POLITICAL OFFICES CARRY SYMBOLISM OF PEOPLE’S SURVIVAL

BANJA LUKA, APRIL 2 /SRNA/ – SNSD Leader, Milorad Dodik, emphasizes that many still fail to understand that Republika Srpska has never been merely a political project, but it arose from the historic decision of the people to survive, while the political offices are not just technical positions of power but carry the symbolism of survival.

Dodik pointed out that the office of the Republika Srpska president has never been merely an administrative norm, but an expression of the political will of the people who created Republika Srpska in the Defensive-Patriotic War.

He stressed that those who believed they would break him through political processes are now discovering that they have achieved the opposite – not only have they failed to break him, but they have made him politically stronger than ever, and along with that, awareness of Republika Srpska has also strengthened.

Dodik said that in every politics there comes a moment when the story about a man ends and the story about a people begins, so in Republika Srpska that moment passed long ago.

"Whoever once stands before the people must know that hiding behind the people is never an option. That is not a political figure. It is a rule of politics in a country that was created in war and survived in a peace that has never been entirely peaceful," Dodik emphasized in an op-ad for Tanjug.

Precisely for that reason, Dodik says, the current political moment is much broader than a single court process or a single office.

"For years in Sarajevo and among part of the international community, the same political assumption has been repeated – that by attacking the presidents of Republika Srpska they will break Republika Srpska itself. That assumption rests on a fundamental mistake – a misunderstanding of what that office actually represents," Dodik stated.

He pointed out that the president of Republika Srpska has never been merely an administrative norm, but that the office is an expression of the political will of the people who created Republika Srpska in the Defensive-Patriotic War.

"It is a political symbol of one historical choice. That is why every attempt to weaken Republika Srpska through pressure on that office starts from a wrong assessment, because Republika Srpska was not created by decisions made in offices, but by the historic decision of the people to survive. That is precisely why the paradox is repeated that many do not want to see," Dodik said.

Those who believed they would break one man through political processes, Dodik adds, are now discovering that they have achieved the opposite.

"Not only have they failed to break him – they have made him politically stronger than ever. Together with that, awareness of Republika Srpska has also strengthened. That is the result of yet another misunderstanding. In Republika Srpska, political offices are not merely technical positions of power. They carry the symbolism of survival," Dodik stated.

"Those in Sarajevo often say that everything is illegal – the High Representative, the election commission, the court, and the verdict. But then they add that all of it must nevertheless be respected. The logic is simple – whatever is against Republika Srpska is declared legal," Dodik emphasized.

That is why, he says, it is important to return the debate to the only document that has real legitimacy – the Dayton Peace Agreement.

"Republika Srpska is not against BiH as defined by the Dayton. But it is against BiH in which the rules are changed by decrees of foreign administrations. In that difference between the Dayton and the political experiments of the international community lies the essence of today’s conflict, because what is happening today is not a legal dispute. It is a political attempt to redefine the balance of power in BiH," Dodik said.

He pointed out that the need for national unity has never been more evident than today.