STEVANDIĆ: SRPSKA HAS RIGHT TO DEFEND ITSELF AND USE ALL AVAILABLE MEANS

BANJA LUKA, FEBRUARY 10 /SRNA/ - Republika Srpska National Assembly Speaker Nenad Stevandić says Republika Srpska has the right to defend itself and use all available means, whose parliament is the greatest Srpska's bastion and the most powerful tool that has withstood all challenges.

"The National Assembly protects the Republika Srpska Government, the president, providing legitimacy to everyone," Stevandić stated at a press conference in Banja Luka today. He emphasizes he is proud of the Republika Srpska National Assembly's work, as last year’s attacks aimed at undermining all of Srpska's institutions and imprisoning their leaders were thwarted. Responding to a journalist's question about the success of the self-determination narrative for Republika Srpska, announced by SNSD leader Milorad Dodik, Stevandić says this is currently a political initiative. "Republika Srpska has the right to defend itself and use all possible means. The Srpska Parliament is the most powerful tool that has withstood all challenges," emphasized Stevandić. He also said that Savo Minić was appointed the prime minister for the first and second time by Milorad Dodik, regardless of the fact that it was signed for the second time by Ana Trišić-Babić, because Dodik is the leader of SNSD, of which Trišić-Babić is a member. "Republika Srpska's victory is in this and proof that one cannot dispute the will of the people," said Stevandić. Speaking about today's meeting of the Republika Srpska National Assembly's Advisory Board, Stevandić says the Advisory Board decided to hold a special session of the Srpska Parliament on Tuesday, February 17, at the request of the opposition, regarding the situation in the dairy industry of Republika Srpska. "We have an obligation to schedule the session and a vote on the session agenda, which I personally consider to have been scheduled as part of a dirty political campaign, because the Republika Srpska Government and the dairy farmers have already agreed on how to solve certain issues," Stevandić emphasized. He added that he would not support this special session or this agenda item, stating that it is about pure abuse and a continuation of the smear campaign against the institutions of Republika Srpska. Stevandić confirmed that the regular session of the Srpska Parliament would continue on the same day. He mentioned that a recent dirty campaign of National Assembly deputies, Nebojša Vukanović and Igor Crnadak, was focused on the costs of the Republika Srpska Parliament from last year, amounting to BAM 91,000. "These funds were not spent on the Parliament speaker and his office, but were the total costs of all MPs, all government, opposition delegations, and caucuses," explained Stevandić. He stated that the acting Republika Srpska President Ana Trišić-Babić, National Assembly Speaker, Serb member of the BiH Presidency Željka Cvijanović, and especially SNSD leader Milorad Dodik, unlike the opposition, have reached all globally known destinations and centres and have protected the position of Republika Srpska, achieving significant results. Stevandić emphasized that Igor Crnadak, when serving as a minister in the Council of Ministers, was spending BAM 1.5 million annually on travel and representation during his two-year mandate, mostly using it to "slander Republika Srpska and Milorad Dodik". He said that all costs of the Republika Srpska National Assembly should be published immediately, even the smallest receipts, adding that these are the smallest costs in history that have been the dirty campaign’s target. Regarding the accusations made by the Minister of Foreign Affairs in the Council of Ministers, Elmedin Konaković, against the leadership of Republika Srpska, Stevandić says there is no need to comment on them, as it concerns "the level of a child who lost their rattle." "His behaviour is harmful to both the FBiH and Republika Srpska and their mutual relations," Stevandić stressed. He concluded that Republika Srpska will continue with its policies, as it is superior in every regard.