DODIK: STABILIZING BiH WILL BE DIFFICULT WITHOUT RESOLVING SCHMIDT'S UNCONSTITUTIONAL DECISIONS

UGLJEVIK, JULY 25 /SRNA/ - Republika Srpska President Milorad Dodik said today that Christian Schmidt is the biggest problem facing BiH, and that stabilizing the country will be difficult until all of his unconstitutional decisions are addressed.

Dodik stated that it is the position of Republika Srpska that Schmidt is not a legitimate high representative, that his decisions are unacceptable, and that even the BiH system cannot withstand so many unconstitutional decisions. He said that Schmidt is keen to remain in BiH because of the money he receives. "He’s fighting for €24,000 a month, plus benefits — it adds up to €41,000. No official in the EU gets that much. Today, he may seem untouchable, but we won’t stop pursuing him — legally, of course," Dodik told reporters in Ugljevik. The President of Republika Srpska said that the High Representative is selected by the countries that are signatories to Annex 10 of the Dayton Peace Agreement, namely, Serbia, Croatia, Republika Srpska, the Federation of BiH, and the joint institutions of BiH. "You have Serbia, Republika Srpska, and our representation at the joint level — that's nearly half of the structure involved in the selection. But it means nothing, because the High Representative is selected by consensus of all parties," Dodik explained. He said that after the High Representative is selected by the signatory parties, confirmation by the UN Security Council is required, and that Schmidt did not receive such confirmation. "The Security Council knows he wasn’t confirmed. He asked to be confirmed, but wasn’t — and then the scoundrels dropped the whole story once it became clear he wouldn’t be approved. Now they claim it wasn’t voted on, just placed on the agenda. That’s not a decision. He’s gotten a taste for being here now," Dodik said. Dodik emphasized that the Constitutional Court of Germany annulled the electoral system that is now being imposed in BiH. "We do not recognize the Constitutional Court of BiH, but there will be some actors who have the right to file an appeal to the Constitutional Court of BiH regarding what has been done, using the same arguments as the applicant in Germany. So let’s see what the BiH Constitutional Court will do now. Will it make a different ruling? That same court includes two Germans — one from Switzerland and one from Germany," Dodik said. Dodik said that they will then resort to the narrative that no court has jurisdiction over the decisions of the High Representative. “They judge even God, but not him,” Dodik said.