Inzko with Minister Mikl-Leitner: RS referendum would set BiH back

High Representative Valentin Inzko met today in Sarajevo with Austrian Minister of Interior, Johanna Mikl-Leitner. They discussed the current situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a special focus on the security situation, the BiH Office of the High Representative (OHR) announced, reports the Patria News Agency.

The High Representative also informed Minister Mikl-Leitner about the current political situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina, including the activities initiated by the authorities of Republika Srpska with the aim of organizing a referendum on state judicial institutions and previous decisions of the High Representative related to the implementation of the peace agreement.

- This is a direct violation of the Dayton Peace Agreement. With the launch of this initiative, there is a risk that Republika Srpska and the country as a whole will move backwards. In order to rectify this situation, the authorities of Republika Srpska must set the referendum aside and focus on the real needs of the citizens of Republika Srpska, said the High Representative.

High Representative Inzko expressed his conviction that the recently signed reform agenda will provide the much-needed impetus for the domestic political elite to implement the necessary reforms and achieve progress in terms of Euro-Atlantic integration, the OHR announced.