PRESIDENT DODIK TO BERLINER ZEITUNG: I WANT BiH TO BECOME A STATE IN LINE WITH THE LETTER OF THE DAYTON AGREEMENT!

BANJA LUKA, MAY 5 /SRNA/ - Republika Srpska President Milorad Dodik said that he wants BiH to once again become a state in line with the letter of the Dayton Agreement, adding that the problem is that it currently is not.

"My policy is aimed at ensuring that BiH functions according to its Constitution. At the moment, it operates unconstitutionally. The very fact that a foreigner, the so-called High Representative, who was not elected by anyone in BiH, can simply change laws is a sign of arrogance. Laws can only be passed by the joint parliament, no one else. But today, an illegal foreigner comes and imposes his decisions on us, and I am guilty of not respecting him," President Dodik said in an interview with the German daily Berliner Zeitung.

Emphasizing that he greatly values and respects Germany, despite not always having good experiences in the past, and noting that many of BiH's citizens live there, Dodik explained that his issue lies with certain German politicians who, in his view, have a negative stance toward Serbs while favoring Muslims, without being familiar with the documents or understanding the Dayton Agreement.

"Had they understood it, they would have seen that we are in the right. We are not violating the Constitution. Republika Srpska is protecting BiH, not destroying it. This country has been under foreign administration for 30 years, led by people like former High Representative Wolfgang Petritsch, who made decisions contrary to Dayton, particularly regarding the Constitutional Court, which now aims to dismantle the agreement. Some in Europe have a hard time understanding that," Dodik said.

He recalled that former High Representative Carlos Westendorp once said that the Bonn Powers were contrary to the Dayton Agreement, and that the then-head of the mission even described the High Representative's powers as a bluff, saying, "We'll see if it works."

"We have now been living with that bluff for nearly 30 years. The supposed powers have no legitimate basis, certainly not in the Dayton Agreement. We can no longer accept this. Even in Europe, the High Representative's powers are being criticized," the President of Republika Srpska pointed out.

Speaking about the Draft Constitution of Republika Srpska, Dodik explained that under the Dayton Agreement, Republika Srpska had its army for eight years, and only later was a decision made to create a joint military force.

"In the original Dayton Agreement, Republika Srpska was also granted its border police and army. Our proposal is therefore neither unconstitutional nor contrary to Dayton. These facts are being brushed aside. The situation would have been different if the plans to establish a joint border or customs police for all of BiH had been fully implemented. But that never happened either," he said.

"We, in any case, have no plans for secession in any form. Our plan is for BiH to return to the original Dayton concept, and above all, what is being imposed from the outside and by force can no longer be accepted," Dodik said.

When asked whether by the "Dayton concept" he means the organization of the state based on national identity, Dodik explained that 90 percent of the population in Republika Srpska are Serbs, who, according to the UN Charter and the Constitution, have the right to be a constituent people.

"I believe that one day, people in Europe will sit down and genuinely try to understand the Dayton Agreement. BiH cannot function if Muslims rule over Serbs and Croats. Many of them are Islamists. And in Germany, you know what that means - terrorist attacks and the like. There are Bosnian associations and organizations in Germany as well. All of them are Muslim-oriented. You cannot support Bosnia while at the same time being against the Serbs.

Just look at Sarajevo. At one time, 160,000 Serbs lived there, over 40 percent of the population. Today, there are only around 4,000. But let me reiterate, we have no plans for secession. We are not fighting for independence. We are fighting for a constitution and the right to self-determination," Dodik told the Berlin daily Berliner Zeitung.

Asked whether he believes that "many Bosnian Muslims are Islamists, in the same way people in Germany think of Islamists and Islamic fundamentalists," President Dodik confirmed and said their numbers are growing, as shown by the support for Hamas.

"Recently, I was at sites where Hamas attacked innocent Jews and killed 1,400 people. I saw how they did it. It was horrific. At the same time, Serbs are portrayed as butchers. A few years ago, The New York Times published a photo of a hand holding a severed, bleeding head. The caption said that Serbs had done that to a Muslim. Later, it turned out the head belonged to a Serb.

We are not asking anyone to take our side or to become our fan. We are only asking for the law and justice. I respect the Muslims in BiH, I have nothing against them, but I do take issue with their politics. For the Bosniaks, the Islamic Community is the decisive political factor. In the end, it’s about implementing Alija Izetbegović's political agenda. The result would be a predominantly Muslim BiH," Dodik explained.