Referendum on the Court and Prosecutor's Office: How Milorad from Laktaši Defeated Dodik from Banski dvori

By Muharem Cero

Milorad Dodik has skillfully concealed for years his long-standing determination to undermine the Dayton Peace Agreement with the aim of realizing the projected separatism of Republika Srpska, deceiving the international and domestic public that he is ready to implement the so-called original Dayton, but not its extensions introduced by the decisions of the Peace Implementation Council (PIC) and high representatives in BiH.

Through such actions, Dodik has unfortunately managed to halt the implementation of Dayton and freeze Bosnian society in a state of conflict.

Based on a poor or good assessment of the newly emerged international context, Dodik, two years ago, through a decision of the National Assembly of Republika Srpska (NSRS), pushed for a referendum question whose content was designed to deliver the "final blow to Dayton and BiH statehood".

This referendum question, after a two-year wait in a drawer, was announced by its publication in the Official Gazette of Republika Srpska a few days ago. The question reads: Do you support the unconstitutional and unauthorized imposition of laws by the High Representative and the international community in BiH, especially the imposed laws on the Court and Prosecutor's Office of BiH and the application of their decisions in the territory of Republika Srpska?

However, even before its publication in the Official Gazette of Republika Srpska, Dodik announced his intention to suspend the decision on this referendum. At the same time, through his actions, Dodik unequivocally confirms that this is only a postponement, not a annulment or abandonment of the referendum.

On the other hand, the international community, the High Representative, and the US Ambassador to BiH are clearly communicating the obligation to annul Dodik's decision on the referendum and that they are not interested in attempts to circumvent the mechanism of suspension.

Furthermore, it is evident that Dodik's referendum question does not only concern the decisions of the Court and Prosecutor's Office, but all state institutions that might bother Dodik, or rather, all institutions that emerged outside of "Dodik's original Dayton".

Aware of the "mistake" he made himself with the formulation of the referendum question, Dodik is looking for a way out of this situation while politically surviving.

The decision to annul the referendum, which the NSRS must make, should imply the recognition of the anti-Dayton character of the referendum question, which means sending any possibility of further challenging all decisions and laws adopted by the High Representatives in BiH to the permanent political landfill.

Faced with the false mantra of original Dayton, Milorad Dodik and his separatist policy are experiencing a desperate swan song.

It should not be allowed - as is happening now - for the focus of political attention in concluding this story to shift to the smoke bombs that Dodik is producing these days, whether they occur in Vienna or, as expected, in some new lobbying spaces. It is clear that tens of millions of dollars spent on lobbying for the defense of the so-called original Dayton are now just wasted money of the citizens and taxpayers of Republika Srpska.

A gloomy awakening in Republika Srpska will confront Dodik with the consequences of his own political deceptions and manipulations of the people he so often invokes.