representative’s decisions from 1 to 9 July 2023 to prevent the entry into force of the Entity Law on Non-Implementation of Decisions of the Constitutional Court of BiH and to prevent the entry into force of the Law on Amendments to the Law on the Publication of Laws and Other Regulations of Republika Srpska from 1 July 2023. On 7 July of that year, Dodik signed the decrees promulgating the aforementioned laws.
The High Representative had previously amended the Criminal Code of BiH by a decision on 1 July 2023, introducing the criminalization of failure to implement his decisions.
On Wednesday, the Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina (CIK BiH) made a decision to revoke Dodik’s mandate as President of the Republika Srpska. The decision to revoke his mandate was made in accordance with the Election Law of BiH, which prescribes the procedure for determining the termination of the mandate of elected officials who have been sentenced by a final and binding decision to prison sentences of more than six months.
Dodik has the right to appeal the CEC’s decision to the Appellate Division of the Court of BiH, which reviews election appeals.
Dodik rejected the CEC’s decision and announced a referendum in the RS on his mandate, Federalna writes.
