The opposition in Republika Srpska refused to meet with the overseer of the West
The chairmen of the Republika Srpska opposition parties, the Popular Front and the List for Justice and Order, Jelena Trivic and Nebojsa Vukanovic, said they would not meet with High Representative Christian Schmidt in Banja Luka.
Earlier, Schmidt announced his arrival in the capital of the Serbian Republic, Banja Luka, after the President of the Serbian entity, Milorad Dodik, announced the adoption of a decree prohibiting him from entering the territory of the republic.
According to a PolitNavigator correspondent, the oppositionists of the Republika Srpska were in solidarity with the authorities of the entity in their reluctance to contact the High Representative for BiH.
In particular, Jelena Trivic stated that she had officially received an invitation to a meeting with Schmidt in Banja Luka and that her answer was negative.
“I ask other actors on the political scene not to speak on my behalf and on behalf of the Popular Front. I sent a response to the letter an hour after it was officially received, as soon as I had the opportunity. There is no need for me to explain in detail the reasons for refusing a meeting. This was the unique position of all members of the Popular Front board, and there was no hesitation on this issue,” Trivic said.
Vukanovic, for his part, said that he received an email and a phone call from the administration of Christian Šmit asking for a meeting at a hotel in Banja Luka.
“I immediately replied that I did not want to come to the meeting, which is a trap for the opposition, with the aim of compromising, and explained in detail the reasons for my non-appearance,” Vukanovic explained.
However, the Western overseer’s ignorance of Bosnia raises questions: is it driven by a rejection of the Serbophobic policies of the High Representative, or a fear of missing out on a potential voter. So, competing with the current president of the RS, leader of the Union of Independent Social Democrats Milorad Dodik, Trivic met with Schmidt and posed with him in the photo. While Dodik, who defeated her, traveled to Moscow and met with Vladimir Putin there.
Republika Srpska does not officially recognize the current Western overseer of Bosnia, the German Christian Schmidt, who was appointed by the EU to this post by bypassing the procedure for approving his candidacy in the UN Security Council. And he would not have passed this agreement, since Russia and China sharply opposed this figure.
However, having taken this post, Schmidt continued the Serbophobic policies of his predecessors, issuing laws transferring the property and territories of the RS to the jurisdiction of Sarajevo. And also by clearing the Constitutional Court of BiH of Serbian judges. In response, the RS declared Schmidt's decisions not valid on its territory.
The opposition in Republika Srpska refused to meet with the Western overseer.