The new Bosnian Serb member of the tripartite Presidency, Milorad Dodik, wants to swap out capable officials with people loyal to him, the Serb Democratic Party (SDS) said, reacting to Dodik’s announcement that he will initiate dismissals of Serb officials in state institutions.
Dodik’s Party, the Alliance of Independent Social Democrats (SNSD), has defeated its bitter political opponents, the SDS and their partners, in the October General Election both at the state level and in the Government of the semi-autonomous Serb-dominated part of the country, Republika Srpska (RS).
For the past four years, however, his party was in power only in the RS, while his opponents represented Serbs in state-level institutions.
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On Wednesday, a day after he was inaugurated, Dodik announced the dismissals of Serbs in state institutions. He has, throughout recent years, repeatedly been saying they were traitors and accusing them of working against the RS and Bosnian Serbs.
“I call upon them to resign. Some of them, maybe, can stay, we will see,” he said of the officials.
The SDS reacted on Thursday.
“The Serb Democratic Party strongly condemns the intention of the Serb member of Bosnia’s Presidency, Milorad Dodik, to dismiss Serbs in joint institutions and in the Council of Ministers,” the party said in a press release.
Dodik has, in his political campaign, divided the Serb people with “political pressure, threats and blackmail,” it said.
“After the election, he began to speak about all-Serb unity in Bosnia, hoping that he will rule over all political parties from the inside and that he will in this way throw them under his despotic boot,” the statement said.
Since Dodik cannot do this with the SDS and some other parties, “Dodik once again showed his true face,” the party said, calling the Bosnian Serb leader “aggressive and insolent.”
“It is clear that Dodik wants only one thing: to swap out capable people with party followers,” the press release said.
The party also added that Dodik used to be opposed to increasing the budget of state-level institutions, and now that he is a member of the State Presidency, he is asking for “millions to be poured into the Presidency.”
“Dodik is forgetting what he was saying,” the party said, reminding the public of Dodik’s pledge not to enter the Bosnian Presidency building until a flag of Republika Srpska is put up there.
“There was no flag, but there was a request for additional millions to increase the budget of the Bosnian Presidency,” the statement said.
The party also said that the Bosnian Serb leader is suddenly “not bothered” by Bosniak Presidency member Sefik Dzaferovic, whom he previously accused of being a war criminal.
