Pierce: Bosnia remains fragile, Milorad Dodik's saber-rattling and secessionist path must be monitored

(Patria) - Bosnia and Herzegovina remains fragile. Especially due to the actions of Milorad Dodik in Republika Srpska, warned Karen Pierce, the UK's Special Envoy for the Western Balkans in an interview with N1 Zagreb.

She emphasized that Dodik is not doing Bosnian Serbs any favors with his approach.

"He is trying to undermine the very existence of BiH as a state with his secessionist laws. We fully support the Dayton criteria: one state, two entities, three constituent peoples. That is very important. I know that the issue of the election law greatly concerns Bosnian Croats and we are ready to discuss it. But if BiH wants to make progress regarding NATO and European Union membership, it must do so as a state, which means we must help BiH on that path. And Dodik is going in the opposite direction and not helping anyone in the process," Pierce stated.

We sincerely hope that conflicts will not repeat

Commenting on the fears of the citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina of new conflicts, she stated that she believes that "everyone's goal and interest is to not allow BiH to return to the terrible violence we witnessed 30 years ago and which we have witnessed several times since in the Western Balkans," referring to the conflict in Kosovo.

"These incidents were caused by people who committed war crimes, who were convicted, many of them are imprisoned or have since passed away. The whole of Serbia should not be held responsible for Milošević's crimes, but that legacy still exists. We sincerely hope that conflicts will not repeat. I strongly support the presence of EUFOR on the ground. As you know, according to Dayton, there is a High Representative. So, the international community is already heavily involved in BiH. In that sense, it represents a unique case. No other country has an institution like the High Representative; the UN has a slightly different institution. I hope we can help all parties in BiH to reduce tensions, if they arise. But I must emphasize that we do not expect violence. There is always saber-rattling there and it needs to be closely monitored, but we appeal to all political leaders to do what is in the best interest of the citizens of BiH and to pass the laws necessary for BiH to become an EU member," said the British envoy.

Dodik should withdraw his secessionist laws

She emphasized that they support the work of the High Representative and that he is a very good public servant.

"The establishment of the Office of the High Representative is foreseen by the Dayton Peace Agreement, which is based on a Security Council resolution under Chapter Seven. Therefore, it is binding. And the High Representative and Dayton have the final authority regarding civil matters. I think people forget that. There are some statements coming from Russia that are intended to cause confusion, but we have all agreed to this authority of the High Representative. His task is for the state of BiH to continue to function for the benefit of all three constituent peoples and all other peoples in the country, and that is what he is doing. The challenge is that Dodik does not accept his authority, questions it, questions the Constitutional Court. No one can be above the law. Dodik should withdraw his secessionist laws and abide by the decisions of the court and the High Representative," Pierce stated.