DRAGIČEVIĆ: DODIK SAYS, LANDAU ECHOES, AND IN SARAJEVO - "THE VILLAGE IS BURNING WHILE GRANDMA IS COMBING HER HAIR"

BANJA LUKA, MAY 27 /SRNA/ - Thirty years after the signing of the Dayton Peace Agreement, BiH still does not know whether it respects or renounces the Agreement, Danijel Dragičević, Chief of Staff to the President of Republika Srpska, told SRNA.

Dragičević pointed out that the anniversary of this event, marked in Dayton, reopened old questions but also, for the first time in many years, sent a new message, as the U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau clearly said: “BiH must adapt to new times.” “That was all already said by the President of Republika Srpska, Milorad Dodik, in the National Assembly. His speech, which has already become a document of historic significance, was not merely a presentation of political views, it was a proposal, a hand extended on behalf of the people who elected Dodik, a people who do not want conflicts but agreement, who do not want subordination but equality,” emphasized Dragičević. He says that the President of Republika Srpska, Milorad Dodik, spoke about Dayton, the Constitution, and the agreement that binds everyone in BiH. “He spoke about the fact that BiH can only exist as a community of two entities and three peoples, or not at all. That was not a threat. It was a reminder,” Dragičević added. While Republika Srpska calls for dialogue and mutual respect, he said, at the same time, well-known messages have been coming from Sarajevo. “Denis Bećirović, Elmedin Konaković, and their well-rehearsed choir of usual commentators have presented their standard repertoire. In their statements, instead of substance, obsession. Instead of proposals, attacks. Instead of vision, gossip. The time when Sarajevo could play both victim and judge is over. Today, the world is listening. Even the American representative says, ‘You must adapt to new times.’ That is exactly what Milorad Dodik said earlier - clearly and concretely,” emphasized Dragičević. If anything is clear after 30 years, he told SRNA, it is the inability of the Bosniak political elite to come out of their political autism, which is why Landau’s words hit them especially hard. “The Sarajevo public, used to living in a controlled media fog, is showing the peak of madness these days because they are trying to convince people that they didn’t hear what they heard. That they didn’t see what they saw. That Landau said something else, that he supported something he didn’t support. That Dayton is not the signed one, but some imagined version. In this light, Milorad Dodik’s speech represents something rare in regional politics, a demonstration of maturity. Without euphoria. Without noise. With a full understanding of the times, geopolitics, internal relations, and potential for crisis. With an offer. With responsibility. With a message of peace,” emphasized Dragičević. He added that if this message is rejected, the blame will not lie with the one who sent it, but with those who, even after 30 years, do not understand where they live and fail to see the opportunity. “Maybe this is exactly the moment for some new people in Sarajevo to simply ask, 'What if this man, whom we have been trying to corner for years, isn’t the problem, but rather the offer for a solution?'” said Dragičević.