Salkić for NAP: Referendum on January 9 is a blow to Dayton, Inzko must react

The Constitutional Court of Republika Srpska will consider today whether the veto of the Bosniak Club from the RS Council of Peoples on the announced referendum on January 9 as RS Day is acceptable.

The Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina made a decision at the end of last year, according to which January 9 cannot be celebrated as RS Day. The authorities from Banja Luka do not want to accept such a decision of the Constitutional Court. A referendum has been announced in RS, in which RS citizens will declare whether they want January 9 to continue to be celebrated as RS Day. It is expected that the majority of citizens in this BiH entity will vote against the decision of the Constitutional Court of BiH.

Ramiz Salkić, Vice President of Republika Srpska, told the Bosnian news agency Patria that he does not expect much from the Constitutional Court of RS. He says it is unlikely that the Constitutional Court of RS will protect Bosniaks and BiH.

- The court is under the direct control of RS President Milorad Dodik, the RS National Assembly and the RS Council of Peoples – Salkić believes.

- And the fact that the veto on January 9 very quickly found its way onto the agenda of the Constitutional Court of RS tells us that the authorities want to remove all barriers that could potentially hinder the holding of the referendum as soon as possible – Salkić says.

The Vice President of RS warns that the issue of the referendum on January 9 is not only a Bosniak issue. Holding the referendum means disrespecting the Decision of the Constitutional Court of BiH. And that, Salkić says, is a direct blow to the Dayton Peace Agreement.

- The OHR and High Representative Valentin Inzko must stop the referendum, because it is a blow to Dayton. No one has the right to disrespect the decisions of the Constitutional Court – Salkić says for Patria.

He believes that if the referendum on January 9 passes, every time the authorities in RS do not like a decision of the Constitutional Court of BiH, they will call a referendum.