The Chair of the European Parliament Delegation for relations with Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo, Romeo Franz, and the permanent rapporteur for BiH, Paulo Rangel, condemned the celebration of the unconstitutional "Day of Republika Srpska" on January 9, in a joint statement, calling on the international community to "finally move on from strongly worded statements to effective, courageous action" and introduce sanctions against "destabilizing political actors in Bosnia and Herzegovina", especially the president of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Republika Srpska entity Milorad Dodik.
Below is their full statement:
“Last year we unreservedly condemned the celebration of ‘Republika Srpska Day’ on 9 January in utter defiance of several rulings of Bosnia and Herzegovina's Constitutional Court, which declared the self-proclaimed holiday and the 2016 referendum unconstitutional. The right of the Republika Srpska entity to have its holiday is not called into question. The problem is the choice of the date, which violates Constitutional Court rulings and several provisions of the BiH Constitution prohibiting discrimination. Ignoring these rulings constitutes a criminal offence, undermines the Dayton Peace Agreement and is a setback for Bosnia and Herzegovina's progress on the 14 Key Priorities and its EU integration. Instead of dividing and provoking, authorities and political actors across the country should focus on delivering the concrete reforms that are needed to open accession negotiations, following the granting of EU candidate country status.
A few days ago ‘Republika Srpska Day’ was once again celebrated in blatant defiance of the Court's rulings, EU positions and unambiguous statements of High Representative Christian Schmidt. We express again our full support to the High Representative and call on the relevant authorities and the international community to act decisively, in line with the High Representative's statement in the aftermath of last year's ‘Republika Srpska Day’ that ‘it should be clear that 9 January 2024 will not happen in this framework and manner’.
Regrettably, what we saw over the last days was ‘more of the same’. 9 January and the days before were marked by ugly incidents of fearmongering and intimidation of citizens and returnees in Vlasenica and Srebrenica, the vocal glorification of convicted war criminals and the use of hate speech. Once again, Serbia was represented by a high-level delegation in which several ministers, including Minister of Defence and SNS leader Milos Vucevic, took part. Republika Srpska President Milorad Dodik stood side by side with the outgoing Speaker of the Serbian parliament and the Russian Ambassador to BiH. Parliament has denounced the presence of high-ranking Serbian government officials on the occasion of the unconstitutional ‘RS Day’ in its resolution of 12 July 2023. We also regret that some Montenegrin officials, including Members of Parliament, attended this year's RS Day events. Representatives of candidate countries who invariably claim that EU integration and future EU membership are their top priority should act accordingly. In this regard, we welcome the principled stance of Montenegrin President Jakov Milatovic, who declined the invitation and explained why.
We note with utmost concern that this year's highest decoration of Republika Srpska was awarded to – and accepted by – Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. By accepting this decoration the Hungarian PM joins the likes of Vladimir Putin, last year's recipient of the same decoration, and all others who show contempt for the constitutional and legal order of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Last year we rang the alarm bell, arguing that several red lines had been crossed. Since then the situation has deteriorated and is becoming increasingly untenable. It is now imperative that the international community finally moves from strongly worded statements to effective, bold action. In its resolution of 12 July 2023 Parliament ‘reiterates its call for targeted sanctions against destabilising political actors in BiH, including those threatening and undermining its sovereignty, territorial integrity and constitutional order, notably Milorad Dodik, as well as other high-ranking RS officials and third-country officials providing political and material support for secessionist policies’.”
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