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Dodik will not leave Republika Srpska in defiance of BiH detention warrant

Bosnia-Herzegovina is effectively governed by a high representative of the international community, a position established under the Dayton Agreement

BELGRADE, March 12. /TASS/. The President of Republika Srpska, Milorad Dodik, has no intention of leaving the territory, despite a detention warrant issued by the BiH Prosecutor's Office. "I am prepared to do everything for my Republika Srpska. I will never leave it," Dodik stated, as reported by the Republika Srpska Radio and Television.

Dodik, who is celebrating his 66th birthday today, referred to the issuance of this decree from Sarajevo as a kind of "birthday greeting." According to him, Sarajevo's "next target" will be the Republika Srpska police, its property, and subsequently, the property of the Serbian Orthodox Church. He also announced plans to submit a revised version of the Republika Srpska Constitution to the entity's National Assembly for consideration, asserting that it would not contradict the existing constitution of Bosnia-Herzegovina (BiH).

Bosnia-Herzegovina is effectively governed by a high representative of the international community, a position established under the Dayton Agreement. This representative is appointed by the steering committee of the Bosnia-Herzegovina Peace Implementation Council, following approval from the UN Security Council. However, in May 2021, the ambassadors of the steering committee countries appointed Christian Schmidt, the representative of the Federal Republic of Germany, as the new high representative in BiH without the UNSC approval process. The leadership of Republika Srpska, along with Russia and China, does not recognize his legitimacy. On February 26, a court in Bosnia-Herzegovina sentenced Dodik to one year in prison and imposed a six-year ban on his political activities for disregarding Schmidt's decisions. The first-instance court's ruling can be appealed, and the final judgment will be issued by the second-instance chamber of the BiH court by the end of the year.

Earlier on Wednesday, the Bosnia-Herzegovina Prosecutor's Office requested assistance from security agencies for the detention of Dodik, as well as Republika Srpska Prime Minister Radovan Viskovic and the entity’s Parliament Speaker, Nenad Stevandic. However, Republika Srpska Interior Minister Sinisa Karan dismissed the possibility of their detention.

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