KOVAČEVIĆ: RULING COALITION BUILDS BRIDGES AND REMOVES IMPOSED BLOCKADE

BANJA LUKA, MAY 21 /SRNA/ - The ruling coalition in Republika Srpska has demonstrated that it knows how to govern Srpska, describing it as a team that builds and opens bridges while dismantling imposed blockades, Serb delegate in the House of Peoples of the BiH Parliamentary Assembly Radovan Kovačević said.

Kovačević noted that the ruling coalition agreed at its latest meeting to continue leading Republika Srpska with the same objective - protecting the interests of Srpska. "There are always disagreements, but we work together. What matters is that it did not take us even two minutes to agree that SNSD would nominate the candidates and that the coalition would support them", said Kovačević, also the SNSD spokesperson. He explained that the names of candidates for the upcoming elections have not yet been announced because doing so would shift the focus solely onto the elections, which is not the goal of the political parties making up the ruling coalition in Republika Srpska. He added that the election campaign should last one month, while the period before that should be used to work for the benefit of Republika Srpska and its citizens, including raising salaries and pensions. "We expect that, despite inflation, Republika Srpska will ensure income growth. There is still time for candidates. Nobody doubts that SNSD has winning candidates who represent a far more serious political offer than anything the opposition can provide", Kovačević told RTRS. Regarding Christian Schmidt and his actions in BiH, Kovačević said Schmidt had made extremely negative decisions against Republika Srpska, while SNSD leader Milorad Dodik was the first to stand in defense of Srpska. "That was their goal - for us to be targeted. Milorad Dodik stepped forward first and stood in front of Republika Srpska. Now there is neither Michael Murphy nor Christian Schmidt. We demanded that Schmidt leave, and we removed sanctions against people from Republika Srpska that had been imposed because they fought for Republika Srpska. We succeeded in removing those sanctions in a very short period. Our results are visible, and we are continuing forward in a better environment", Kovačević stressed. Speaking about the announced investment plan in Republika Srpska, Kovačević said that public investment projects worth nearly BAM seven billion are underway across Srpska. Commenting on the opening of the new Gradiška border crossing, Kovačević said he was pleased that it had finally opened. "We see what is happening at the borders, where we are harassed and treated like second-rate citizens. We will continue working so that citizens of Republika Srpska can travel on their own route to Belgrade, which is an important point for us. The bridge in Gradiška has finally been opened. Look at the connectivity Sarajevo has with the EU and compare it to Banja Luka's connectivity with the Union. This is the connectivity of Banja Luka that we fought for over decades. We have finally proven what we were building the highway toward, the progress of Republika Srpska,” Kovačević underlined. Commenting on a statement by SDS president Branko Blanuša in Sarajevo media that the issue of state property should be resolved in the Parliamentary Assembly, Kovačević described it as scandalous. "I do not like using harsh words in politics, but there are not enough harsh words for the nonsense that SDS president Branko Blanuša said in Sarajevo. It is scandalous, a disgrace for SDS and for all of Republika Srpska. We have been fighting for 20 years to preserve Republika Srpska property, which they want to seize, and if they succeed, Republika Srpska will no longer have any reason to exist", Kovačević concluded.