RETURNING TO THE DAYTON PATH, OR THERE IS NO PLACE FOR SRPSKA IN BOSNIAK VISION OF BiH

BANJA LUKA, AUGUST 23 /SRNA/ - The adviser to the President of Republika Srpska, Marko Romić, stated that the upcoming referendum in Srpska aims to clarify whether there is a desire to return to the Dayton path and respect the constitutions of BiH and Republika Srpska, or whether there is no longer a place for Republika Srpska and its citizens in the Bosniak vision of BiH.

“The Dayton BiH does not recognize Christian Schmidt, the Court, or the Prosecutor’s Office of BiH, but it does recognize the President of the Republic and the other constitutional institutions of Republika Srpska,” Romić told SRNA. He stated that the referendum question is threefold, and that each part exposes the deeply unconstitutional and anti-Dayton processes in BiH. “First, it clearly and loudly acknowledges a fact that Republika Srpska has been repeating for four years - Christian Schmidt is not the High Representative, he is not performing the duties of the High Representative, and has no legal connection to the OHR or BiH,” Romić said. He added that Schmidt is a foreigner in BiH who, strictly speaking, does not even have a legally regulated status as a foreigner. “By his actions, he is a usurper of the OHR and someone who, through every act and measure, has violated the Dayton Agreement, most notably Annex Four - the Constitution of BiH,” Romić emphasized. According to him, the second part of the referendum question relates to the legalization of Schmidt through the grotesque and unconstitutional ruling by the unconstitutional Court of BiH directed against the institution of the President of Republika Srpska. “And finally, as the culmination of this constitutional persecution of Republika Srpska’s institutions, there is the decision of the Central Election Commission of BiH to prematurely terminate the mandate of the legally elected President of the Republic, once again in violation of the Constitution of Republika Srpska,” Romić said. The National Assembly of Republika Srpska adopted on Friday evening a decision to hold a referendum regarding the ruling of the unconstitutional Court of BiH against Republika Srpska President Milorad Dodik and the decision of the Central Election Commission of BiH to terminate the mandate of President Dodik, setting the referendum date for October 25. The referendum question reads: "Do you accept the decisions of the unelected foreigner, Christian Schmidt, and the verdicts of the unconstitutional Court of BiH against the President of Republika Srpska, as well as the decision of the CEC to terminate the mandate of Republika Srpska President Milorad Dodik?"