Izetbegović: International community reacted slowly, people are not following Dodik

(Patria) - SDA leader Bakir Izetbegović said that the attack on the constitutional and legal order of Bosnia and Herzegovina, carried out by Milorad Dodik and the leadership of Republika Srpska, had been prepared since April 2015, when the SNSD Congress was held, where, according to him, "it was precisely outlined what they want and what they will do". He emphasized that the most positive thing is that there was no massive response to Dodik's call and that the opposition parties in Republika Srpska decided to defend stability.

“The imprecise word is a coup d'état, a putsch, because a putsch implies a violent takeover of central government in a country, specifically the Presidency, the Government, the state of BiH – this is a secessionist coup. An attempt to turn a part of the state into a state, to separate it from the state of BiH, an attack on the sovereignty of BiH and its institutions, possibly territorial integrity. Therefore, a secessionist attempt modeled on the Catalan scenario, which ended in 3 days,” Izetbegović stated in an interview for TV Igman.

He said it would be irresponsible to “push for people to be arrested immediately and now” but that it would happen eventually.

“Forto is silent, Konaković pretends to lead everything, to fly over the situation like a drone, but it's not like that. As an opposition president, it would be easiest for me to shift the blame to them. In a normal country, things would end like in Spain with Catalonia, but unfortunately, we cannot say that BiH is a normal country. We would like it to be, and it will be one day, God willing. Considering who we have in the institutions that should implement this, it would be irresponsible to push for immediate arrests. It won't be that easy in BiH, but things will happen. The state will overcome the rebels,” Izetbegović is convinced.

He believes that BiH has the support of the international community, but that it reacted slowly.

“Considering what we have seen in the last 10 years, what SDA has pointed out and urged the judiciary to be brave and to act, that it is better to confront Dodik's policy earlier than later, that the international community is not fulfilling its obligations, that their mandates are clear and that our authorities cannot replace their mandates, they have finally moved, albeit reluctantly. We got on their nerves, so they removed us. It would have been better if we had this scenario five or 10 years ago when he brought these things to the SNSD Congress. They should have initiated proceedings immediately and put him on the blacklist. It is not too late now either, because the response in Republika Srpska to what Dodik is doing is weak. The international community is slow, they don't want to risk the lives of their people, but they will initiate mechanisms. But there was no massive response to sacrifice peace and their existence – that is the most important element of this crisis,” he points out.

He said he had contacted some former opposition party leaders from Republika Srpska and determined that “they are not following impulses from Belgrade and Moscow”.

“They saw that they were slowly disappearing and decided on other policies, to defend stability. As for the Serbs in this BiH organization, where they practically got half the territory, have special relations with Serbia, no one is bothering them, their goal is to have higher pensions, to not have to go abroad to get a job, there is no fear that would push them into trenches. They do not lack space for a free life and territory, but rather jobs. People want to maintain stability, to get paid next month,” Izetbegović believes.

He also said that SDA is in contact with various leaders, ambassadors, EU parliamentarians, and that he had meetings with the President of Turkey, the High Representative, Gordan Grlić-Radman, and Dragan Čović on the sidelines, but that he does not publish them.

“We communicate at all levels and warn about what is happening. We are doing what we can,” he added.