FIVE OSCE MEMBERS EXPRESSED CONCERN ABOUT DODIK’S RHETORIC AND ACTIONS

SARAJEVO, SEPTEMBER 22 (ONASA) – Representatives of five Western countries in the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in a joint statement expressed concern over the “separatist and destabilizing rhetoric and actions” of the President of the RS Milorad Dodik.
The joint statement backed by the ambassadors of the USA, France, Germany, Italy and Great Britain to the OSCE was read by American ambassador Michael Carpenter before the OSCE Permanent Council, reports Radio Free Europe (RSE).
The statement said that these five countries value their partnership with the people of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and that they are dedicated to a “democratic, inclusive and prosperous Bosnia and Herzegovina on its European path”.
“We feel that it is our duty to express our concern about the separatist and destabilizing rhetoric and actions of the President of the RS,” the statement reads.
They assessed that Dodik’s attacks on the legitimacy of the state institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina, especially the Constitutional Court, were “irresponsible” and that they “undermine the constitutional order”.
They add that Dodik’s support for laws that are “contrary to democratic norms”, such as the so-called “law on foreign agents”.
“Mr. Dodik’s threats to prevent the high representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Christian Schmidt, from entering the RS entity and to limit his freedom of movement are contrary to the Dayton Peace Agreement,” warns Carpenter.
Nevertheless, they conclude that they are dedicated to the people of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and that they will continue to support the sovereignty, territorial integrity and multi-ethnic character of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which, they say, is “key to the peace and stability of Southeast Europe.”
On August 11, the Prosecutor’s Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina filed an indictment against Dodik, the President of the RS, for not implementing the decisions of the High Representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Dodik was accused because he signed two disputed laws previously adopted in the entity parliament, which concern the non-publication of the decisions of the high representative in the Official Gazette of the RS, that is, the non-application of the decisions of the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina on the territory of the RS.
On September 6, he announced the decree on the deportation of Christian Schmidt when he enters the territory of the RS. The regulation has not been published yet, and Schmidt was still visiting RS.
The government of the RS, formed by a coalition led by the Alliance of Independent Social Democrats – the party of which Dodik is the founder and president – in March adopted a draft law on ‘foreign agents’, which should be presented to the deputies of the NSRS next week.
This controversial law based on the Russian model, which foresees special surveillance of the non-governmental sector that is financed from abroad and a ban on political activities, was condemned by NGOs, as well as by the EU and the USA.
Dodik has been under the sanctions of the USA and Great Britain for a long time, because he was labeled as a threat to the Dayton Peace Agreement. (end)