Radončić, Komšić, Izetbegović: No blackmail, we call on Dodik to return to work of state institutions

SARAJEVO, (Patria) – A meeting of delegations from SDA, SBB, and DF, led by presidents Bakir Izetbegović, Fahrudin Radončić, and Željko Komšić, was held in the Presidency of BiH building. A joint statement was adopted, stating that Bosniak forces will respond with all available means to any activity directed against and threatening the territorial integrity.

“No one will ever separate any part of BiH. We warn the OHR and the PIC that it is high time to take steps to prevent the crisis caused by Milorad Dodik from escalating. We ask Serbia, as one of the signatories of the Dayton Peace Agreement, to adhere to the agreement, especially Article 1, that the signatory states will respect the territorial sovereignty and integrity of other signatories,” said Izetbegović.

We expect that support for secessionist policy from Serbia will be clearly and unequivocally denied. These three parties will never agree to anyone's ultimatums and blackmail, said Izetbegović.

“We will fight against attacks on state institutions by all democratic means. We will not support changes to the structure of the BiH Constitutional Court. This can only be discussed when BiH makes strong progress towards the EU and NATO within the framework of broader constitutional reform. We jointly call on HDZ BiH to initiate the process of establishing the FBiH Government by proposing a candidate for the President of FBiH. Only then can we talk about changes to the Election Law,” said Izetbegović.

They called for unity among all Bosniak forces, emphasizing that businessmen are abandoning investments in BiH, which will ultimately be more difficult for those who caused it, namely the Republika Srpska entity.

Fahrudin Radončić said that today, as the ruling coalition, they fulfilled a moral and statesmanlike obligation to express their stance on what has been coming from Mr. Dodik and parts of the opposition in RS for days.

“There is a red line, and beyond that red line, there are means and methods for preserving BiH. Domestic and foreign investors should continue to invest without fear, our people should not be afraid. We expect Mr. Dodik to correct his demands, which none of us can accept,” said Radončić.

Željko Komšić, Chairman of the Presidency of BiH and President of DF, said that he is sending an invitation to Mr. Dodik to return to the work of state institutions.

“The citizens of RS will bear the greatest damage from his actions. We talked about the withdrawal of investments from BiH because the atmosphere in BiH will discourage them.

In the Presidency of BiH, there are many financial agreements, mostly related to RS, and such actions cause damage precisely to those whose interests Dodik claims to represent, namely the citizens. Territorial sovereignty is not something to be negotiated. The Constitutional Court and the composition of the Constitutional Court are not something to be negotiated. To talk about this, one must enter into a broader constitutional reform. The fact that we sometimes do not like the decisions of the Constitutional Court does not mean that they should not be implemented,” said Komšić.

He added that BiH will not disintegrate, nor will it ever again have the opportunity when a great power attacked it and tried to destroy it once and for all.

“It didn't succeed then, and it won't succeed now,” Komšić added.

Izetbegović said that the response to Dodik should be given by Bosniak forces, with HDZ on that side, with the OHR, the PIC, and the BiH Prosecutor's Office.

“We cannot arrest anyone; the Prosecutor's Office and the OHR can do that. By defending the constitutional order, we provoked Dodik to move in a bad direction,” said Izetbegović.

When asked by journalists whom they trust more, the aggressive Dodik or the moderate one, Radončić said:

“We are not naive enough to trust either the completely aggressive one or the peacetime type. We do not want to hear Dodik's ultimate blackmail; sometimes it pleases us when we see him retreat. As for Serbian politics, it is that hot-and-cold school of politics, but interference in the internal affairs of BiH, the lack of willingness to distance itself from Serbian leaders, indicates that Mr. Vučić has problems with his precise positions,” said Radončić.

Answering the question of whether criminal charges will be filed, the president of SBB said that he is “a proponent of the thesis that all bodies, including the Prosecutor's Office itself, should assess whether there are elements of a criminal offense or not.”