Vice President of the Republika Srpska entity, Ramiz Salkic said today, reacting to the statement of the high representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Christian Schmidt, that he does not see a problem in functioning of the RS entity, that this statement sounds incredible, and “that it is the result of ignorance of the situation or bad intentions”.
“Your statement that you do not see a problem in the functioning of the RS entity sounds incredible. Your statement is the result of ignorance of the situation or bad intentions. Anyway, both are bad messages for disenfranchised and systemically discriminated Bosniaks in this entity in Bosnia and Herzegovina.”
“This entity, which according to you is functioning, is left under the administration of representatives of the Serbian people only, without Bosniaks being able to influence any processes. The amendments to the Constitution of the RS entity imposed by your predecessor, Wolfgang Petrich, gave a formal right to the representation and representation of Bosniaks without the essential possibility to influence the decision-making process in this entity,” Salkic said in a statement.
This anomaly, he says, is abundantly used by the representatives of the Serbian people, and Schmidt’s statements and inaction to change the situation further encourage them to continue with systemic discrimination.
“As a high representative, you should know that the asymmetric solutions in the constitutions of the entities imposed by the high representative Wolfgang Petrich are the basis of the inequality of the people and all citizens in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Bosniaks have the right to five ministers in the Government of RS, but all of them are appointed exclusively by Serbian political parties. Bosniaks have the right to a vital national interest, which is decided by the Constitutional Court of the entity based on the Rules of Procedure, which are contrary to the Constitution and the Law on the Constitutional Court. It is decided by judges proposed only by the president of the entity without consulting the vice-presidents,” said RS vice-president Ramiz Salkic.
He adds that Bosniaks have the right to equal access to the educational process, but they are prohibited from learning and naming the Bosnian language.
“Bosniak children must learn that convicted war criminals for genocide are Serbian heroes and creators of the RS. Every day we hear and endure insults that genocide was not committed against us, that war criminals and perpetrators of genocide against us are Serbian heroes.
Today, about 1 percent of Bosniaks are employed in entity institutions and local communities, and according to the Entity Constitution, Article 97, there should be about 30 percent of us.
You could list many examples of discrimination against Bosniaks in this entity that you do not notice or do not want to notice, thereby indirectly or directly supporting the systemic discrimination of Bosniaks, which results in the peacetime persecution of Bosniaks from this area and the realization of the war goal of ethnically pure Serbian Orthodox territory,” he said in his address to the high representative.
He calls on Schmidt to take concrete steps to eliminate the systemic discrimination of Bosniaks, because that opportunity was taken away from them, not by their will, and that, as he says, is Schmidt’s direct obligation due to the violation of Annex VII of the Dayton Peace Agreement by the authorities of the RS entity.
“I invite you to change the earlier decision of High Representative Wolfgang Petrich and remove asymmetric solutions in the constitutions of the entities and thus make all peoples and citizens in Bosnia and Herzegovina equal in the decision-making process.
Your involvement in eliminating systemic discrimination against Bosniaks in this entity and removing asymmetric solutions would be the right way and would show good intentions towards building the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina with equal rights for all peoples and citizens, any other approach gives us the right to believe that your intentions towards Bosniaks and Bosnia and Herzegovina are not well-intentioned,” said Vice-President Salkic.
