DODIK: ILLUSION OF CREATING AN ARTIFICIAL NATION IN BiH DEFEATED IN STRASBOURG

BANJA LUKA, JUNE 25 /SRNA/ – The President of Republika Srpska Milorad Dodik stated that a major illusion—that BiH could become a Bosniak-Muslim state—was defeated in Strasbourg.

"The Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights confirmed what we have been saying for years—BiH is neither a 'civic' nor a 'Bosnian' state, but a complex country of three constituent peoples: Serbs, Croats, and Bosniaks," Dodik wrote on the social network X. He emphasized that the attempt to quietly erase the Serbian and Croatian peoples and create an artificial nation called "Bosnians" has failed. "That is not in Dayton, it is not the reality, and it is not supported by the court in Strasbourg either," Dodik stressed. He added that an awakening is coming for the Bosniak political elite—they have been left without mentors, without support, and without the politics that fed them illusions. "The era of unitarism is over. The time has come for dialogue, compromise, and mutual respect. BiH belongs to all of us—and it will never be anyone’s exclusive possession. There are no more rulings on demand. There is Dayton. There is the Constitution. There is Republika Srpska," declared the President of Srpska. The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg overturned the initial verdict in the case of Slaven Kovačević v. BiH—the Grand Chamber determined that Kovačević’s human rights were not violated. In 2023, the Court initially ruled that Kovačević was discriminated against because, as a resident of the Federation of BiH, he could not vote for the Serb member of the Presidency and faced ethnic and territorial restrictions when electing delegates to the House of Peoples of the Parliamentary Assembly. BiH appealed the verdict through its legal representative, arguing that the ruling would deeply affect the Constitution of BiH and alter its two-entity structure if implemented.