CVIJANOVIĆ CATEGORICALLY REJECTS SHAMEFUL DEFAMATIONS BY BEĆIROVIĆ AGAINST REPUBLIKA SRPSKA

SARAJEVO, MAY 13 /SRNA/ – The Serb member and Chairperson of the Presidency of BiH, Željka Cvijanović, has categorically denied today in Sarajevo the shameful defamations by the Bosniak member of the Presidency of BiH, Denis Bećirović, stressing that Republika Srpska and its institutions are not destroyers and do not attack the Constitution of BiH — rather, they are defending it from ill-intentioned actors such as the illegitimate Christian Schmidt and his supporters in the Federation of BiH.

“No one in Republika Srpska is attacking the territorial integrity of BiH. What you see is a reaction by the institutions of Republika Srpska to the unconstitutional, usurping, anti-Dayton behavior of an unelected foreigner,” Cvijanović said, addressing President of the European Council Antonio Costa at a press conference.

According to her, everything happening in this regard is a countermeasure to such behavior.

On the other hand, she emphasized, the EU continually highlights in its criteria that a state must possess democratic capacity and decide independently on the conditions set for countries aspiring to EU membership.

“And that is exactly what we are asking for our institutions — the right to make our own decisions, because the Constitution says that our institutions are the ones making those decisions. So, there is nothing destructive, anti-Dayton, or unconstitutional about this, and certainly nothing aimed against sovereignty or territorial integrity,” stated the Serb member of the BiH Presidency.

She stressed the desire to restore sovereignty by enabling domestic institutions to perform their duties, rather than having unelected foreigners act without any mandate from the Dayton Agreement — not in BiH nor in any EU member state.

“So, we are simply asking for the same rights,” said the Chairperson of the BiH Presidency.

Cvijanović thanked Costa for the pleasant conversation, noting that the high-ranking guest is a proven friend of the entire region, as shown by his tour of the Western Balkans.

“But this was also a good opportunity to clarify certain positions, because it is clear that, sometimes due to different sources of information or other reasons, we are not all working with the actual facts,” Cvijanović concluded, reaffirming the strong commitment of the institutions of Republika Srpska to continued cooperation with the European Council in the future.