SIMIĆ: POLITICAL ATTACK ON DODIK AND SRPSKA AHEAD OF ELECTIONS IN BiH

BELGRADE, AUGUST 24 /SRNA/ - The statement by former Turkish Ambassador to Serbia Hasan Servet Oktem is shameful and primitive, as he took it upon himself to intervene unsolicited through the media in the campaign against Milorad Dodik and Republika Srpska ahead of the October 4 elections in BiH, said Pero Simić, adviser to President Dodik.

In an op-ad for Politika titled "Political Attack on Dodik and Srpska Ahead of Elections in BiH," Simić stresses that Oktem's statement, "Viktor Orbán fell, Dodik is next," represents an attack on Dodik. "Milorad Dodik has had friendly relations with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan for several years, which Oktem forgets," Simić stated. He assessed that Oktem had intervened unsolicited in the discussion about the upcoming elections in BiH, pointing out that the voting is important because Republika Srpska, as part of BiH, will elect its president, as well as the Serb BiH Presidency member. "The former ambassador is obviously insecure and obsessed with the political strength and influence of Milorad Dodik, as well as with the fact that this strength is recognised in international arena, from Moscow to Washington. Dodik's political career is progressing from good to excellent, which annoys his political opponents, primarily politicians in Sarajevo," Simić pointed out. Simić said that Oktem believes that "Dodik does not believe in his own country, undermines its institutions and rejoices in BiH’s defeats, and that he should not be in a position to obstruct the progress of this multiethnic and multicultural Balkan country". "And it is precisely the former Turkish ambassador who is interfering in the functioning of politics in BiH by making such an appearance," Simić said. Quoting bestselling New York Times author Shane Perry, he said that some people call Oktem a "disobedient mind". "And some call him an `enemy of clear thinking,` whose brain distorts reality and misleads it," Simić added. Simić assessed that people such as Hasan Servet Oktem, when evaluating a decision, focus on the process by which the decision is made rather than on its outcome. "Individuals who are malicious toward Republika Srpska and its leaders, such as Milorad Dodik, will criticize him and his role in the position he holds in an attempt to provoke him into reacting without proper judgment," Simić said. Pointing out that Oktem is the latest example of this, Simić said they were mistaken because, as he stressed, Dodik always responds with sound judgment and clear facts, "which does not suit insufficiently realistic and educated politicians in Sarajevo". "Dodik does his job by defending Republika Srpska. He instinctively responds when someone undermines not only the physical territory of Srpska, but also our image of ourselves," Simić said.