Vice President of the Bosnian entity Republika Srpska (RS) Camil Duraković confirmed that High Representative Christian Schmidt canceled today’s meeting with him in Banja Luka and said that it was an unprecedented move with unforeseeable consequences for the overall political situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Anadolu reports.
“Today I was supposed to meet the high representative of the international community in BiH, His Excellency Christian Schmidt, in my office, but the meeting did not take place since I was informed only a few hours before that it was canceled and that the OHR would later inform the public about the reasons for the cancellation. There is not enough good reason why the said meeting would not be held,” said Duraković.
He reminded that a few days ago the president of the entity Republika Srpska Milorad Dodik announced that “they are preparing a decree on the arrest and deportation of Christian Schmidt from the entity Republika Srpska, and shortly after that, after the high representative announced a visit to the entity Republika Srpska, the president of the National Assembly of the RS- and, Nenad Stevandić said that the police will still be the ones who will defend Christian Schmidt from the people.
He added that yesterday he received an order from the cabinet of the president of the RS entity, which prohibits a meeting in the building of the institutions of the RS entity with “a person who falsely presents himself as a high representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina”.
He points out that the order, signed by the general secretary of the RS president, Jelena Pajić-Baštinac, states that the office of the president of the entity Republika Srpska will order “to prohibit the entry of a high representative into the building of entity institutions”.
“I, of course, rejected this order from a person who has absolutely no legitimate right to order me as a legitimately elected vice president, just as I would have rejected the same order even if it had been signed by Milorad Dodik. However, the meeting was canceled by no one else, but Christian Schmidt. I cannot suppress the feeling of deep disappointment and anxiety for the future of both this country and its citizens, not the political elites. In the difficult geopolitical everyday life, the international community, or what is left of it, succumbed to pressures and threats and capitulated before policies that threaten the peace, stability, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Bosnia and Herzegovina,” said Duraković.
As he said, this is an unprecedented political move, a historical turning point and an event with incalculable consequences for the overall political situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
“If the international community is not able to protect the high representative on the ground of the Republika Srpska entity, what can the citizens of the Republika Srpska entity expect if policies that threaten peace and security continue to be implemented unhindered? I appeal to all those who love this country to take this historical and social and political moment. I expect from our friends in the world further affection for the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and dedication to the welfare of all its citizens,” said Duraković.
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