AT TOP OF REPUBLIKA SRPSKA'S POLITICS FOR ABOUT ANOTHER 15 YEARS

BANJA LUKA, JANUARY 21 /SRNA/ - The leader of the SNSD, Milorad Dodik, said that he intends to remain at the top of Republika Srpska's politics for about another 15 years, and that he is confident Republika Srpska is entering a year of peace, stability, and progress.

“Republika Srpska is stable; things are not exactly as we would like, but that is the case in all countries around the world. We do not need BiH,” Dodik emphasized, adding that people in Republika Srpska must finally learn to focus on their own interests. He emphasized that the problems Republika Srpska is still facing today began back in 2006, when he returned to the Government and decided to adhere strictly to the letter of the Dayton Agreement. Those problems, he added, have persisted continuously, whether involving high representatives, the Constitutional Court of BiH, and now the illegal Christian Schmidt. Speaking about Schmidt, he said that he is a pathological liar and that everything he has done has been done against Republika Srpska. “The people choose the policies I lead, and that is evident through elections. They believed they should enter into a shameless showdown with our party, so they fabricated a story claiming that the fourth member of the House of Peoples is disputed,” Dodik told RTRS. He described the Court of BiH as a corrupt institution, saying that when one speaks of a court, it should imply something honorable and independent; however, he emphasized that this one was created to place a final seal on Republika Srpska. He also pointed out that Republika Srpska has been deprived of its electoral rights, noting that two and a half months after the early presidential election, any vote held cannot be considered a repeat election but rather a new election. “Siniša Karan won the election,” said the leader of the SNSD, the party that he says promotes new people. He added that the locations chosen for repeating the election were precisely those where the SNSD wins the election, that campaigning was banned, and people are punished for saying anything, which, he noted, leads to Republika Srpska reaffirming its goals, adopting a new constitution, and passing an Election Law of Republika Srpska. When it comes to the opposition, Dodik asked why the public has still not heard the position of SDS President Branko Blanuša on Srebrenica, whether he was in Bratunac, what his stance is toward Schmidt, and what his views are on the future of BiH. “You hear nothing from him, only attacks,” Dodik said, adding that he respects Blanuša’s academic credentials but believes he lacks political knowledge, as being a professor is not the same as operational work in the field. He also touched on the issue of Greenland, noting that Europe has now suddenly remembered the rule of law, but did not do so in the case of Kosovo, nor when it came to the Dayton, Kumanovo, and Minsk agreements. “I can hardly wait for /U.S. President Donald/ Trump to resolve the issue of Greenland,” Dodik said. He pointed out that European officials here talk about the rule of law, but for them, that means the court's ruling in accordance with decisions imposed by a foreigner.