Dunović: SNSD and HDZ will use power mechanisms until the elections, Helez could have offered his resignation

(Patria) - Milan Dunović, a representative of the Democratic Front in the Parliament of Bosnia and Herzegovina, said that HDZ and SNSD control the House of Peoples - these two parties have all the power mechanisms and will use them to the fullest until the next elections.

He accused the opposition from Republika Srpska of giving in to Milorad Dodik and that SDS and PDP indirectly supported him during the vote on Željka Cvijanović's veto. He also believes that Zukan Helez could have offered his resignation due to "Kozara".

Answering the question of whether the appointment of the BiH Minister of Security is the key to resolving the crisis and whether the solution lies in the intervention of the High Representative, he stated that "we in BiH often expect some magical international community to solve all our problems, while we do nothing".

The fundamental mistake

The solution is not in the intervention of the High Representative, Dunović is categorical.

- So, the fundamental mistake when we talk about the option of a Council of Ministers without SNSD, a parliamentary majority without SNSD, the fundamental material mistake was made in January 2023 when that same SNSD was introduced into the Council of Ministers. Because once you introduce SNSD, there is no reconstruction after that.

Because the only way to dismiss ministers and assistant ministers from SNSD in the House of Peoples is for SNSD to agree to it. They will not agree to it, they will break the quorum. SNSD will block one session, HDZ will block the next session, and the third session HDZ will submit a completely unconstitutional proposal for the election law to the parliamentary procedure in the House of Peoples to provoke the Bosniak Caucus to leave the session and say - look, we are not blocking anything, the Bosniak Caucus is doing it - he told Federal Television, adding:

- Here's a trivial question for everyone in both the House of Representatives and the House of Peoples. Why wasn't that initiative sent to the House of Representatives? They sent it to the House of Peoples so they could divert attention from SNSD, which is causing the blockade.
He further states that such a situation will last until the next elections and until a new government is formed.

- SNSD and HDZ absolutely have, even individually in the House of Peoples, and when they act together, they have all the levers of power and exploit them to the maximum. They will continue to do so without any problems until the elections - Dunović believes.
Speaking about the Platform for Peace, he says that nothing in that document is problematic.

- It is not problematic for us. In terms of majority, if we are talking about the potential appointment of Minister of Security Nebojša Vukanović, who is a candidate for whom signatures were collected, that is not a problem either. It's not just 19 hands. Many who are currently in opposition will support it.

I cannot speak on behalf of the party because we have not made a final decision on something that is not on the agenda, but the appointment in the House of Representatives is not a problem. The problem is dismissals in the House of Peoples. And the problem is Borjana Krišto's signature, which did not happen for two months, and I see no reason why she would change her mind - he explained.

SNSD will break the quorum

A session of the House of Peoples of the BiH Parliament is scheduled for Monday. The agenda includes the dismissal of SNSD cadres. Dunović believes that these sessions will not even take place.

- On Monday, SNSD will break the quorum, and if SNSD accidentally doesn't break it, then HDZ will do it to help them - he claims.

Regarding the move by SDS and PDP, who supported Željka Cvijanović's veto in the National Assembly of Republika Srpska, who was outvoted in the session of the BiH Presidency when the other two members adopted several conclusions calling on EUFOR, among other things, to assist police bodies in arresting officials from Republika Srpska, he stated that every time the opposition from Republika Srpska tries to show that they have the strength to oppose Milorad Dodik, he makes a move where they "give in".

- I think they should have remained principled, like Vukanović and Jelena Trivić. They did not want to support the veto initiative. However, PDP supported it first, and then SDS. And they are actually sending an indirect message that the arrest of Milorad Dodik is problematic for them in some way, which suits Dodik perfectly.

With this move, I won't say he killed the opposition from Republika Srpska, but he has significantly weakened them and will certainly continue to do so. I tell this to my colleagues in the House of Representatives from opposition parties from Republika Srpska - if you are going to oppose Milorad Dodik, you must go all the way - he emphasized.

It remains an open question who will arrest Dodik, Radovan Višković, and Nenad Stevandić.

The biggest test

Dunović points out that "we must not succumb to the thesis that we say - because it is dangerous, we will not arrest them".
- Dodik, with the security of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Republika Srpska, will continue to be dangerous. If the police structures, primarily referring to SIPA, do not do their job, then he has succeeded in his attempt to undermine the institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina, at this moment, these are the security agencies - he stated, adding that the biggest mistake was giving the levers of power in the security sector to SNSD and Dodik.

Dunović also emphasized that "it is very nice when you have EUFOR's assistance, but we, as a country that wants to be a member of the European Union, must develop our institutions and take responsible tasks into our own hands".
- The biggest test for BiH as a state is not the adoption of European laws, which are not European and then we refine them, but the test is whether we can implement the first postulate of the EU, which is the rule of law, that based on a court order, security and police agencies arrest people for whom that order was issued - he emphasizes.

The decision of the Minister of Defense, who banned Dodik, Stevandić, and Višković from entering the Kozara barracks, was not respected either. The minister later said that he was misled, but what is the price of the wrong assessment he had?
- Perhaps the minister could have offered his resignation, and then demanded the dismissal of the entire Council of Ministers. To say - you know, as Minister of Defense, I cannot control certain things, I demand that the entire Council of Ministers be dismissed, but on today's initiative to dismiss the entire Council of Ministers, the Trojka said no, don't touch it, this Council of Ministers is okay. So, the coalition of the Trojka with SNSD and HDZ is okay with them - said Dunović.