Press Conference of the President of the Republic of Srpska and the Serb member and Chairperson of the BiH Presidency

The President of the Republic of Srpska Milorad Dodik and the Serb member and Chairperson of the BiH Presidency Željka Cvijanović held a press conference today in Banja Luka.

The President of the Republic of Srpska said that the Republic of Srpska will not stop at the Law on non-application of decisions of the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which stipulates that the decisions of that court will not be applied and executed on the territory of Srpska until the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH passes a law on this court.

“We require it to be completed according to the letter of the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and not by the imposed solutions”, said the President of Srpska at the press conference.

The President Dodik pointed out that the Republic of Srpska passed a responsible law that protects its rights and stopped the practice of trying to establish an anti-constitutional system through speculation, which is constantly carried out by the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Commenting on the reactions to the adoption of this law, the President Dodik said that politicians from the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and foreigners can have their own opinion, but they must understand that Srpska should not remain silent and withdraw.

“Muslims are satisfied with what is happening now. There is a Constitutional Court with two visible members of the SDA and three foreigners who agree together how the Republic of Srpska should be harmed and they do it through the story of alleged activities in accordance with the Constitution”, it was stated by the President Dodik and added that the Republic of Srpska has a proposal to the law on the Constitutional Court of BiH and it is ready to talk about it.

The President of Srpska assessed that it is absurd that Christian Schmidt, who has no legitimacy and legality, is saying that the adoption of the Law on non-application of the decisions of the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina is not legal.

“The only thing that is illegal, terribly illegal in this country is its implementation in Bosnia and Herzegovina. But he is certainly a high representative only for the FBiH, not for the Republic of Srpska”, it was pointed out by the President Dodik.

The President of the Republic reiterated that the Republic of Srpska has no secession plan, but that, if forced due to disputed decisions, it will leave Bosnia and Herzegovina.

“The adoption of the Law was our reaction to what the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina did, which was to eliminate Serbs from the decision-making quorum”, said the President Dodik and emphasized that the Republic of Srpska will not elect judges to this court until the law on this court is passed.

The President of the Republic reiterated that he does not agree with the current judge of the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina Zlatko Knežević, that he defends the Republic of Srpska there, because the constitutional position of Srpska could not be defended in any process or decision in this court.

“If he thinks that something can be defended, why did not he defend when they say that January 9 is not the Day of the Republic of Srpska, and March 1 is the day of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and there is no decision on that, except in the FBiH and they want to impose it on the Srpska”, it was noted by the President Dodik and added that it is true that the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina is a Dayton institution, but that the Dayton Agreement did not provide for that court to work unconstitutionally and illegally.

The President of the Republic of Srpska said that the 14 EU priorities can be discussed as a whole, and not just put on the agenda individually, and emphasized that the Republic of Srpska achieved significant unity and that the Law on Non-application of Decisions of the Constitutional Court of BiH was voted for by a two-thirds majority in the National Assembly of the Republic of Srpska.

The President Dodik stated that individuals tried to explain that they did not vote for that law because of their obligations to the foreigners, and that the position of the PDP has never been made more visible.

“On phone calls, they said the same things we hear from foreigners in an attempt to please, above all, the British, who are their political and every other branch”, said the President of the Republic.

The President Dodik stated that BiH’s European path includes solving the issue of the departure of foreign judges, and pointed out that he is satisfied if the PDP is ready to support it.

The President of Srpska said that he agrees with the conclusion of the PDP from the last special session of the National Assembly of Srpska, which says that the parliament instructs the representatives of Srpska in the joint institutions not to participate in their work until a law is passed on the Constitutional Court of BiH without the participation of foreign judges.

“The Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina must be reconstructed at the request of Europe, and I suggest that the next time there is a session of the National Assembly, that conclusion should be put back on the agenda. I am ready to influence its adoption”, said the President Dodik and added that it is disputed that the PDP did not previously vote for the Law on Non-Enforcement of Decisions of the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The President of the Republic said that in his work he is immune to external political and other pressures and conditions, because he works in the interest of Srpska and its institutions.

“The combined force of the USA, Britain and Germany will not help the Bosniaks here. They can only help themselves. We are not going to accept their stories of murder in Sarajevo, because it is written that the request of the European Commission is to resolve the issue of the Constitutional Court, which we also demand”, said the President of the Republic of Srpska.