SDA Presidency Conclusions: Lack of foreign reactions emboldens Dodik and pro-Russian policy

(Patria) - The SDA Presidency held a session today where several conclusions on the current political situation were adopted.  

The SDA Presidency believes that the marking of the unconstitutional „RS Day“ is no longer just a problem for Bosnia and Herzegovina, but also for the European Union and NATO countries. The parading of the RS entity police armed with long barrels and armored vehicles, with the aim of celebrating the date on which the attack on the constitutional-legal order was initiated, which was the introductory act to aggression, ethnic cleansing, mass crimes, and genocide, is a security threat to Bosnia and Herzegovina.
 
"The participation of members of the Russian paramilitary organization „Night Wolves“ in the parade, the decoration that the president of the RS entity Milorad Dodik awarded to the President of Russia Vladimir Putin, as well as the presence at the parade of ministers from the Government of Serbia and ministers from the Government of Montenegro, are clear messages, provocations, and a security challenge for the entire region, the European Union, and NATO".
 
The SDA Presidency finds the lack of decisive reaction from our Western partners, the Peace Implementation Council, NATO, OHR, the European Union, and EUFOR to the decoration of Putin and the participation of Russian paramilitary organizations in the parade on the occasion of the unconstitutional „RS Day“ concerning, especially considering the aggression against Ukraine and the experiences with Russian influence in the region's countries.
 
"The absence of such a reaction will further embolden the main exponents of Russian policy in the Balkans to strengthen their influence, which represents a clear threat to peace and stability. Cowardly withdrawal, empty and calculating statements, as well as attempts to appease Dodik and his mentors from the East with certain concessions, have proven to be a bad strategy. For the sake of peace and stability in the region, but first and foremost for our own interests and reputation, we call on the special envoys for the Western Balkans and some diplomats in Sarajevo to finally accept the fact that such a strategy further complicates the situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the region.
 
The SDA Presidency demands that the Prosecutor's Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Chief Prosecutor Milenko Kajganić stop calculating and finally initiate criminal proceedings against persons responsible for violating the decisions of the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina. This is a criminal offense sanctioned by Article 239 of the Criminal Code of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which states: „An official in the institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina, entity institutions, or institutions of Brčko District of Bosnia and Herzegovina, who refuses to implement a final and enforceable decision of the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Human Rights Chamber, or the European Court of Human Rights, or prevents such a decision from being implemented, or otherwise hinders its implementation, shall be punished with imprisonment from six months to five years“.
 
Furthermore, the SDA Presidency warns the High Representative that imposing one-off solutions related to the election of the executive government in the Federation of BiH would render European standards, elections, and democratic processes in Bosnia and Herzegovina meaningless, weaken institutions, and lead towards anarchy and a situation where political processes would unfold according to ad hoc solutions, rather than according to the Constitution, laws, and established rules equal for all. This would have unforeseeable consequences for the situation and relations in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the High Representative would bear exclusive responsibility for it.
 
"With the decision published on election night, the High Representative has already made a biased decision, which has enabled the HDZ BiH and associated parties a privileged position and made them an indispensable factor in forming the executive government, precisely because of their position in the House of Peoples of the FBiH Parliament. New interventions, aimed at further strengthening the position of the HDZ and securing partners on the pro-Bosniak side who are willing to accept the Election Law tailored to the HNS, are completely unacceptable.
 
The SDA Presidency assesses that the approach of the parties gathered around the so-called Sarajevo Troika in negotiations for forming the government at the state level will further weaken the pro-Bosniak political factor. The refusal of a joint appearance, which would ensure the full capacity of the pro-Bosniak bloc comprising 60 percent of the House of Representatives of the BiH Parliament, as well as the manner in which negotiations were conducted and agreements signed, the attitude towards representatives of SNSD and HDZ, the naive and completely wrong assessment that constant concessions to Dodik can „relax relations“, blind obedience to part of foreign diplomats, persistence in bickering and quarrels within the pro-Bosniak bloc itself, can only harm the interests of Bosnia and Herzegovina", it is stated. 
 
The SDA Presidency assesses that the adoption of the Law on Immovable Property in the National Assembly of the RS is a new attempt to attack the constitutional-legal order and sovereignty of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
We welcome the activities of the SDA Legal Team, which has already prepared a new appeal to the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina. We remind that the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, in September 2022, after an appeal also prepared by the SDA Legal Team, annulled a law of a similar content.
 
The issue of state property cannot be regulated by entities, but exclusively by the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina. This fact, confirmed by a series of rulings of the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, will not be changed by the persistent attempts of the RS entity authorities to appropriate state property.
 
The SDA Presidency gives full support to the proposed amendments to the Law on Salaries and Allowances in the institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which was submitted for procedure by the SDA Club in the House of Representatives of the BiH Parliament. These amendments would increase salaries for employees with lower base salaries, while keeping the salaries of officials with the highest incomes at the same level.
 
The SDA Presidency confirmed the decisions of the Personnel Commission to propose Refik Lendo for the President/Vice-President of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Šefik Džaferović and Safet Softić for delegates to the House of Peoples of the BiH Parliament, Muamer Zukić for the Head of the Bosniak Club in the House of Peoples of the FBiH Parliament, and Aida Obuća for the leadership of the House of Peoples.
 
The SDA Presidency gives full support to the Party's candidates in the extraordinary city/municipal elections in Bihać, Srebrenik, and Vogošća.