DODIK: THE LETTER OF THE DAYTON VOW - SRPSKA IS PERMANENT AND INALIENABLE

BANJA LUKA, NOVEMBER 21 /SRNA/ – The Dayton Peace Agreement is not only a document that ended the war, but an international treaty that clearly and unequivocally established the constitutional position of Republika Srpska, guaranteed its competencies, setting a balance without which BiH, composed of two entities and three constituent peoples, cannot function, the SNSD leader Milorad Dodik told SRNA.

Dodik pointed out that this balance is today more threatened than ever, thanks to part of the international community, the Bosniak official Sarajevo and their constant attempts at centralization, unitarization, pressures, threats, sanctions, and political adventures by those who believe that Srpska rights can be diminished, outvoted and, ultimately, unilaterally abolished.

"Republika Srpska gained international recognition in the Dayton, confirmation of its existence, and institutional strength. It was created before the war and before the Dayton, in peace, on January 9, 1992, defended itself during the war, and through the agreement secured its firm position in the international legal order. Therefore, any weakening of the original Dayton is a direct violation of international law and an open attack on its existence and the survival of the Serb people in these areas," stressed the SNSD leader.

Marking the day when the agreement was reached and the Dayton Accords initialed in 1995 in Dayton, Dodik told SRNA that on this day we clearly and loudly state: Republika Srpska will not agree to constitutional experiments that would lead to the disappearance of equality among the three peoples and two entities.

"Preserving the original Dayton, preserving the letter not the spirit of the Dayton, means preserving peace, stability, and the dignity of the Serb people, but also the dignity and stability of Croats and Bosniaks, as well as the two equal entities, Srpska and the Federation of BiH," Dodik emphasized.

He says Republika Srpska remains committed to peace and determined to defend and protect its constitutional position, identity, and institutions, exactly as written and signed in 1995 in Dayton and confirmed in the Constitution of BiH.

"The Dayton cannot be amended by the arbitrariness and force of high representatives, especially self-proclaimed ones, nor by unconstitutional moves of official Sarajevo, which for decades has been undermining the international agreement in its desire to turn BiH into an Islamic, Sharia-based state in the heart of Europe," said the SNSD leader.

He emphasized that the high representatives, without any democratic legitimacy, have for years been altering the Dayton Peace Agreement, abolishing Republika Srpska competencies, imposing laws, amending the Constitution, and openly trampling on the international order.

Their arbitrariness, he says, is not an expression of concern for BiH, but a pure political intervention in favour of Sarajevo’s unitary ambitions.

According to him, the greatest irony is that those who swear by "European values" are actually imposing solutions that do not exist in any democratic system – placing the unlawful decisions of one man above the will of a people is nothing but occupation and a protectorate.

"Official Sarajevo, with full support from the Republika Srpska opposition, not only supports such a protectorate, but sees it as the only way to obtain what they are not entitled to in any way – a centralised state in which Republika Srpska would be only an administrative footnote, an empty shell, a territory on paper.

That is why every day, even 30 years later, we witness new attempts to strip Srpska of its competencies, lament the `Bonn powers,` and call on internationals to do the job they cannot achieve politically," Dodik reminded.

He emphasized that the Dayton is fully clear: BiH consists of two entities and three constituent peoples, anything beyond that is violence against the agreement, violence against peace, and violence against the Serb people's rights.

"Those who violate and undermine it are doing nothing but destabilizing the Dayton-based BiH they claim to defend. Republika Srpska is the only consistent guardian of the original Dayton. That is why we say: there is no giving up our constitutional competencies, no acceptance of imposed decisions, and no renouncing what was agreed in Dayton and signed in Paris in 1995. Peace is preserved by respecting the agreement, not through dictates and political violence," Dodik emphasized, recalling the positions of great powers such as the US, China, and Russia at the recent UN Security Council session.

He states Srpska remains determined to defend the original Dayton, the letter of the Dayton, its constitutional position, and the right of its people to decide their own future.

"The high representatives, political occupiers, are the most egregious violators and destroyers of the Dayton with official Sarajevo being their most obedient executor. Republika Srpska will not accept internationals writing its laws, nor Sarajevo erasing its competencies. The Dayton was signed – and it will be defended, whether anyone likes it or not.

Those who think they can abolish Republika Srpska with a signature on paper are engaging in political madness, not international law. Republika Srpska states very clearly: internationals will not shape our state, nor will Sarajevo ever obtain the unitary BiH it dreams of. The Dayton is our line that we will not cross and will be defended," concluded the SNSD leader.

Today marks 30 years since the General Framework Agreement for Peace in BiH and its 12 annexes were initialed at the Wright–Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, ending the war in BiH and establishing its constitutional and legal order.

With this agreement, the state union of BiH was created, composed of two entities, Republika Srpska and the Federation of BiH, which are signatories to all annexes.

The Dayton Peace Agreement was officially signed on December 14, 1995, at the Élysée Palace in Paris.

The day marking the establishment of the General Framework Agreement for Peace in BiH – November 21 is a public holiday and non-working day in Republika Srpska, unlike in the Federation of BiH, where the end of the war and the Dayton Peace Agreement are not marked.