Bosnia’s Ambassador to Israel dismissed on Friday claims made by the Bosnian Serb leader that her work has been detrimental to relations between Israel and the Bosnian Serb region, Republika Srpska, saying that over the past three years she had organised several visits to Israel for state officials coming from Republika Srpska.
The Bosnian Serb members of the country’s tripartite Presidency said he will request the dismissal of 16 Bosnian ambassadors worldwide because they have not been internationally promoting the Serb-dominated region of Bosnia he comes from.
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When he was elected in October, Milorad Dodik announced he will only be working for the benefit of Republika Srpska (RS), the semi-autonomous half of Bosnia he was president and prime minister of for years and which he said should secede from Bosnia and become an independent country or part of neighbouring Serbia.
Dodik said on Thursday that he plans to dismiss 16 ethnic Serb ambassadors from Bosnia. He said that the decision has already been made and that it only needs to be confirmed by the Presidency.
“I agree with the view what we have had no use from those people, that they did not work and did not consult Republika Srpska on any issue,” Dodik said.
He named Bosnia’s Ambassador in Israel as an example, saying she will be dismissed immediately.
But Dodik alone can not dismiss them as all decision require a consensus among Bosnia’s three presidents, each representing his own ethnic group – Bosniaks, Serbs and Croats.
“Mr Dodik has the legal right to dismiss and name ambassadors, but how legitimate that is and the way it is being done could be questionable. I don’t see why he needed an excuse in form of satanising 16 people, accusing them of what is not true, and I am sure he knows that well,” Bosnia’s Ambassador in Israel, Jelena Rajakovic, said.
She dismissed Dodik’s accusation that her work has been detrimental to relations between Israel and Republika Srpska, saying that, throughout the past three years, several official visits were organised involving officials from Republika Srpska who serve state-level positions.
Former Bosnian Serb Presidency member Mladen Ivanic, ministers Mirko Sarovic, Dragan Mektic and Igor Crnadak had visited Israel, as well as officials from the RS government.
“All of those people were legally elected to the highest offices throughout the past four years. Someone may agree with that or not, but it needs to be respected,” she said.
The Bosnian Embassy in Israel did its job according to laws and procedures, taking into account the positions of the hosting country, as well as Bosnia’s population structure and its three majority peoples, she said, adding that her mandate expires next month.
N1 contacted the office of the Croat member of the Presidency, Zeljko Komsic, for comment.
Komsic’s stance on the issue will be made public after he consults with the other two presidency members, his office said.
“We want to remind again that decisions on appointments are within the domain of foreign affairs, and are exclusively made by consensus,” Komsic’s office concluded.
