President of Republika Srpska Milorad Dodik stated that a referendum in Srpska must be held, and that the best time for it is January 9th, when Republic Day is celebrated.
“For the Serbian people, it is important to have behind them a historic and significant referendum that will state we never accepted international interventions,” Dodik said to Večernje novosti.
He emphasized that Republika Srpska has maintained a responsible state policy continuously, and if it had not opposed international interventionism, it would now be stripped of its powers.
Dodik explained that if RS had remained passive and had not opposed international interventionism, it would today be facing an imposed decision on state property that would strip it of ownership, and that would never be reversible.
“Still, I decided to fight for Republika Srpska. The first thing we managed to do was a strong internationalization of the ‘Dodik case’. There is no institution in the world that hasn’t learned that some foreigner, after 300 years in Europe, imposed a regulation under which a court convicted a legally elected president,” Dodik said.
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He added that at this moment, a lot of energy is being spent to maintain that internationalization and fulfill important goals by New Year.
Speaking about the process against him in the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Dodik said that Schmidt formed a working group and adopted a document that was supposed to be proclaimed, related to property, which triggered the political struggle.
“It included the position that if that decision were adopted, Republika Srpska would declare independence. Then they realized we would do it, so they devised a plan to undermine Dodik’s authority and that of Republika Srpska,” Dodik explained, adding that the then U.S. administration supported those efforts.
He repeated that Muslims wanted to go after him and Republika Srpska without choosing means, but what he doesn’t understand is the behavior of Serbs, specifically how a Serb as chief prosecutor allowed it to proceed when it was not in accordance with the law or constitution.
Asked whether he received an offer to settle before the verdict was passed, Dodik said there were offers from outside, but not directly to him, because everyone knows he would reject them.
Regarding early elections in RS, Dodik says that no one is interested in them, clarifying that neither the government nor the opposition wants them.
“These elections are a humiliation for Republika Srpska. The electoral process is independent and must not be displaced, and the opposition in Srpska accepted that,” said Dodik.
He recalled that the RS government had offered the opposition the formation of a national unity government, but they didn’t want to discuss it and instead members of SDS and PDP went to Sarajevo that same day.
Dodik stressed that he is still the elected president of Republika Srpska according to its Constitution, and that the decision of the Court of BiH is an attack on that constitution.
“Many people consider me unquestionably their president and all are loyal to me. Whoever comes, you only hear from my people, ‘Ask the president’. That is loyalty, attitude, discipline. The opposition doesn’t have that, so they can’t understand it,” Dodik said.
Speaking about RS’s relations with countries around the world, Dodik recalled his recent visit to Russia, pointing out that it is a great and powerful country whose president has a policy of defending the state with all its specifics.
On the other hand, he noted that the new American administration under President Donald Trump does not have rigid positions toward Republika Srpska, which has many friends there who want to realistically see what is happening.
“We have strengthened love and commitment toward Srpska and strongly revived the idea of Republika Srpska. A significant number of important people have become its friends,” said Dodik.
Dodik emphasized that Republika Srpska today has friends in Hungary, Russia, China, Slovakia, Azerbaijan.
“We have friends in many EU countries. And about Serbia, there’s no need to even mention it,” he added.
Commenting on the months-long blockades in Serbia, Dodik said that Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić and Serbia, although they have a balanced policy, are trapped by the international concept for the region, previously created by the British, with the intent to prevent Serbia’s progress.
“When you look at the map of the Balkans, you see – Serbia, Republika Srpska, Montenegro, and Kosovo and Metohija. And when you unite that, you see what the Balkans are and under whose community they fall. The British concept in the Balkans was to destroy everything that is Serbian,” Dodik said.
He stated that in Serbia, an artificially created atmosphere and structure blames Vučić for everything, adding that he is surprised by that kind of hatred.
“That is not rational. There is no country in the world where the street is an acceptable model of government. Go to elections and win power,” said Dodik, as reported by Tanjug.
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Source: Politika; Foto: ATA Images