PAJIĆ-BAŠTINAC: SCHMIDT IS NEITHER HIGH REPRESENTATIVE NOR AUTHORITY - IT IS SRPSKA'S POSITION, NOT JUST PRESIDENT DODIK'S

BANJA LUKA, JUNE 6 /SRNA/ - Christian Schmidt is not the High Representative, which is an indisputable fact, as he was not appointed by the UN Security Council, which he himself admitted last year. Instead, he was appointed by a non-Dayton body called the Peace Implementation Council /PIC/, Jelena Pajić-Baštinac, the secretary general to Republika Srpska president, sited in her SRNA statement.

Pajić-Baštinac emphasized that Schmidt himself admitted he only has PIC confirmation, so it is not some whim that the entire Republika Srpska does not recognise him—not just, as is deliberately emphasized, President Milorad Dodik. When asked to comment on the statement by the British envoy to the Western Balkans, Karen Pierce, who said that "BiH remains fragile, particularly because of actions taken by Milorad Dodik in Republika Srpska," and that "a challenge is Dodik's refusal to recognise the authority of Schmidt, whom Britain respects" and considers "a good public servant," Pajić-Baštinac told SRNA that President Dodik and Republika Srpska respect the Dayton Peace Agreement, and that the PIC is not a Dayton category and has no legal authority to appoint a High Representative. "For us in Republika Srpska, Christian Schmidt is not the High Representative, nor does he have any authority - especially when we look back at the last year and a half and see that the entire politically staged court process against President Dodik was orchestrated precisely because he does not recognize Schmidt or, as the British envoy says, his authority. Schmidt is neither the High Representative nor an authority. Authorities are the legitimately elected officials of Republika Srpska and BiH, not tourists who come to our country and create political and constitutional chaos," said Pajić-Baštinac. She points out that it's clear based on all these statements by certain envoys, that the main reason for initiating legal proceedings against President Dodik and imposing Schmidt's law is the lack of any real Schmidt's authority, since his appointment was never confirmed therefore illegal. As a result, pressure and blackmail are being used to try to extract some sort of recognition for Schmidt from Republika Srpska and its political representatives. "The fact is that he is not an authority, and it will be very difficult to fix the chaos caused by Michael Murphy and Christian Schmidt. These clichés from various envoys about supporting Schmidt no longer hold any real weight. We can only wish them all to have Christian Schmidt of their own, then they’d experience legal and every other kind of chaos in their own countries," she said. Pajić-Baštinac also said it was quite shameless of the British to lecture Republika Srpska about being “unique” in having a High Representative, considering their own history and everything they’ve done in the past - something they, and the people who lived under their boot, know very well. Regarding Pierce's statement that they do not expect violence or conflict in BiH, Pajić Baštinac welcomed the acknowledgment and the awareness that there is no danger of conflict in BiH, since Republika Srpska does not want war. She pointed out that it is the Bosniak political structure that has been pushing that narrative, rattling weapons and promoting new armaments, drones, and the like. She concluded that not much significance should be given to the statements of certain envoys, as they are mostly individuals whom even the countries that appointed them did not know what to do with - so they assigned them to comment on the affairs of countries they know little or nothing about, aside from what Schmidt or someone from Bosniak political circles feeds them, which is always one-sided and, of course, directed against President Milorad Dodik, Republika Srpska, and the Serb people.