KOVAČEVIĆ: STANIVUKOVIĆ IS TRYING TO "CLEAN HIS IMAGE" IN FRONT OF THE PUBLIC

BANJA LUKA, JULY 10 /SRNA/ – The spokesperson of SNSD, Radovan Kovačević, said that the statement by PDP President Draško Stanivuković – that PDP would not participate in early elections if the Appellate Panel upheld the first-instance verdict against President of Srpska Milorad Dodik – is an attempt to "clean his image" in front of the public of Srpska.

"At first glance, someone might think this is nationally responsible politics, but in reality, it is just an attempt to justify themselves before the public of Republika Srpska," Kovačević emphasized. He stated that one should not forget the statement made last year by the head of the PDP caucus in the National Assembly of Republika Srpska, Igor Crnadak, who was the first to openly announce that early elections would be held this year. "Crnadak said he had information that there would be early elections this year, and that PDP needed to start preparing as soon as possible," Kovačević noted. He reminded that SNSD spoke about this when Stanivuković organized protests in February. "At the time, the public did not understand why someone would run such a campaign in a non-election year. However, they were preparing for early elections," Kovačević stated for RTRS. He said that what they are doing now is an admission that their joint attempt to overthrow the democratically elected President of Srpska had failed. "They attempted it together with Christian Schmidt. They failed to achieve it, and now they are trying to 'wash their hands' in front of the public. But they worked together with Schmidt," stressed Kovačević, who is also a Serb delegate in the House of Peoples of the BiH Parliamentary Assembly. He reminded that Stanivuković welcomed Schmidt at the highest level, even though the National Assembly of Republika Srpska had declared that Schmidt is not the High Representative and that there should be no talks with him. "Stanivuković humiliated the Serb people by taking Schmidt to the memorial of the '12 Banja Luka Babies'. He ran to him in Sarajevo at the session of the non-existent PIC, which does not exist under the Constitution and the Dayton Agreement," said Kovačević. He added that Stanivuković used the opportunity there to speak against Republika Srpska and its representatives. "It is obvious that he asked Schmidt to clear the path for him and politically remove Dodik because they cannot defeat him in elections. Now they are admitting that they have failed in all of this. We in Republika Srpska have defeated them again and we will defeat them in the upcoming elections," Kovačević said.