Post by karabin on Feb 19, 2009 22:02:40 GMT -5
BELGRADE -- RS PM Milorad Dodik says the RS is sustainable and will endure, while Bosnia-Hercegovina exists only because the international community wants it to.
“I think that Republic of Srpska (RS) will endure, that it has proven its sustainability and that it can implement all the standards of modern Europe and civilization, that it is capable of giving equal shelter to people of all nationalities and that it appreciates expertise and capabilities,” Dodik said, speaking to Vreme.
Speaking about Bosnia-Hercegovina, Dodik said that he was not sure that it could survive. He believes that it can continue to exist only as a very loosely-knit union of federal units.
“Bosnia-Hercegovina has existed this entire time only because the international community wanted it to. It gained international legitimacy because big countries recognized it. But it never managed to establish interior legitimacy and sovereignty,” said the RS prime minister.
“We are not principally against Bosnia-Hercegovina, but that is certainly not the Bosnia that Sarajevo wants,” he added.
On the issue of whether an agreement had been reached in Prud about restructuring Bosnia-Hercegovina, Dodik responded that RS’s stance was very clear and it was a given that RS would continue in its current size and capacity. He said that representatives of the Bosnian Federation had proposed the idea of two entities within the Federation, while Sarajevo, as the capital, would be given the status of a district.
“We had no reason to interfere with their idea, so we said, ‘good, OK, you do what you want,’” said Dodik, adding “How will they restructure the Federation? I don’t know. The Federation is certainly a big burden for the RS.”
He said that it had been agreed that Brčko would gain the status of a local community, whose assets would be defined as the joint assets of both entities.
“That’s an important definition because it includes the possibility for the district of Brčko to have its own representatives and organs in Bosnia-Hercegovina,” said Dodik, adding that the Brčko agreement was not a change of the Dayton Accords.
Asked whether the international high representative to Bosnia-Hercegovina could reject the decision on the basis of the Bonn Powers, he said that they formally had that authority, but in practice it would be difficult to apply it as that time had passed.
The Party of Democratic Action and the Croatian Democratic Union, on the other hand, are not bothered by the existence of an international protectorate because, as Dodik explained, they think there must be someone there to constantly pressure Banja Luka.
Speaking about the RS’s economy, Dodik said that it was stable and sustainable, thanks to a simulative fiscal policy, attracting investors.
www.b92.net/eng/news/region-article.php?yyyy=2009&mm=02&dd=19&nav_id=57274
“I think that Republic of Srpska (RS) will endure, that it has proven its sustainability and that it can implement all the standards of modern Europe and civilization, that it is capable of giving equal shelter to people of all nationalities and that it appreciates expertise and capabilities,” Dodik said, speaking to Vreme.
Speaking about Bosnia-Hercegovina, Dodik said that he was not sure that it could survive. He believes that it can continue to exist only as a very loosely-knit union of federal units.
“Bosnia-Hercegovina has existed this entire time only because the international community wanted it to. It gained international legitimacy because big countries recognized it. But it never managed to establish interior legitimacy and sovereignty,” said the RS prime minister.
“We are not principally against Bosnia-Hercegovina, but that is certainly not the Bosnia that Sarajevo wants,” he added.
On the issue of whether an agreement had been reached in Prud about restructuring Bosnia-Hercegovina, Dodik responded that RS’s stance was very clear and it was a given that RS would continue in its current size and capacity. He said that representatives of the Bosnian Federation had proposed the idea of two entities within the Federation, while Sarajevo, as the capital, would be given the status of a district.
“We had no reason to interfere with their idea, so we said, ‘good, OK, you do what you want,’” said Dodik, adding “How will they restructure the Federation? I don’t know. The Federation is certainly a big burden for the RS.”
He said that it had been agreed that Brčko would gain the status of a local community, whose assets would be defined as the joint assets of both entities.
“That’s an important definition because it includes the possibility for the district of Brčko to have its own representatives and organs in Bosnia-Hercegovina,” said Dodik, adding that the Brčko agreement was not a change of the Dayton Accords.
Asked whether the international high representative to Bosnia-Hercegovina could reject the decision on the basis of the Bonn Powers, he said that they formally had that authority, but in practice it would be difficult to apply it as that time had passed.
The Party of Democratic Action and the Croatian Democratic Union, on the other hand, are not bothered by the existence of an international protectorate because, as Dodik explained, they think there must be someone there to constantly pressure Banja Luka.
Speaking about the RS’s economy, Dodik said that it was stable and sustainable, thanks to a simulative fiscal policy, attracting investors.
www.b92.net/eng/news/region-article.php?yyyy=2009&mm=02&dd=19&nav_id=57274
