Supporters of Milorad Dodik, the president of Bosnia’s Republika Srpska (RS) entity, gathered again on Friday to protest over the indictment against Dodik and acting director of RS Official Gazette Milos Lukic over their refusal to implement decisions of the High Representative in BiH on RS territory.
New protests under the slogan “The border exists” are taking place in two locations in the RS, Foca and Ribnik. A smaller group of citizens gathered this time due to the heavy rainfall, the organisers said. There is heavy RS police presence, but no EUFOR troops are present.
The motorway in Ribnik is blocked, and Lukic himself as well as the spokesperson of Dodik’s Alliance of Independent Social Democrats (SNSD), Radovan Kovacevic, are among the participants.
Participants are waving the RS flag, as well as flags with the inscription January 9 – a holiday that the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina has repeatedly declared unconstitutional.
Representatives of the veterans’ associations at the protest called on all RS politicians, both those in power in in the opposition, to unite in “preserving the Republika Srpska”. In addition, they sent messages to the citizens of the other entity, the Federation (FBiH), stating that everyone should live in peace, that these are not protests against them, but against an “international factor that threatens not only the RS but also the whole of BiH”.
N1 spoke to some of the protesters.
“Foreigners cannot love our country more than us,” said one of them.
“We have to support him (Dodik). The political situation is not good, it has gotten worse,” said another person.
“We have no choice, the knife has come to our throats, I don't know what the next step could be. Warmongering messages are sent non-stop from Sarajevo. I privately cooperate with FBiH, very good and honest people, I have never had any problems. But this is a matter of the survival of the Serb people,” said another protester.
