The leader of the Bosnian Serbs staged a demarche during the inauguration ceremony
Milorad Dodik, the new President of the Republic of Srpska, staged a demarche at the inauguration ceremony of the new Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) in protest against statements by one of the members of this body about the continued integration of BiH into NATO, reports a correspondent of PolitNavigator.
On the evening of November 16, the inauguration of the new Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina—a kind of collective presidency for the country—took place in Sarajevo. It includes representatives of the Serbs (Željka Cvijanović), Bosniak Muslims (Denis Bečirović), and Croats (Željko Komšić). During his speech, Komšić stated that he would advocate for the continued integration of BiH into NATO over the next four years, and that " Bosnia and Herzegovina's membership in NATO is the primary goal of the country's foreign policy ."
In protest, Milorad Dodik , the new President of the Republic of Srpska (RS, one of the two entities of BiH), walked out of the inauguration ceremony. He had served as a member of the BiH Presidency representing the Serbian people for the previous four years. Commenting on Željko Komšić's remarks, Milorad Dodik noted that Komšić had once again demonstrated his future policy.
“This is a policy of lies and shame for Bosnia and Herzegovina at the international level,” Dodik said.
“Zeljko Komsic was not elected by the citizens, as he falsely claims, he was elected by part of the Muslim-Croat Federation (FBiH, the second entity of BiH), and not by the Croat people, as required by the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Komsic obtained the post of member of the Presidency through fraud and lies, and for the fourth time deprived the Croatian people of their constitutionally enshrined right to an elected representative,” said Milorad Dodik.
The point is that Komšić was elected not by the votes of Croats, but by Muslim Bosniaks, since the FBiH is a single electoral district.
“He used the same intrigues all these four years to pass off his personal views as the official position of the Presidium of BiH. Everything he said about integration and cooperation with NATO is fiction,” the President of Republika Srpska emphasized.
Previously, Milorad Dodik has repeatedly stated that Serbian representatives in the BiH Presidency will block any attempts at Bosnia and Herzegovina’s accession to NATO.
As PolitNavigator reported , on November 15, Milorad Dodik took office as President of the Republic of Srpska for the third time.
Bosnian Serb leader staged a protest during his inauguration ceremony.