SDA calls on Bosniaks in RS to ignore referendum

The SDA Collegium welcomes the progress Bosnia and Herzegovina has made on its European and NATO path. After years of stagnation, BiH's application for membership in the European Union has been assessed as credible, so BiH is expected to receive candidate status as soon as possible.

Following the adoption of the Defense Review and the BiH Court ruling related to the registration of military property in Han Pijesak, conditions have been met to unblock BiH's NATO path and to start activating the Membership Action Plan (MAP). In the past period, BiH has made significant progress on the economic front. All economic indicators are positive. GDP, industrial production, employment, etc. are growing.

We call on all political forces in BiH to focus all their attention on BiH's progress on the European and NATO path, as well as on more successful economic and social reforms. This is the only path that BiH should take and which is in the interest of all its peoples and citizens.

Unfortunately, at this moment in BiH, there are political forces embodied in the ruling establishment in the RS entity that, by insisting on the referendum scheduled for September 25, are leading BiH towards destabilization. After the Constitutional Court of BiH ordered the suspension of all activities related to the implementation of the referendum, it is completely clear that anyone who takes action contrary to the Court's order is committing a serious criminal offense for which they will have to answer. Furthermore, opposing the order of the Constitutional Court of BiH represents the beginning of the erosion of the Dayton Peace Agreement with unforeseeable negative consequences. Therefore, we once again call on the authorities in RS to abandon the referendum, as it is best for the citizens of BiH, but also for those responsible for the referendum.

The SDA Collegium calls on Bosniak returnees to RS to remain abstinent and not to respond to the call for a referendum. We warn the RS authorities that they are obliged to provide security to every citizen of that entity and that they will be held responsible in case of any incident. We demand that state institutions and institutions of the international community, within their competencies, ensure stability throughout BiH and the security of every citizen.

The SDA Collegium welcomes the diplomatic activities of the Chairman of the Presidency of BiH, Bakir Izetbegović, undertaken during the session of the UN General Assembly in New York, as well as the activities of the Chairman of the Council of Ministers of BiH, Denis Zvizdić, in Brussels, aimed at faster integration of BiH into the EU.