RS Interior Ministry calls on SIPA officers to transfer to entity police

"Following the Law on the Non-Implementation of Laws and the Ban on the Activities of Unconstitutional Institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as the Regulation on the Procedure for Taking Over Employees from Republika Srpska Working in SIPA, adopted by the RS Government, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Republika Srpska invites SIPA employees from RS to submit a request for transfer at the nearest MUP RS police station.

All applicants will be immediately transferred and will become members of the Republika Srpska Ministry of Internal Affairs upon establishing an employment relationship," the statement said.

This move follows RS President Milorad Dodik’s signing of a decree banning the work of the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Prosecutor's Office, the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council (HJPC), SIPA, and the Intelligence-Security Agency (OSA) on the territory of Republika Srpska. He also signed laws establishing an entity-level HJPC, introducing a registry of non-profit organizations (widely referred to as the "foreign agents" law), and amending the RS Criminal Code to impose prison sentences for failing to implement RS institutional decisions.

The decrees were published Wednesday night in the Official Gazette of Republika Srpska.

Meanwhile, RS National Assembly Speaker Nenad Stevandic has scheduled a meeting of all political party representatives for today to discuss a new version of the entity’s constitution. The meeting is set for 4 pm at the RS National Assembly. However, the opposition—SDS, Vukanovic, and the People’s Front—has refused to participate.

Politicians from the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina have strongly condemned Dodik’s actions, urging the BiH Prosecutor’s Office to take immediate action.