Dodik sticks to referendum plan despite international condemnation

SETimes.com

Republika Srpska (RS) President Milorad Dodik reiterated on Wednesday (May 4th) that the entity's parliament will not withdraw its decision to hold a referendum on the BiH Court and Prosecutor's Office.

Dodik met with BiH High Representative Valentin Inzko and US Ambassador Patrick Moon to discuss the situation. He pointed out that the talks did not refer to a possible reaction by the international community in the event the RS parliament fails to give up its referendum plan.

The entity's parliament decided on April 13th to call a referendum on High Representative-imposed laws, particularly the BiH Court and Prosecutor's Office, claiming the two judicial institutions are biased with regards to war crimes cases involving Serbs.

RS's plan also came under criticism from the European Parliament and Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) Rapporteur Doris Pack on Tuesday (May 3rd).

In a meeting with RS Parliament Speaker Igor Radojcic in Brussels, she stressed that the decision would not help solve problems in the country. Pack voiced dissatisfaction with the slow pace of forming state-level authorities since the October 2010 elections.

Inzko, in an interview with TV RS, also said that RS cannot hold a referendum on issues that are not within its competencies. He reiterated that both judicial institutions were established according to the law.

"The Bosnian Serb secessionist politics paralyse BiH, and Dodik and his associates could get harsh penalties if they do not give up the referendum," Inzko warned earlier in a statement for the London Guardian.

EU senior official Miroslav Lajcak, who met with Dodik in Banja Luka in late April, reiterated that international officials oppose the referendum.

Dodik, however, said that RS will not abandon the plan and will have an answer should Inzko impose sanctions, but declined to say what the answer would be.

The RS national assembly decided to call a referendum in which the RS citizens would decide on the laws from the start of the Office of the High Representative's mandate in BiH, especially the BiH Court.

Dodik claims the BiH Court "was illegally established" and opposes prosecution of war crimes committed by Serbs during the 1990s BiH conflict.
The referendum decision, published on April 27th in the RS Official Gazette, will be held in early June.

Banja Luka-based political analyst Tanja Topic says the whole referendum story is "senseless", pointing out that every country, including BiH, should have a State Court and Prosecutor's Office.

She predicts RS authorities will not withdraw the referendum decision, instead, will "go all the way".

However, Professor Sacir Filandra of the Faculty of Political Sciences in Sarajevo disagrees, telling SETimes, "Inzko … will not allow, by certain political restrictions, a radicalisation of the situation in RS. On the other hand, I do not expect Dodik to stubbornly insist on the referendum. It can be expected that the whole thing, in a way, gets extended and blades on both sides diminish."