The opposition in Bosnia’s Serb-majority region, Republika Srpska, called on the Serb representative in Bosnia’s tripartite Presidency Milorad Dodik to resign over the case of the Christian Orthodox icon that Dodik presented as a gift to Russian FM Sergey Lavrov but which Russia is returning now as it has become a subject of an investigation.
They called it a “scandal” and “disgrace.”
“After everything that he has done and still is doing for the past two years, the only right move would be his resignation, withdrawal from the position he obviously does not know how to perform and to spare us from further embarrassment,” said Branislav Borenovic, the leader of the opposition PDP party.
The reactions come in the aftermath of the Russian diplomat’s visit to Bosnia and Herzegovina, where Bosnian Serb leader and member of BiH tripartite Presidency presented him as a gift a centuries-old Orthodox icon, which later appeared to be “Ukrainian Cultural Heritage,” as claimed by the embassy of this country in Sarajevo.
After BiH Prosecutor’s Office launched an investigation into the origin of the icon, Russia announced it would return it to the donor so its provenance can be determined with the assistance of Interpol.
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The fact that Interpol is getting involved speaks about the seriousness of the situation, said Dragan Mektic, Bosnia’s former Security Minister and member of the opposition SDS party.
“He could not come into possession of that piece of art in a legal way. He obviously did it illegally or he bought it on the illegal market,” said Mektic, adding that the Interpol will be closely cooperating with BiH institutions on this case.
Igor Crnadak, former Foreign Minister of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and also an opposition politician in Republika Srpska, said it was worrying that the cabinet of the Serb Presidency member has not given any explanation yet.
“This case has unveiled many problems we have. I call for urgent information, don’t wait. We should immediately get the information where the icon come from, from whom and at which price,” Crnadak told N1.
The honorary President of the PDP and former Serb Presidency member, Mladen Ivanic, said he could not recall of a similar “disgrace” in recent history.
“Hoping that there is an explanation and that it is not true that the Serb member of BiH Presidency managed to cause such scandal with the gift to the Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation, I was refusing to comment for days on the allegations about the stolen icon for which Ukraine claims to be its cultural heritage,” said Ivanic.
Ivanic said he did not care for Dodik’s embarrassment but that he did regret that Dodik embarrassed the Serb people.
