Opposition from RS once again rushes after Dodik: Šarović asks BiH Council of Ministers for help for Ukraine

SARAJEVO, (Patria) - MPs from political parties from Republika Srpska (SNSD, SDS, PDP, DNS, Serbian Club) will not attend tomorrow's emergency session of the House of Representatives of the BiH Parliament, which has on its agenda one item: "Actions of the institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina regarding the aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine, including taking concrete measures to provide assistance to Ukraine and its citizens".

The proposers are MPs Predrag Kojović (NS), Nermin Nikšić (SDP), Aida Baručija (NB), Saša Magazinović (SDP), Mirjana Marinković-Lepić (NS), Nada Mladina (SDP), Damir Arnaut (NS), Zukan Helez (SDP) and Denis Zvizdić (NIP).

The Club of MPs Serbian Club in the House of Representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH announced today that they made the decision not to attend the session after consultations with the clubs of SNSD and SDS/PDP/DNS.

"We are convinced that this session was scheduled to deepen divisions and provoke conflicts in BiH, drawing us into a discussion about the conflicts in Ukraine. In addition, the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH is not responsible for foreign policy, which is defined by the Constitution as the competence of the BiH Presidency, whose members from the Federation of BiH yesterday refused to discuss the same topic at the proposal of the Serb member of the BiH Presidency. MPs from Republika Srpska are committed to preserving peace, preserving the Dayton Agreement and the constitutional principles that define the equal rights of the three peoples and two entities," the statement said.

Serb representatives exclusively referred to the political context and avoiding condemnation of Russian aggression, forgetting the humanitarian aspect, i.e., sending aid to Ukraine and its citizens.

MP and president of SDS, Mirko Šarović, stated that "the discussion about the war in Ukraine is not a topic for the BiH Parliament but for the BiH Presidency" and that it would not be of any use.

He added that the real topic for the BiH Parliament would be how to "protect our citizens from hunger and help them survive in this situation when the authorities have no substantive measures to protect their population."
 
"Look at the scenes in front of shopping centers where citizens carry flour and other necessities in bags. We should have an extraordinary or regular session of the BiH Parliament on this, as well as the assemblies of Republika Srpska and the Federation of BiH."

He said he would gladly participate in any of these sessions because, along with preserving peace, it is the most important topic for citizens.
 
"Existential issues and responsibility for the stability of the country should unite us, and I support that. The Council of Ministers should discuss and make decisions on support and assistance to the population of Ukraine affected by the war, as it is their jurisdiction," Šarović concluded.

Even after SDS previously announced that they would attend the sessions of the BiH Parliament and would no longer follow Milorad Dodik, who has been blocking state institutions since July 2021, it is still evident that the opposition in RS lacks a firm stance and, in order to preserve their political position, agrees to be a satellite of SNSD. Whether the session is held or not, it will go down in history that BiH condemned Russian aggression against Ukraine in the Council of Europe and the UN General Assembly and joined the stance of the European Union.

And while Serbia also condemned Russian aggression by voting in the UN, only Milorad Dodik with his satellites, but also the opposition, advocates for so-called neutrality.

Such moves will sooner or later backfire, and Dodik and his associates have already been recognized as pro-Russian players to the detriment of the interests of the state they are supposed to represent.

One of the few politicians from RS who supported BiH's vote in the UN is Igor Crnadak, an MP of PDP in the National Assembly of RS. Unfortunately, his stance is not represented by the party that presents itself to the international community as an alternative to Dodik. It seems there are no others in RS anymore.