Nationalist Milorad Dodik has repeated the threat of secession if International High Representative Christian Schmidt passes a law on state property on the day he illegally celebrated January 9, despite warnings from the West.
“RS accepts BiH only within the constitutional framework and does not accept the unconstitutional framework.” RS will not give lawful approval to any level or any idea that is promoted on a global level. We are not threatening anything. We are simply saying that there is no high representative, that it is fake, that it is imagination. If a fake high representative dares to be under the influence of some who think that everything is there, RS will not accept it and we will declare independence, “he told reporters in Banja Llukë, reports Klix.ba.
Dodik also made insulting remarks to the American ambassador in Sarajevo when he commented on the attitude of the American embassy to the unconstitutional holiday and the calls to the prosecutor’s office to investigate the violation of the law. He said that he did not even like the 4th of July, the day of independence of the USA.
“It’s the intervention of the American ambassador. What does he have to do with it, who the hell is he? “We have seen the course of the investigation,” Dodik said.
His divisive statement comes amid condemnation from the United States and the European Union for marking January 9, a date that glorifies the Serbian genocide in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The U.S. called for an investigation into those events and said it would violate the Dayton Agreement in taking such action.
“The Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina has made it clear in numerous decisions that the celebration of Republika Srpska Day on January 9 is unconstitutional. It is not about celebrating the holiday, but about the decision to do so on January 9. Linking the commemoration to an Orthodox religious holiday violates several provisions of the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina that prohibit discrimination. This is a matter of law, not opinion. Article III (3) of the Dayton Constitution requires entities to fully respect the decisions of the institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina, including the final and binding decisions of the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Failure to comply with the decisions of the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina constitutes a criminal offense under the Criminal Code of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Again, this is a matter of law, not opinion. The United States expects the appropriate law enforcement and judicial authorities to investigate any violations of law that occur in connection with the celebration of Republika Srpska Day on January 9. The United States has taken action to combat anti-Dayton measures like this in the past and will not hesitate to do so again in the future.”
In support of Bosnia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, two American fighter jets, F-16s, flew over the country’s skies on January 8.
Meanwhile, the EU declared that there would be consequences for the Republika Srpska.
EU spokesman Peter Stano reiterated that the European bloc supports the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Bosnia and Herzegovina as a united state and emphasized that Brussels condemns any attempt and divisive rhetoric.
“The EU’s position towards Bosnia and Herzegovina was and is very clear. This position is sovereignty, territorial integrity and the constitutional order must be respected. Everyone in Bosnia and Herzegovina should take note of this. Everyone should refrain from rhetoric that calls these principles into question, especially in Republika Srpska,” Stano said.
Regarding the classification of January 9 as an unconstitutional holiday, Stano said that this classification is based on the decisions of the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
“This date is also unconstitutional for the EU.” “The [Bosnian] Constitutional Court has twice stated that the declaration of this date as a holiday in Republika Srpska is not in accordance with the constitutional order of Bosnia and Herzegovina,” Stano said.
He was asked about the possible consequences, as the leader of Republika Srpska, Milorad Dodik, has constantly threatened to secede the republic from Bosnia.
“The consequences can be what the member states will agree on.” They can be personal, financial, economic or other. We already have the platform for sanctions in the case of Bosnia and Herzegovina. And if the member states judge that we have reached the point where enough needs to be said, then it can be decided,” said the EU spokesperson.
January 9 marks the day in 1992 when the Bosnian Serbs, who had opposed Bosnia’s independence after its secession from Yugoslavia, declared their own state, triggering an interethnic war that killed more than 100,000 people and only ended after the Dayton Agreement they brokered with the United States at the end of 1995.
In the Serbian sub-region of Bosnia, January 9 is celebrated as a national holiday, although the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina has twice declared this holiday unconstitutional.
This banned holiday was celebrated today in the capital of the Serbian sub-region, Banja Luka, with marches and armed police parades.
Also present were leaders of the Serbian institutions that support Dodik in his destabilizing actions in the region and, of course, the head of the Serbian church.
The ceremony was attended by the Serbian Minister of Defense Miloš Vučević, the Chief of Staff of the Serbian Army Milan Mojsilović, the ministers of the Serbian government, the Speaker of the Assembly of Serbia Vladimir Orlić and the Patriarch of the Serbian Orthodox Church Porfirije.
During the opening ceremony, Dodik withdrew the highest honor of Serbian unity from Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban.
“Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has received the highest award of Republika Srpska. “It is the pride of Republika Srpska to honor the man who considers and respects us as a political reality,” said Dodik.
Over the past two years, Dodik, who has close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin, has repeatedly tried to undermine the authority of Bosnia’s central government and set up parallel institutions to reinforce his perceived threat to it and divide the country forever.
Orban is also a close friend of Putin and has disagreements with the rest of the European Union, as he opposes sanctions against Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine./The Geopost/