Balkans | Serbian leader Dodik: I am trying to persuade the Croats to withdraw from the institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina

Milorad Dodik, the president of Republika Srpska, one of the two entities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, said he was trying to persuade Croats to withdraw from institutions in the country.

Dodik, who has recently attracted attention with his separatist rhetoric, said in a statement to the Serbian press that Republika Srpska is opposed to living in “unconstitutional Bosnia and Herzegovina” and said: “I don’t want to reveal all the details, but let me tell you some of them. Bosnia and Herzegovina can be functioning as long as That there are three peoples (Bosnian, Serb, Croat) in their institutions. I am trying to persuade the Croats to withdraw from the institutions at the same time as the Serbs. He said.

Dodik commented that the Serbs were “not too far” from the decision to withdraw from the institutions in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and said, “Don’t play with our property, we will withdraw all our men. Republika Srpska can become an independent state an hour and a half after its legislature session. Don’t surround us.” He said.

Suggesting that the United States had no right to decide how to solve the problems of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Dodik defined Bosnia and Herzegovina as a “colonial country” and claimed that he was the leader of an uprising against it.

Nermin Nexic described Dodik’s remarks as “dangerous” and stressed that the speech constituted a clear threat and a blow to the institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

While defending that Republika Srpska is a “state” in every recent event, the President of Republika Srpska said that he would “separate Republika Srpska from BiH so that the immovable property of the entity remains with them”.

The problem of immovable property in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Arguing that the immovable property belongs to the entities according to the Dayton Peace Treaty, which ended the 1992-1995 war in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Republika Srpska claims that it also has property management under the said law.

While the issue of immovable property has been a topic that has been discussed since the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina, it has been debated whether immovable property in the country belongs to the state or the entities that use it.

While the immovable property law, which was voted in the National Assembly of Republika Srpska (NSRS) in December 2022 and is unconstitutional, is expected to enter into force on February 28, BiH High Representative Christian Schmidt has not announced that he will suspend the controversial law.

The Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina on March 2 also struck down the controversial law on possession of immovable property in Republika Srpska.

Previously, the Constitutional Court had ruled that the authority to manage public property belonged to the entity, and the right of ownership belonged to the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

AA