The Bosnian Foreign Minister welcomes the prohibition on arrival against Milorad Dodik, who is banned from Austria and Germany, the secondary president of the Serbian part of Republika SRPSKA. There are indications that other European countries will follow soon, said Elmedin Konaković on Friday. Moreover, the Austrian government sees a “positive momentum” for the EU intersection of Bosnia.
Foreign Minister Beate Meinl-Reisinger emphasized at a joint press conference with Konaković that Austria was a “strong partner” on his way to the EU. “We have to build on at this positive momentum and start accession negotiations with Bosnia and Herzegovina.” This is possible in the EU Council in June. In mid-April, a dinner together with the EU Foreign Ministers and the counterparts of the Western Balkans in Brussels are planned.
Bosnian Constitutional State has “capital problems”
Despite the tensions, the high representative of Bosnia-Herzegovina, Christian Schmidt, sees no recent war against the Balkans: “A war will not take place,” Schmidt said on Friday in the Ö1 “Morgenjournal”. Bosnia has “capital problems” in terms of the rule of law. But the people in Bosnia wanted “everything, but just not war”. After a conversation with Meinl Reisinger, he asked the political actors in Bosnia and Herzegovina to give priority to reforms, to strengthen the rule of law and to fulfill their obligations on the way to the EU.
The problems currently based on the leadership of the Serbian part of the country are immediately connected. As reported, there is a national arrest warrant against President Milorad Dodik. The 66-year-old unilaterally declared the jurisdiction of the judiciary and police of the Bosnian Central State for the Republika SRPSKA, although the Republika SRPSKA is part of Bosnia and is threatened with a split. Two weeks earlier, the Bosnian public prosecutor had ordered the arrest of Dodiks because he had not met a summons for the statement.
Special police: Dodik’s arrest would be dangerous
Dodik, who had traveled to Israel and Russia in recent days, has not yet been arrested, although the border police should have arrested him because of the national arrest warrant. The Bosnian special police Sipa, however, estimates the situation as dangerous: Dodik is protected the clock by armed security forces. It is feared that an arrest can only be violent.
This was also confirmed by Konaković. He described Dodik’s arrest as a “security question”. Dodik is a serious criminal who also threatened to kill people. At the same time, support for the president of the Republica SRPSKA is also decreasing. Dodik had called on the Bosnian Serbs to withdraw from the central state institutions in Sarajevo and to work in the authorities of the Republika SRPSKA. Only six people followed this reputation, the Minister of Foreign Affairs said.
Source: Krone
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
