KARAN: DAYTON AUTONOMY IS NOT SECESSION, BUT RIGHT OF REPUBLIKA SRPSKA AS FEDERAL UNIT

BELGRADE, APRIL 11 /SRNA/ - Republika Srpska President Siniša Karan stated that “Dayton autonomy” is not secession but a right of a federal unit, which Republika Srpska is, emphasizing that its rights are guaranteed by the Dayton Peace Agreement and that Srpska defends its institutions, property, and the will of the people without compromise.

Karan said that for 30 years, Republika Srpska has been undermined unconstitutionally and illegally through a forced political process of unitarization - via imposed decisions of High Representatives, the Constitutional Court of BiH, bylaws of the Council of Ministers, and other external pressures.

"The past three decades could be described as a process of unitarization, although BiH is not a unitary state but a complex federal community. This creates a space where one people can outvote the other two, which is not a Dayton BiH and leads to domination rather than equality," Karan said in an interview with Belgrade's Politika.

Responding to whether “Dayton autonomy” is secession, Karan said there is currently a clash between anti-Dayton and Dayton principles, with the Serb people advocating strongly for the Dayton structure of BiH.

"If we went back 30 years, we would see that Srpska functioned as a state, with its own army, border police, judiciary, and intelligence service... Due to the erosion of Dayton, we no longer have that. That is why we speak of Dayton autonomy," Karan said.

He reminded that High Representatives had removed more than 500 Republika Srpska officials from office, all those who stood in the way of a unitary BiH.

Karan warns that the issue of property is not merely about public goods and ownership, but is closely tied to ambitions for further unitarization. He stressed that Republika Srpska will adhere strictly to constitutional provisions and that, under the Constitution of BiH, property belongs to Republika Srpska and the Federation of BiH.

"Srpska still has statehood attributes, and one of them is property. That is why there are attempts to eliminate this key element of statehood. As the owner, Srpska is ready to grant BiH institutions the use of what they need, but it must be clear that it is our property," Karan said.

Commenting on speculation about the departure of Christian Schmidt and the possibility that he may impose additional decisions before leaving, Karan said that the High Representatives have caused extensive damage by undermining the Dayton Peace Agreement and the autonomy and competencies of Republika Srpska. He added that Schmidt’s actions have demonstrated that BiH has effectively become a colony of unprecedented proportions.

He emphasized that Banja Luka remains committed to the original Dayton framework and will defend it as long as necessary, and will return competences transferred unconstitutionally.

"We were accused of secession, but we have never spoken about that, only about Dayton autonomy, which we still possess as a federal unit within BiH, in line with the constitutional framework," Karan said.

He says that, contrary to the insincere “five+two” formula of malicious actors /a set of conditions set by the Peace Implementation Council /PIC/ for the closure of the Office of the High Representative/, Republika Srpska’s key framework is the “four+three” formula: the will of the people that created Republika Srpska and on which its institutions rest, international verification of Republika Srpska through the Dayton Peace Agreement of which it is a signatory to the annexes, economic autonomy, and the strength of its political institutions.

"The three additional principles provided by the Constitution are the division of competences, parity and equality, as well as consensus in decision-making. Against their ‘five+two,’ we have our own ‘four+three,'" Karan said.

Responding to a question about the imposed elections for the President of Republika Srpska, Karan explained that Christian Schmidt and his allies in the unconstitutional Court and Prosecutor’s Office of BiH have undermined the electoral principles on which the Constitution of BiH is based.

Karan stressed that by attacking the policies of Republika Srpska, Schmidt has in fact attacked Republika Srpska itself, because those policies are seen as a barrier to unitarization and the creation of an anti-Dayton BiH as a state of only one people, meaning the essence was the denial of the people’s will.

"We did everything necessary for the people, through the election of me, to re-elect Milorad Dodik. The people chose policies that effectively defeated Schmidt. Thus, once again, the people have won, as have Dodik and the policies of a twenty-year-long defense of Srpska," Karan said, adding that the Central Election Commission of BiH participated in undermining the constitutional order of both Republika Srpska and BiH.