SARAJEVO, MAY 4 (ONASA) – The High Representative in BiH Christian Schmidt was a guest on the BHRT morning program this morning, where he spoke about his recent decisions that he imposed, changes to the FBiH Constitution and the formation of the FBiH Government.
Given that Milorad Dodik has denied challenging Schmidt’s position since the beginning of Schmidt’s appointment as high representative, Schmidt says that he still does not feel unwelcome.
“There’s all kinds of talk. I’ve learned that people here talk a lot, but when it comes to the facts in this whole sequence, I’m a high representative and I hope that there won’t be many successors after me, and the path in the European Union is important here. I don’t feel not at all desirable. I have learned to distinguish between political discourse and statements and there are some who do not want to meet with me at all. He did not even go to Mostar in order not to meet with me. There are many people who are not in politics who are open according to me,” replies Schmidt.
Protests by citizens in front of the OHR building are again scheduled for next week, and given that it will not be the first time that citizens gather to protest Schmidt’s decisions and changes, he replies that demonstrations and protests are always good as long as they are peaceful.
“Demonstrations are a basic human right that everyone is allowed to have and it’s simply all good as long as they are peaceful. Everyone has the right to say what they want. However, what I lack – a path, how to reach your goals. Actually, demonstrations, all those requests, that is something that is up to the Parliament. It is the one that needs to supplement the Dayton Agreement, 14 points of European norms, judgments – everything is up to the Parliament. I am ready and will be happy to help, but I do not want to constantly, within the framework of my competence reacts. This is where the Parliament should work,” says the high representative.
When asked if he thinks he made good decisions now and in October, and if the criticisms against him are justified, Schmidt says he implemented the decisions that should have been made by those elected by the people.
“It is said that why he made decisions after the election. I implemented those decisions that should be made by those who were elected. In the FBiH, you had a record, a government that was not elected in the Parliament at all, and that is a record, I don’t know that it is ever been in the world. My predecessors also had different blockages, but the most important thing is what we did,” explains Schmidt and adds:
“I actually tried to fill the loopholes in the law, in the FBiH Constitution, no one could say what happens if the leadership of the federation cannot come to an agreement and if the Parliament gets into a situation where it cannot vote. I took one proposal for the current solution, and on it is up to the parliament to come up with a permanent solution,” says Schmidt.
He states that the situation in the FBiH is always “a little more complicated” and that he must bring it into the matter in order to develop within it.
Schmidt commented and they say that he is in contact with Andrej Plenković and, to some extent, it works in favor of the HDZ and the parties gathered around the HNS.
“Let’s put it in that account – we always look for who is to blame for something. So, unlike Dodik, Plenković talks to me. There are many who invite and recommend me, but I am the one who makes the decisions. I make them myself and nobody else, and I would prefer that the parliament pass them,” he says.
Considering that even before the intervention of the high representative on October 2, the day of the election, there was speculation as to how he would react, Schmidt says that he owes the citizens of BiH and that he could only favor them.
“There was a lot of speculation about how I will act on October 2nd, it’s all speculation, I know what I owe to the citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina, maybe the Americans also speculated, but they couldn’t influence them,” he adds.
Now, after an intervention last week, about whether the new FBiH Government is actually his government, Schmidt answers:
“It is not my government, it was elected by the parliament and it answers to the parliament. Both houses of the people must now decide on changes to the electoral law. Now, what the FBiH Government and Nikšić will do is their task, and all of this will be monitored in detail by the EU. They are the ones who they want BiH to move forward,” emphasizes Schmidt.
When asked specifically whether he favored the HDZ and the parties gathered around the HNS, Schmidt answered indirect questions about how many ministers there were with the HDZ in the SDA government.
“There were six of them, how many are there now? More or less? Until now, the government was in a technical mandate, and I didn’t see anywhere that HDZ or SDA had to be somewhere,” answered Schmidt at the same time.
Then, Schmidt commented on Milorad Dodik’s statements and the fact that he does not want to talk to him.
For him, Schmidt believes that Dodik is in a position to squander an important chance; he says that he is constructive at the state level, but that politics does not consist of not talking to people.
“It would be good if he talked to me,” concludes Schmidt.
He also commented on Dodik’s announcements that he would place units of the MUP of RS on the entity lines to carry out control.
As Schmidt says, there are no internal borders in BiH and that the Dayton Agreement is the one responsible for the entities, but that he does not understand how anyone comes up with the idea of abolishing the existence of FBiH or RS.
“Rhetoric, sometimes you have to put up with it. If it were to go in any way in the direction of secession, I can only say that I will react. Dayton predicts the state and when I look around BiH, all the neighbors, and even in Belgrade, no one calls into question the territorial integrity of Bosnia and Herzegovina,” Schmidt points out.
Regarding the issue of state property as one of the most important issues at the moment, Schmidt says that there are experts sitting in the commission dealing with this issue and that their names will be known, but not for now because he does not want to politicize the commission.
BiH Presidency Chairwoman Željka Cvijanović will speak before the UN Security Council where, as confirmed today, Schmidt will also be present.
When asked what if Cvijanović challenges the legitimacy of the high representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Schmidt replies that in that case she will receive an answer from the UN that she will not like.
Schmidt took the opportunity to express his deepest condolences to the families of the victims, children, who innocently perished during yesterday’s massacre at the Belgrade elementary school.