DODIK: DEBATE ON SCHMIDT EXPECTED AT UN AS CIRCUMSTANCES SHIFT

BANJA LUKA, MAY 5 /SRNA/ – SNSD President Milorad Dodik expects the United Nations Security Council to hold a debate on Christian Schmidt, whose appointment he described as legally disputed.

Dodik said the situation has changed, noting that the new US administration has indicated it will not deal with the issue due to doubts about what had taken place. "The Government of Republika Srpska has submitted a report, and our friends Russia and China, permanent members of the UN Security Council, will have accurate information before them", Dodik said. He pointed out that Annex 10 of the Dayton Agreement stipulates that the High Representative is appointed at the proposal of the signatories to that annex, including Republika Srpska, and confirmed by a UN Security Council resolution. "We have seen that the US Congress Foreign Affairs Committee, when considering this situation, concluded that Christian Schmidt is highly detrimental and that his appointment is legally disputed. This was also established by the relevant committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH", Dodik said, adding that representatives of Russia and China have reached similar conclusions. Dodik said Schmidt's decisions have had consequences and that he believes there is potential criminal responsibility for them. Republika Srpska, he said, has decided to endure what it must, as the current judicial system of BiH will one day have to be dismantled and it will be shown that Judge Sena Uzunović and others unfit for judicial office acted with clear political motives. "One day, Uzunović will be labeled as a dishonest and politically motivated judge who abused the law. If someone failed to convict those responsible for the killing of Professor Gavrilović's family in Konjic, then they are not just people, but accomplices in murder. And then such a person comes to judge us on political grounds", Dodik noted. He added that a number of lawyers are working on a case related to US sanctions imposed on him, arguing that former US President Joseph Biden signed decisions using an autopen, which the current US administration considers a violation of the law. "I believe there is also a higher moral responsibility and that the conscience of Uzunović and Schmidt will be awakened", Dodik stated.