Jelena Trivić, president of the People’s Front in Dnevnik D, spoke about numerous topics, including the European path of BiH and reforms, Milorad Dodik, the issue of the Constitutional Court of BiH, the international community and the opposition in the RS.
About the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina
In the introductory part of the conversation, she referred to the work of this convocation of the Council of Ministers of BiH and the Parliament.
“We need to go back to that period of rapid government formation, which was practically the only result on the basis of which BiH’s candidate status was obtained, undeservedly. After that initial enthusiasm, ‘Dodik will change’, ‘we will deal with programmatic matters’, very quickly, not even a month has passed, but the stages of blockades have already entered, both from one, and from the other and from the third party. I could not believe that someone could naively believe that any political actor would just change his already cemented ideological positions, specifically , if we are talking about Milorad Dodik. ‘She narrowly won’, or it was seen through his fingers to quickly form the government”, said Trivić and emphasized that it was clear that the “verbal warfare” will continue as it was when “some another structure’.
Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina
When it comes to the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina and whether it supports SNSD’s demands, he states: “We would support them if we knew that these are strict positions from which we will not give up. Which will be so firm that no one can say – Dodik this time will not deceive. One cannot even count how many times the SNSD has violated its own conclusions”.
She adds that the SNSD does not even want to solve this issue, and perhaps, as she stated, neither do many partners from the other side in BiH, so that there is a topic on which they are fighting. “There are no interests of the citizens here. These are only the interests of the parties, frozen conflicts,” Trivić believes.
The European road of Bosnia and Herzegovina
She notes that he supports BiH’s European path and reforms.
“I don’t see any other way. You can think about other alternatives, say BRICS, but that is practically impossible. We are not a country with that capacity,” she explained.
When asked what the difference is between her and the SNSD, when it comes to state-building policy, she points out that there are some similarities. Republika Srpska within Bosnia and Herzegovina is the foundation of my politics, says Trivić.
“Some others are talking about secession. My political option and I personally do not talk about secession. That’s where the difference is. I don’t support it because I know what it leads to. That would not be good for anyone – not the region, not BiH, not the people who they live here, and more and more of them are leaving because of such rhetoric. Regarding the ‘Border exists’ campaign, which is being run from the shadows by the SNSD – I do not agree with that either. It is not good to cross inter-entity lines and give signals of tension. All political issues are resolved at the political table. That’s my position,” Trivić is categorical.
High Representative
She also reflected on why she refused to meet with the high representative.
“I’m not ‘in the same column’ with Dodik on this topic either. I don’t call him a tourist and I don’t say bad words to him. We didn’t meet because we didn’t want to be the ones over whom something that is, conditionally speaking, a verbal war , between Schmidt and Dodik. It is not our battle. The question is why Schmidt fell into Dodik’s matrix, and on the other hand, some of his moves were in favor of Dodik”.
When asked if the opposition asked Schmidt to dismiss Dodik, he answered:
“I didn’t ask him for anything in that regard. Nor would it have occurred to me to ask for it. What would be satisfaction is that all those involved in high corruption and crime are responsible for the damage they have caused to their own people, and surely Dodik is a participant in numerous affairs of that type, if you want, for brutal election theft, and by no means was he replaced by someone from the outside.”
About the allegations that the international community is powerless before Dodik, she says:
“As for the stopping of investments and their effects, that will be seen in the future. RS is already in certain financial difficulties. I do not expect the international community to play for any side, not even for the opposition. If anyone could be angry with Schmidt , then it’s me. Three days after the election, she said that there were minor irregularities. In elections, sometimes you win, sometimes you lose – that statement was directly addressed to me. The boxes have not yet been opened to determine the irregularities”.
The indictment against Dodik
Commenting on the indictment against Dodik, Trivić pointed out that she does not believe in the judiciary because, she states, almost no one was held accountable for high level corruption.
“Part of the public in the RS and political representatives rightly say that this can be treated as a political indictment. It is his personal matter, he was looking for a crisis and got into that situation”.
She emphasizes that the policy led by Milorad Dodik does not have the support of the majority of citizens in the RS. “This is also shown by these failed, forced protests, called ‘The border exists’. It is not some number of people who support it, they are all forced in some way”.
The People’s Front and the Opposition
When it comes to the People’s Front, he claims that it is already a serious party with infrastructure throughout the RS, and which, she says, has a growing trend.
“Our only ‘sin’ is that we are to some from the opposition, who thought they had a monopoly on opposition work, that idea was destroyed. We are open to cooperation with all parties fighting against Dodik’s regime, but not for those individuals who are in the opposition parties, such as Draško Stanivuković, who are under Dodik’s tutelage. I do not cooperate with Dodik,” Trivić concluded.
