ĐOKIĆ: ERA OF INTERNATIONAL PROTECTORATE IN BiH IS OVER

BANJA LUKA, JULY 14 /SRNA/ – Socialist Party /SP/ leader Petar Đokić said the Peace Implementation Council's /PIC/ failure to agree on a candidate for High Representative confirms that the time has come to end the international protectorate in BiH.

"The lack of consensus among the major powers clearly shows that the model of appointments and governance from outside BiH no longer works," Đokić said. He stressed that the failure to reach agreement was not accidental but rather the logical consequence of a policy that seeks to impose an international protectorate instead of respecting the country's sovereignty and the will of its citizens, the Socialist Party said in a statement. Đokić added that the final appointment of a High Representative must be made by the UN Security Council, while the Peace Implementation Council can only nominate a candidate. "The European Union's persistent effort to ensure that its own candidate is selected and accepted as High Representative demonstrates how detached these attempts are from reality and legitimacy. They represent a crude effort to impose imperial ambitions through appointments and political pressure while ignoring the will of the people and destabilizing the region," Đokić stated. He called on all domestic political actors, civil society and international partners to use the PIC's failure as an opportunity to end the international protectorate and restore BiH's sovereignty. "A domestic solution based on the Dayton Peace Accords and the responsibility of elected representatives is the only path to lasting stability," Đokić said. The Peace Implementation Council, which is not established under the Dayton Peace Accords, failed today to reach agreement on the appointment of a new High Representative.