BUDIMIR: DAYTON BiH DOES NOT EXIST, EITHER LEGALLY OR IN REALITY

BANJA LUKA, MARCH 18 /SRNA/ - Željko Budimir, Minister of the Interior of Republika Srpska, assessed that Dayton BiH no longer exists either legally or in practice, and that the growing international crisis has the potential to spill over into internal relations, further deepening existing divisions.

Budimir noted that in Sarajevo, everyone invokes the Dayton Agreement when it suits them. He believes that the problem lies in the fact that Bosniaks within the institutions at the level of BiH have created a political culture of dominance, which is very dangerous. “What does that lead to? It leads to a situation where Sena Uzunović no longer respects anything, and it is clear that the judiciary is completely serving a particular political agenda. The saddest part is that some Croats and Serbs are participating in this, thinking it will not affect them,” Budimir told RTRS. He stated that the threat in BiH stems from attempts to “decapitate” one people, explaining that the president of Republika Srpska was stripped of his mandate outside the Constitution and convicted, referring to the most powerful political figure in the Balkans, Milorad Dodik. Budimir believes that BiH can function exclusively through an agreement among domestic political actors, but that this is precisely where one of the key problems of contemporary political life in the country lies. He said that over the past decades, a specific political culture has developed, often described as a protectorate-style culture, in which international actors play a significant role, along with domestic political elites shaped by particular historical circumstances. “One of the theses frequently appearing in the public sphere is the idea of attempts to create a ‘synthetic nation’ and a ‘synthetic state.’ Such an approach implies suppressing the historical continuity and identity of the constituent peoples - Serbs, Croats, and Bosniaks, while seeking to shape a new, unified identity based on the civic principle,” Željko Budimir stated. According to him, a particularly sensitive issue concerns the interpretation and application of the Dayton Agreement, adding that Sarajevo invokes it when it suits its interests.