The new withdrawal of the High Representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Christian Schmidt, in the face of open and bold attacks by Milorad Dodik on the constitutional order and the de facto ban on his activities in the RS entity, is leading Bosnia and Herzegovina into a deeper crisis that can escalate at any moment, jeopardizing stability and peace.
This was stated today by the Party of Democratic Action (SDA) of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
- Attacks on the constitutional order, the Constitutional Court, daily threats of secession, the blockade of inter-entity lines, frequent systematic attacks on Bosniak returnees, new announcements of the withdrawal of Serbian officials from state institutions, daily insults and humiliations of political opponents, the High Representative, ambassadors, journalists, belittling and denial of the Bosniak people, denial of genocide, are only part of the overall atmosphere created by the authorities in the RS entity, acting in accordance with the guidelines of Memorandum SANU II and the Declaration of the SNSD from 2015, all with the ultimate goal of seceding a part of the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina – the statement says.
SDA states that whether and how the High Representative, as well as ambassadors of Western countries, will react to humiliations and insults that Dodik continuously directs at them is a matter of their personal choice. However, they add that what is not a matter of choice is fulfilling their obligations arising from the Dayton Peace Agreement.
The most dangerous post-Dayton crisis we are entering, SDA adds, has been produced by the indecisive and calculating attitude of representatives of the international community and the domestic judiciary, who have avoided confronting Milorad Dodik’s growing audacity in undermining the Dayton Peace Agreement, the Constitution, and the rule of law in Bosnia and Herzegovina for years.
- We are at a historic crossroads where such an attitude must be changed. It must be clear to everyone that Bosnian patriots will not allow anyone to peacefully dismantle their state. The “Quint” must also change its attitude; they lied to themselves and to the people for the sake of their own seats, claiming that “Dodik has changed,” and they continue to have a servile attitude towards his side, relinquishing essential levers of state power to him and thereby strengthening the mechanisms of his secessionist policy. It is high time for them to stop such an attitude towards Dodik and silence about the lack of reaction from representatives of the international community, as they thereby provide an alibi for inaction. No one’s chair should be more important than the state – they emphasized from SDA.
They add that the High Representative and the OHR are part of the Dayton Peace Agreement and cannot fulfill their mandate in only one entity, as Christian Schmidt is doing.
- Also, ambassadors who significantly influence the political situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as their states, should fulfill the obligations they have undertaken as guarantors of the Dayton Peace Agreement. If they fail to fulfill these obligations, and if the High Representative gives up his obligation to carry out his mandate throughout the territory of the entire country, then the Dayton Peace Agreement is called into question, with all the consequences that will arise from it – the statement concludes.