Bosnia’s tripartite Presidency member Milorad Dodik called for “Serb unity” on Wednesday as he spoke at a session of the parliament of the country’s Republika Srpska (RS) entity where his recent activities in the Presidency are being discussed.

At the special session of the RS National Assembly, MPs in the entity are expressing their position on Dodik’s vote against a number of Presidency decisions regarding foreign affairs matters on October 18. His two colleagues in the Presidency, Sefik Dzaferovic and Zeljko Komsic, voted in favour of those decisions.

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The decisions included the opening of a number of diplomatic representative offices in the country as well as international agreements. This also includes an agreement between BiH and Croatia on the Gradiska border crossing.

Dodik argued that the decisions are damaging the vital interests of the RS.

At the Wednesday session, he said that the RS does not have any “hidden intentions” and that it wants a system in BiH without foreign interventionism.

“We must fight more than ever for the preservation of the Republika Srpska, for the word of Dayton (Peace Agreement). We must feel the need for coordinated action, harmony,” Dodik said, urging MPs to support his activities.

He argued that “four foreigners are committing destabilisation in BiH” which leads to the country not functioning.

“The RS is the guarantor of survival and freedom, not only for the Serbs but for all the peoples who live here,” said Dodik.

Dodik said he initiated the mechanism of Vital National Interest – a mechanism that can stop any state-level activity if deemed damaging to the national interest of any of the three major ethnic groups in the country – regarding the Presidency decisions since they were made without his agreement.

The leader of the ruling party in the RS said he did this out of principle, as a response to the law banning genocide denial in BiH which was imposed by the former High Representative in the country, as well as recent BiH Constitutional Court rulings which he argued are detrimental to the RS.

“With this, we would show that the RS National Assembly is the one who decides in the end,” he said.

“I want to invite you to confirm our coordinated unity in today's vote regarding joint action at the level of BiH institutions and show that RS, our people and their interests are the most important and that we want cooperation and good and friendly relations with all, but that we are not ready to lose jurisdictions through petty tricks,” he said.