BUDIMIR: BOSNIAK POLITICAL ELITES HAVE ONLY ONE GOAL - THE DISMANTLING OF SRPSKA

BANJA LUKA, SEPTEMBER 11 /SRNA/ - Republika Srpska Internal Affairs Minister Željko Budimir said that the initiatives and appeals of Bosniak politicians clearly show that the Bosniak political elites, supported by certain international actors, have only one goal – to dismantle Republika Srpska and strip it of its powers.

Budimir said that it is alarming that certain structures persist in undermining Dayton BiH, that is, Republika Srpska, even at the cost of instability and stagnation on BiH’s path of development.

"In the end, it is all the peoples in BiH who suffer from this," Budimir said at a special session of the Republika Srpska Government in Banja Luka.

He pointed to the latest attempt to undermine and reshape the legal system in BiH through the unconstitutional and unlawful decisions of the illegal and illegitimate foreigner Christian Schmidt, who imposed amendments to the BiH Election Law introducing additional grounds for terminating the mandate of elected officials at all levels of government in BiH.

"Along with the imposed amendments to the BiH Criminal Code, which are the very cause of this crisis, the introduction of a new criminal offense into BiH criminal legislation, namely the failure to implement the High Representative’s decisions, represents a precedent at the global level. Nothing like this exists in any other region of the world," Budimir emphasized.

He said that Schmidt was preparing the legal and political ground to try to remove the democratically elected President of Republika Srpska Milorad Dodik from the political scene.

"By imposing the latest amendments to the BiH Criminal Code, Schmidt laid the groundwork for carrying out his intentions to crack down on the institutions of Srpska," Budimir said.

He emphasized that none of the laws imposed by Schmidt have been recognized or confirmed by the BiH Parliamentary Assembly.

"Unlawful and unconstitutional actions continued through a politically staged court proceedings, orchestrated by the Prosecutor's Office of BiH before the Court of BiH, which acted in the service and under the orders of an individual, Schmidt, by filing and confirming the indictment and issuing the first-instance and second-instance rulings against Republika Srpska President Milorad Dodik," Budimir said.

He stated that the attempt to deliver the final blow to the legal order in BiH, and the ultimate act following all previous unconstitutional and unlawful decisions and actions of Schmidt and the Prosecutor's Office and Court of BiH, is the decision of the Central Election Commission of BiH to strip Republika Srpska President Milorad Dodik of his mandate.

"With the second-instance ruling and the CEC's decision, all expectations for coexistence and a Dayton BiH have been betrayed. You cannot build trust in BiH this way. It has confirmed Republika Srpska's conviction that it has not been accepted as part of BiH and that the goal is its elimination from the constitutional and legal order of BiH," Budimir said.

He added that the Dayton Agreement has been systematically destroyed for 30 years.