Dodik can be stopped in the National Assembly of the Republic of Srpska, apply the recipe used for introducing excise duties

Written by: E. Metaj

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Milorad Dodik's madness, which seriously threatens to lead BiH back into war conflicts, can be stopped by representatives of the international community. This objectively requires much more than the current indolence of the High Representative in BiH, Christian Schmidt, who is not communicating with the representatives of RS at all.

Anyone who is well-intentioned towards BiH and all its citizens is aware that Dodik must be stopped. The best way is to defeat him in the National Assembly of the Republic of Srpska (NSRS). International diplomats know best how to do this. They demonstrated their skills in the BiH Parliament when, thanks to the servility of certain politicians, they defeated the citizens by imposing fuel excise duties on them.

The assessment by the vice-president of the SDP, Vojin Mijatović, that there are honorable individuals within SNSD who deeply disagree with the policy of their party president is completely objective. The fact that they are still silent does not mean they have surrendered, but they certainly need external encouragement to make a strong step forward and return SNSD to the path that promised all people in BiH a better future. 

The math is clear: if Dodik does not abandon his desire to annul all decisions made by his party in the BiH Parliament through the NSRS, in an anti-Dayton and illegal manner, he needs to be deprived of enough votes to prevent it. Perhaps this will require even less "persuasion" than for the excise duties, as Dodik's majority in the NSRS is not too large. By taking away his power in the NSRS, Dodik would very quickly face a political end, and everything would again be wrapped in democratic cellophane, just like with the excise duties.

The meeting between Nebojša Radmanović, Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives of BiH, and the Head of the EU Delegation to BiH, Johann Sattler, is proof that dialogue is possible. Although without many details, it is significant that, in addition to the current government crisis, the continuation of reforms was discussed. 

If the representatives of the international community who brought Dodik to power on tanks want to, they can remove him from it much more easily. People like Radmanović, unlike their leader, are not mired in crime, and this could and should be the trigger for them to break off cooperation with Dodik. Sending thieves to prison is not treason to the national interest, regardless of the leaked recording that the Serbian Orthodox Church awarded medals to mafia members in the Balkans.

It is also certain that Radmanović and people like him deeply despise crimes, but also find it difficult to oppose them, especially to separate themselves from politics that has once again taken that direction. With enough support, such people could become willing to give up their own comfort in order to save their honor, as they did during the most difficult times in BiH. Representatives of the international community can prove that Dodik is not as powerful as he seems at first glance; it is only a question of whether they want to. Through his political actions, the vice-president of the SDP, Vojin Mijatović, has shown that not all Serbs are the same, just as not all Bosniaks or Croats are. Mijatović was once a party colleague of Radmanović and others, but he realized in time where Dodik's policy was heading and had the courage to distance himself from it. It is not too late for Radmanović, Igor Radojičić, and all the decent folks from SNSD to finally do the same and continue together with Vojin as they started.