Dodik again the same: BiH impossible, I am not president of all citizens, complaints against CIK

SARAJEVO, (Patria) - Milorad Dodik, Chairman of the BiH Presidency, said that there are increasing problems in securing vaccines, although the Covax program has been paid for.

He emphasized that he received guarantees that 100,000 Russian vaccines from various manufacturers would arrive in Republika Srpska in February. He adds that the vaccines will be free and will not be commercialized.

"It is necessary to try to procure these vaccines through direct contact. The EU's announcement that it will close the market is not optimistic. We think that the EU did not cope at the beginning of this pandemic and that it is not coping with vaccines now. The key problem of the pandemic remains, and I want to thank all healthcare workers who have made enormous efforts to help those suffering from coronavirus," he said.

The situation with migrant accommodation in BiH is calming down, but it remains an open issue. Regarding the 14 EC priorities that BiH must fulfill, Dodik said that it is necessary to implement the points related to the judiciary comprehensively, not segmentally.

"We are not against the reform of the HJPC, but it means changing the responsibility of people in the judiciary. It is not a problem to change the Law on Conflict of Interest either, but without encroaching on competencies. That law can only deal with those who work in BiH institutions. Public procurement is a hotbed of corruption, and we are ready to accept the best European practices and for the Law on Public Procurement to be treated in that way," Dodik said.  

BiH's path to the EU is not disputed, and there is unity on that, but there is a difference of opinion regarding NATO, Dodik said, noting that they emphasized this today at a meeting with the Greek Foreign Minister. 

"We remain in cooperation processes with NATO, but outside of integration processes," Dodik said.

SNSD is already preparing for new elections in Doboj and Srebrenica, but it is finally time for the CIK to set the date for the elections.

He again said that in "impossible BiH, anything is possible." 

He said that within SNSD, they have started discussions about boycotting the 2022 elections. 

"We are seeking consensus on election conditions, and we will announce our decision in due time. One of the equal options is both participating and not participating in the elections. If the current composition of the CIK and the attitude towards RS remain, we will certainly not participate in the elections," Dodik said. 

To one of the journalists' questions about whether he, as the president of all citizens, can do something about procuring vaccines, or why only RS is procuring them, Dodik said:

"I am not the president of all citizens of BiH, but of the electorate of Republika Srpska. I am the chairman, but that does not oblige me to anything other than representing the interests from where I come. I offer my colleagues from FBiH to do it together. Perhaps we can get Russian vaccines a little faster, but they have to say they want it. I am not against it, but I remain primarily a Serb member of the Presidency and I am trying with my colleagues, the two of them from the Bosniak people; I have never received support from them to do this together. Even today, we have no indication of when it might happen through the Covax program. If someone from FBiH wants to procure Russian vaccines, I am ready to help, but I do not want to impose myself," he said.  

Dodik also spoke about the members of the CIK, and said that complaints are being prepared against the members who voted to annul the elections in Srebrenica and Doboj. 

"Being a member of the CIK is certainly a political matter, and I have heard a lot about myself. And when I once decided to go to the judiciary, they told me that I am a public figure and that I have to endure it. If I have offended the lady in some way, I apologize publicly, but political Sarajevo wants to see Serbs who are loyal or devoted to their demands. I have the right to suspect that the lady in question, who is tied to the facts, represents suspicion of that kind. Whom have I offended there for her to file a lawsuit? If she understood that as an insult to her dignity, I apologize once again," Dodik said.