KOVAČEVIĆ: THOSE WHO CREATED NON-PAPER ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR CRISIS IN BiH

BANJA LUKA, MAY 22 /SRNA/ - Radovan Kovačević, a Serb member of the House of Peoples of the BiH Parliamentary Assembly, said that the existence of a non-paper from France and Germany represents a highly hypocritical and shameful approach to the crisis in BiH, which was caused precisely by people from these addresses.

Kovačević emphasized that no one from BiH caused the crisis, but rather that Germany sent its representative to BiH because it didn’t know what else to do with him. “This is, of course, about Christian Schmidt, who came here without a mandate from the UN Security Council, meaning without the type of legitimacy defined by the Dayton Agreement as mandatory. He arrived here with no legitimacy whatsoever and did things that the Constitution of BiH prohibits,” Kovačević said. He pointed out that the Constitution of BiH explicitly says that the only body at the BiH level authorized to pass and amend laws is the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH. “Then came Christian Schmidt from Germany, and contrary to the Constitution and the Dayton Agreement, began changing and imposing laws. That is what caused the crisis in BiH, that is an attack on the constitutional order. When you do something that has consequences, and the Constitution prohibits it, there is no more direct example of an attack on the constitutional order than that,” Kovačević emphasized. He reiterated that it was a German national without legitimacy who caused and created the crisis in BiH, while the President of Republika Srpska, Milorad Dodik, the Speaker of the National Assembly, Nenad Stevandić, and Prime Minister Radovan Višković respected the Constitution and did not violate a single law in BiH. "According to the Criminal Code of BiH, which was adopted by the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH, the offense for which Dodik was convicted in the first-instance procedure does not exist. The actions undertaken by Dodik, Višković, and Stevandić in their institutional roles cannot be characterized as an attack on the constitutional order," Kovačević said. He emphasized that no such offense exists in the Criminal Code of BiH adopted by the Parliamentary Assembly, yet Germany and France, in a non-paper they haven’t officially endorsed, claim that Republika Srpska is to blame for everything. Kovačević asked why they claim that Republika Srpska is to blame for everything when Srpska was actually defending itself from a blatant attack on the constitutional order of BiH. "That is unacceptable, and there is no more hypocritical approach than this. Instead of talking with us, as representatives of what should be an independent and sovereign country, you talk about us, and only in terms of how to punish us, not Milorad Dodik personally, but how to punish the entire Republika Srpska and all of its citizens," Kovačević said. He added that they are saying no project should be allowed if Republika Srpska is to benefit in any way. "Do they think it will be possible to adopt any project for any part of BiH in the BiH institutions, where we also make decisions? It is clear — if there are no projects for Srpska, we will not support projects for the Federation of BiH, because that would be unfair," Kovačević emphasized. He called on everyone to get serious and understand that the sole and exclusive culprit for the crisis in BiH is the German Christian Schmidt, who was sent to BiH by the German government. "That is the only thing that caused the situation we are currently in. Only through dialogue among internal actors in BiH, and then between domestic actors and international partners, is it possible to find a sustainable solution to overcome this crisis," Kovačević told RTRS. Chief of the General Staff of the Serbian Armed Forces, Milan Mojsilović, said that Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić today informed the members of the National Security Council about the non-paper drafted by France and Germany concerning BiH, which also pertains to Republika Srpska.