Stjepan Mesić for NAP: Serbia in the EU will not be able to pursue a dual role, as it is currently doing with BiH

The referendum on the celebration of January 9th in Republika Srpska, which is to be held in this BiH entity on Sunday, has caused quite sharp criticism from the international public.

The Constitutional Court of BiH has issued a temporary measure prohibiting the holding of the referendum, but the authorities from Banja Luka do not wish to accept it. This has caused great tension in BiH, but has also increased inter-ethnic tensions in the country.

Former Croatian President Stjepan Mesić explains in a comment for the Patria News Agency that Sunday's referendum in RS means nothing, but that its danger could be that this referendum is a prelude to a referendum on the secession of Republika Srpska from Bosnia and Herzegovina, and its annexation to Serbia.

- This is an attempt, an experiment, with which Milorad Dodik wants to show that he can organize a referendum with more serious consequences, which would separate Republika Srpska and annex it to Serbia. That was Slobodan Milošević's plan, and Dodik most likely wants to achieve it – Mesić believes.

Mesić says that he thinks that Serbia and the Serbian leadership are a bigger problem than Milorad Dodik at the moment, who should have reacted more sharply to the referendum in Republika Srpska.

- Serbia should not have mildly distanced itself from the referendum. The reactions had to be much stronger. Because, it is one thing for Serbia to accept the integrity of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and on the other hand, to accept Milorad Dodik and his non-recognition of Bosnia and Herzegovina. This is a dual policy, which cannot exist in Europe today – Mesić warns.

When asked if Dodik's dangerous policy could be punished tomorrow by citizens in RS by not going to the referendum, Mesić says that a large number of people do not understand the seriousness of the situation and that people are most often manipulated in such moments.

The international public has condemned the holding of the referendum in RS, and some influential officials have warned that RS could face sanctions after Sunday, writes Patria.