AMIDŽIĆ: DODIK INSISTS ON AGREEMENT AND CONSTITUTION, SARAJEVO WORKS ON BREAKUP OF BiH

BANJA LUKA, APRIL 5 /SRNA/ - The Minister of Finance and Treasury in the Council of Ministers, Srđan Amidžić, told SRNA that the President of Republika Srpska, Milorad Dodik, presented the minimum for the political existence of BiH and insisted on an agreement, which was rejected in Sarajevo.

Amidžić emphasized that Republika Srpska and its leaders would not have had any issues if they had agreed to a solution that would transfer jurisdictions to the level of BiH and supported BiH's entry into NATO.

"Does anyone think we in SNSD are not smart and don't understand how political processes unfold? Especially if you think that President Dodik doesn't understand this. He was not willing to make political concessions or trade on these issues. He clearly said this," emphasized Amidžić, who is also the secretary general of the SNSD.

Amidžić pointed out that all of Dodik's problems stem from the fact that he has not given up protecting the interests of Republika Srpska.

"He was preparing the ground, knowing that there are people in the world who will say that not everything is as previously presented about Republika Srpska. Today, we see that such people exist. Instead of uniting around a man who has the contacts and opportunities to raise the issue of Republika Srpska in the most important places, you have Bosniaks who find Serbs to bring down that Serb," emphasized Amidžić.

He assessed that all political battles of the opposition in Republika Srpska boil down to preparations for the upcoming 2026 elections.

"They will lose even more votes. Serbs are not so burdened that they don't understand how processes unfold. BiH must understand that it can only live as agreed, not as someone imagined," said Amidžić.

He says that those who want a weak and powerless Republika Srpska are working the most to bring about the breakup of BiH, pointing out that Bosniaks had been warned about this by the President of Srpska, Milorad Dodik.

"I respect that you love BiH, but you should respect that we love Republika Srpska. We can only act as we agreed," emphasized Amidžić on the SRNA podcast.

DODIK ACTED LIKE A STATESMAN, FOLLOWING LEGAL AND CONSTITUTIONAL OBLIGATIONS

Regarding court proceedings conducted against the President of Repubika Srpska before the unconstitutional Court of BiH, Amidžić told SRNA that this is not a personal matter for Milorad Dodik, as the opposition tries to present it, but rather a political persecution, because Dodik, as president, signed decrees declaring laws, which is his duty and obligation.

"This is a personal frustration of the opposition, which cannot articulate its policy and achieve better election results. Their main hope is that the Court and the Prosecutor's Office, where Bosniaks sit, will remove Milorad Dodik from office and that someone from their ranks will take his place," emphasized Amidžić.

He says it is important to respect the elected representatives of the people, as is the case in certain municipalities and cities in Republika Srpska, where the opposition has its people.

"We say that these are mayors and municipal leaders, but they don't like it when it's the President of Republika Srpska, who was elected by the people. Our biggest problem is that there are Serbs who, out of hatred, want to implement Bosniak interests. Fortunately, they represent a small part of the Serbian people," said Amidžić.

He pointed out that the media outlets in the Federation of BiH /FBiH/ report in an identical manner when it comes to President Milorad Dodik, but unfortunately, some media outlets in Republika Srpska also adopted this approach, thus hiding the essence from the citizens.

"As a Serb, I am extremely glad when I see that those who represent the institutions have contacts and friendly relations with Serbia, Hungary, Russia, and Israel, as well as communication with Turkey and Azerbaijan. I would be overjoyed if opposition leaders did the same and had such contacts," said Amidžić on the SRNA podcast.

He singled out the meeting between the President of Republika Srpska, Milorad Dodik, and Russian President Vladimir Putin as an important event.

"This is understood by those in the FBiH. That's why they attack like this. They don't want to talk about the essence, and about all the leaders we've mentioned, who raised the question of whether it's possible to have a state where you have an individual who can impose laws," Amidžić said.

He says that Christian Schmidt treats BiH and Republika Srpska as if they were a tribal alliance.

"You have a situation where an ambassador participated in the FBiH Parliament sessions via video link and spoke about how the MPs would vote. This doesn't happen anywhere in the world. People can't understand that nothing can be forced," stressed Amidžić on the SRNA podcast.

He says that the survival of BiH doesn't depend on the Serbs but on the FBiH, pointing out that it's important to demonstrate political maturity.

"We didn't fight for BiH to look the way someone wanted, but how it was agreed upon. They need to show political maturity. Then BiH has a chance. If they continue to address only their electorate in a way to pander to them, they will push Republika Srpska out of BiH," said Amidžić.

He says it was irresponsible of some politicians from the Federation of BiH to appear in camouflage shirts on certain television shows, adding that only someone who has never experienced the horrors of war could behave that way.

"You have a defense minister who takes pictures next to howitzers, talks about drone production, and at the same time they claim to be advocates of peace, while accusing us, who have never mentioned such things," emphasized Amidžić.

He added that those wearing camouflage shirts should go somewhere to the front line abroad and show their courage.

"What can be said about those people, except that in the political sense they are ordinary imbeciles. Do they think about the families who lost someone in the war? They will not have an interlocutor from Republika Srpska on this matter," said Amidžić.