The President of Republika Srpska (RS), Milorad Dodik, said that the security and institutional situation in this Bosnian and Herzegovinian (BiH) entity is stable, and stated that all moves by RS and entity institutions are based on respect for the Constitution and the Dayton Peace Agreement.
“We will take care of important matters. We respect the Constitution of BiH and the Constitution of RS. Everything we do is based on that. Let it be clear to everyone that our position is the Dayton position. We want to preserve peace, security, and stability, and all prepared acts are in that direction,” said Dodik to journalists in Banja Luka, after a meeting of the highest officials of RS with the leadership of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of RS and security agencies at the level of BiH.
He emphasized that RS is not implementing secessionist plans, but stated that the Constitution is being defended.
“We do not have secessionist plans. We intend to act in accordance with the Constitution of BiH as it is written in it. Also, we want to talk. We are defending constitutionality, and they do not want to talk,” said Dodik.
We expect Serbs in BiH institutions to comply with the laws of the National Assembly of RS (NARS) when they come into force
Dodik said that he expects “responsibility from the representatives of RS the moment the Law on Prohibition of the Activities of Certain State Institutions and Their Officials in RS comes into force.”
“We expect all Serbs employed in institutions at the level of BiH to comply with this. Better salaries await them here, but this is not just a matter of salary, but also of patriotism,” Dodik said.
Speaking about the situation in RS, he stated that the situation is very stable and that there is a decrease in the overall crime rate.
“It is proportionally lower than in European Union (EU) countries,” Dodik pointed out.
The Minister of Internal Affairs of RS, Sinisa Karan, stated that the constitutional obligation of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of RS is to maintain a favorable state of public order and peace and that it will guarantee the security of all citizens, taking into account, as he said, the “politically motivated process against the President of RS Milorad Dodik.”
“That is why we want to send a message to the citizens of RS that they do not need to worry about security and that all our activities are within the framework of the Constitution,” emphasized Minister Karan at the press conference after the meeting.
Karan assessed that the security situation in RS is very good and reminded that more than 200 million BAM has been invested in the development of the RS Ministry of Internal Affairs in the next few years.
Karan said that the salaries of police officers in RS will be higher than those of other members of security structures in BiH and emphasized that cooperation with other police agencies in BiH and the region is good, which is also a constitutional obligation and is continuously carried out.
“For several years, we have had a visible tendency to improve security in RS, the crime rate is falling, especially general crime. When we take into account the fight against organized crime and that on the international level, in cooperation with other police agencies, we achieve the best results. This was also contributed to by good cooperation with the citizens of RS,” emphasized Karan.
The meeting was also attended by the Chairwoman of the Presidency of BiH Zeljka Cvijanovic, the Prime Minister of RS Radovan Viskovic, the Minister of Finance of RS Zora Vidovic, the Director of the State Investigation and Protection Agency (SIPA) of BiH Darko Culum, and the Director of the Service for Foreigners’ Affairs of BiH Zarko Laketa.
