Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik is a voice of reason in the situation regarding Croatia's Peljesac bridge construction and Bosnia's claims to open sea, Croatian Euro Parliamentarian Zeljana Zovko told N1 on Wednesday.
“This is blurring of reality. This is what I previously warned about, after the election of the other Bosniak member of Bosnia's Presidency. There was a disbalance and now we have a Serb member of the Presidency who is its Chairman and is currently the voice of reason, protecting Bosnia's interests and does not want to put this on the agenda. He also does not want Bosnia to deal with absurd lawsuits that serve to mislead the public,” Zovko said.
The Bosniak and Croat members of the tripartite Presidency agreed on Tuesday that Bosnia should sue Croatia over the construction of a bridge connecting a peninsula to the mainland, but the Serb Presidency member said he vetoed it because it would violate Serb national interests.
Bosnia's Presidency consists of representative of the countries three constituent peoples, Bosniaks, Serbs and Croats, where the Bosniak and Croat members are elected in Bosnia's semi-autonomous entity called the Federation, where Bosniaks and Croats make the majority peoples, and the Serb member comes from the country's other semi-autonomous entity – the Republika Srpska. This entity is mostly populated by Bosnian Serbs.
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The Peljesac bridge would thus bypass a 15 kilometre-long strip around the city of Neum that represents Bosnia’s only coast on the Adriatic Sea.
Bosniak political parties oppose the construction of the bridge, saying it might prevent large vessels from entering the country’s bay of Neum and threaten its access to the open sea.
Zovko added that Bosnia would be better off dealing with burning issues.
“Bosnia would be better off dealing with issues of the respect of Constitutional court decisions and their implementation and the formation of the government at all levels, the position of Croats in Bosnia… From personal experience, I know that lawsuits like these and the deception of the public will never materialise and they will only prolong the citizens’ agony, making them look for a better life abroad,” Zovko added.
Commenting on the fact that it was Dodik who vetoed the lawsuit, she said he was always the one who was constructive and Croatia will look for reasonable people like him to further help the people in Bosnia.
Petar Djokic. the leader of the Socialist Party from the RS, where Dodik's party has the absolute majority, said the Serb leader acted responsibly, adding that Bosnia does not need a lawsuit with Croatia. According to him, it would only complicate the relations between the two countries.
“Had the lawsuit been filed, it would harm the RS and the Serb people. That's why I consider the move justified and I don't see a single reason why the bridge construction would not continue. All the more because, through its activities on the construction of a bridge across the Sava river, near Gradiska, Croatia showed it is willing to build relations with Bosnia and solve all the open issues which would incentivise our development,” Djokic said.
Therefore, he argued that Dodik acted responsibly, noting he expects the RS parliament to support this decision.
