"Nothing to criticize; it couldn't have been better. I had excellent cooperation with our local communities, including Doboj," said Zeljka Cvijanovic in her testimony before the District Court in Banja Luka. She testified at the defense's request in the case against former Doboj Mayor Obren Petrovic and former Civil Protection Chief Milko Vidakovic.

Cvijanovic's testimony marked today's hearing. At the time of the May 2014 floods, she served as the Prime Minister of Republika Srpska and was the commander of the Emergency Situations Headquarters.

At the beginning of her testimony, Cvijanovic was asked about the sources of information the government received regarding the weather events and the state of affairs on May 15, 2014. According to her, the government received weather and water level updates from the relevant ministry, which in turn got the information from the Republic Hydrometeorological Institute and the Waters of Republika Srpska.

“The information indicated heavy rainfall that any objective observer could expect to lead to floods. However, no one could anticipate the extent of this catastrophe, which affected 48% of Republika Srpska's population. It was a higher power, a disaster, an evil we faced,” she stated, emphasizing multiple times that the flood's magnitude was unforeseeable.

Cvijanovic described how the government met on the morning of May 15, 2014, armed with field reports, including one from Doboj received the previous evening. She explained that the local authorities had already taken measures and declared a state of emergency in line with the law. Ministers of internal affairs, health, and education were immediately dispatched to Doboj to gather necessary information for the government.

She stressed that the government's declaration of an emergency situation was not due to mistrust in the local authorities’ efforts or to take over their actions.

“Absolutely not. The local community had already done its part. They were the first to take measures. The government declared an emergency situation two days later and formed a headquarters because we had information that more than two municipalities were affected, we faced long-term damage, and we needed coordinated activities,” she asserted, adding that she had no communication with Bosnia and Herzegovina institutions and only once spoke with the Prime Minister of the Federation of BiH, Nermin Niksic.

“I had a single, proper communication with the FBiH Prime Minister, who expressed concern about the potential for the situation to worsen due to the possible collapse of the Modrac dam,” she claimed, noting that this information arrived when Doboj was already underwater.

Cvijanovic also stated that she requested reports on measures taken from the mayor of Doboj and all other heads of the flooded municipalities.

“You know that the report from Doboj was accepted and deemed positive,” she noted, adding that the Republika Srpska authorities could not have done their part without good cooperation with local communities.

The prosecutor attempted several times to ask Cvijanovic about the reasons for appointing retired General Momir Zec as the government's commissioner for Doboj if the cooperation with local authorities was good.

She responded that the appointment was meant to provide additional support and to have an advisor on the ground available to the entire government and in communication with the local community.

“He didn't complain about a lack of communication,” she concluded.

The prosecutor did not present Cvijanovic with her statements from May 2014 and after the floods, where she had often criticized Obren Petrovic and the local Doboj authorities, stating that the disaster's impact could have been mitigated with a timely response.

The former Doboj mayor and Civil Protection Chief are charged with causing public danger during the 2014 floods in Doboj, which resulted in 11 deaths and significant material damage.