DODIK: SECOND-INSTANCE VERDICT - ATTACK ON SRPSKA

BANJA LUKA, AUGUST 1 /SRNA/ - President of Republika Srpska Milorad Dodik said that the Appellate Division Panel of the Court of BiH's decision to uphold the first-instance verdict is actually an attack on Republika Srpska, and that he will only accept decisions of the Republika Srpska National Assembly.

"They want to personalize this, that it concerns Milorad Dodik," said the president of Srpska, adding that, according to the laws in BiH, he did no crime. He stated that he doesn't accept what Christian Schmidt imposed, and that it is obvious that the intention of the political Sarajevo led to this. "One day, they sat and calculated that the time is running out when it comes to their efforts to make BiH the way that suits them and that Milorad Dodik is the main culprit. Then they conceived it in this way," said the Srpska president at the press conference in Banja Luka. Dodik emphasized that he distances himself from the fact that Schmidt made a decision to imprison anyone who doesn’t respect him. "That's the essence, not the decision itself. The essence is that whether we will or won't accept imposing things by a foreigner. If we don't want to accept it, then the question is when will all these people be on the agenda," said Dodik. He pointed out that the Srpska institutions will determine the position on the most recent development and if they want to lose the right of democratic will in that way. "I will accept any decision of the National Assembly, but the one that was created by EU led by ambassador Soreca," said Dodik. He pointed out that the verdict represents the political will of those in power in BiH Court to eliminate Republika Srpska. "I did no crime and they prosecute me just because Schmidt didn't like me. I didn't recognize him. This is just one of the points of elimination and it won't stop," said Dodik.