SNSD rejects Dodik verdict, demands shutdown of state parliamentary financial accounts

Among the conclusions adopted, the SNSD stated it “firmly rejects the verdict against President Milorad Dodik,” claiming the ruling is “legally unfounded” and “aimed against the freely expressed will of the people of Republika Srpska.”

In a notable shift, the SNSD also signalled a break with Dragan Covic and his Croat Democratic Union (HDZ BiH). The party accused the EU Delegation in BiH of siding with the “politicised Court of BiH” and announced plans for an internal debate on EU integration. Until a final position is established, SNSD representatives will not participate in any EU-related activities.

“The SNSD Main Board notes that our party is not in coalition or partnership with any political party from the Federation of BiH at the state level. In the coming period, RS representatives will participate in the work of BiH institutions through passive presence and non-decision-making, to protect the interests of Republika Srpska and its citizens. The SNSD will not back down. Dodik will not be silenced. Republika Srpska remains strong,” the conclusions state.

Two additional conclusions, numbered 16 and 17, were also adopted.

Under item 16: “SNSD demands the closure of accounts used to fund parliamentary caucuses in the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH and any other sources of public transfers. All payments from public sources must be documented and returned to the payers.”

Item 17 states: “SNSD considers the verdict against President Milorad Dodik to be a verdict against the entire Serb people in BiH and a direct annulment of the fundamental principles guaranteed by the Dayton Peace Agreement.”

The party also declared that the verdict “not only targets the institutions of Republika Srpska but threatens the equality and survival of the Serb people across Bosnia and Herzegovina.”

“In the name of the people who elected us, in the name of the Republika Srpska we love, and in the name of the freedom we are granted, we say: The SNSD will not retreat. Dodik will not be silenced. Republika Srpska remains strong. Because you cannot convict a people. And when they try to sentence it, that is when the people rise even stronger,” the SNSD Main Board concluded.