KARAN: SRPSKA INSTITUTIONS AND THEIR FUNCTIONING WILL BE PRESERVED

BANJA LUKA, FEBRUARY 18 /SRNA/ – Republika Srpska President, Siniša Karan, stated that the Srpska institutions and their full functioning will be preserved despite various obstructions.

Karan emphasized that Republika Srpska is now being engaged in dialogue and that its positions are being respected and heard, which was not previously the case. “Diplomatic activities of the Srpska top officials and its representatives have contributed to it. The narrative portraying Serbs as the bad guys has changed for the better,” Karan said. Karan assessed that no agreement imposed under pressure or force can survive in BiH, as it lacks the legitimacy of representatives of all three constituent peoples. He believes that many previously unconstitutional and imposed measures, which have functioned in BiH for three decades, will also not endure. Based on his own long-term study of constitutional law, Karan stated that the Dayton-based BiH is disintegrating. “Something that does not have the legitimacy of all three constituent peoples in BiH – Bosniaks, Croats, and Serbs – cannot survive. It would have been better if internationals, especially through the high representative and judicial institutions, had not interfered in the internal relations of BiH,” Karan told RTRS. He pointed out that his policy toward Bosniaks and Croats is peace and dialogue, but never at the cost of transferring competencies from Republika Srpska to the BiH level - the red line being the survival of the Dayton-based Srpska and its property. “Those who believe they are more equal or have greater rights than other constituent peoples in BiH are the ones undermining BiH. Our struggle for the Dayton-based Srpska is not a struggle against BiH, for which the activities of Milorad Dodik, Željka Cvijanović, and others internationally deserve credit,” Karan emphasized. Karan called on all Serb representatives in the joint institutions of BiH, whether in government or opposition, to use the Dayton-based mechanisms to protect Srpska’s interests. Referring to a recent meeting with the Chargé d’Affaires of the U.S. Embassy, John Ginkel, Karan said he insisted on respecting the constitutional and the Dayton-based Srpska competencies. “His main message was that American businessmen want to invest in Srpska. That speaks to our political and overall stability, because money in that regard is the true measure,” Karan said. He also noted that people in Srpska proved whom they trust in the recent elections. “Our entire campaign was directed against the illegitimate Christian Schmidt, who has no right to pass laws in BiH and whom Srpska does not recognise. It was a campaign against all legal and other forms of violations contrary to the Dayton-based Constitution,” Karan stated. He added that he did not even mention his opponent in the repeat snap presidential elections in Srpska. “He was not my opponent. Our opponents were the international community, the judicial institutions of BiH, and similar. The people recognised that,” Karan concluded.