U.S. POSITION SIGNIFICANT STEP FORWARD - LOCAL INSTITUTIONS TO MAKE DECISIONS WITHOUT INTERNATIONAL PRESSURE

BANJA LUKA, MAY 13 /SRNA/ - The position of the United States at the UN Security Council session on BiH is a significant step forward, as it could be heard that the future high representative must respect the sovereignty of the country and that decisions should be made by local institutions without international pressure, the head of the SNSD Caucus in the Republika Srpska National Assembly Srđan Mazalica told SRNA.

"We have already had indications of such positions, but now it has been explicitly stated," Mazalica said. He noted that the US Deputy Ambassador to the UN Tammy Bruce clearly stated that the OHR is not intended to be permanent and should be phased out. "We heard that the future high representative should ensure the consent of all peoples in BiH, which is a significant step forward, because bringing Christian Schmidt without the consent of Republika Srpska, which is one of the contracting parties to the Dayton Peace Agreement, was a violation of procedures, international law, and basic contractual law," Mazalica said. He noted that the future high representative should declare Christian Schmidt and previous high representatives' decisions null and void. "The goal is to come with the consent of all, and to act within the term by using diplomatic skills to help resolve certain issues, rather than imposing decisions, amending constitutions and laws, and efficiently providing an excuse to politicians who do not want to reach agreement and a path towards unilateral decision-making in the interest of only one constituent people or entity," Mazalica stressed. Mazalica expressed doubt that Schmidt could impose a law on state property before leaving office. "I doubt, not only legally but also substantively, that such a decision could be made, because it would not take effect with strong opposition from Republika Srpska. Without support from major powers, it would remain a dead letter," he said. He concluded that Srpska expects the foreign judges in the Constitutional Court of BiH issue to be resolved, meaning that the court should be composed exclusively of local judges.