A large number of police officers are in front of the Palace of the Republic in Banja Luka this morning, RTRS reports.
The Prosecutor's Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) today issued an order to bring in for questioning the President of the Republika Srpska, Milorad Dodik, the Prime Minister of the Republika Srpska, Radovan Višković, and the President of the National Assembly of the Republika Srpska, Nenad Stevandić, after they failed to respond to a summons to give a statement as suspects in the overthrow of the constitutional order of BiH.
The BiH Prosecutor's Office opened a case against the three, charging them with "undermining the constitutional order" after laws adopted by the RS National Assembly on February 27 were published in the RS Official Gazette, banning the operation of the Prosecutor's Office and the Court of BiH, the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council (HJPC), and SIPA on the territory of RS.
Police officers are deployed around the Palace of the Republic, and police vehicles are parked there. There is regular police security in front of the RS National Assembly.
On the other hand, there is a celebratory atmosphere in the office of the President of the RS, on the occasion of Dodik's birthday.
Dodik, Višković and Stevandić will hold a press conference in Banja Luka at noon.
RTRS reports that the Ministry of Interior of Republika Srpska has not received a request for assistance in the detention of these three officials.
The Director of the Judicial Police of the Republika Srpska, Željko Dragojević, told the media outlet that the Judicial Police of the Republika Srpska has not, nor can, be issued an arrest warrant.
Previously, RTRS announced that the Investigation and Protection Agency had received a request from the Court Police of the Court of BiH for assistance in the detention of three officials.
They remind that the activities of this agency are prohibited on the territory of the RS.
Karan: Everyone will be protected
RS Minister of Internal Affairs Siniša Karan said that the primary task of the RS Ministry of Internal Affairs is to protect the constitutional order and that no one will be arrested, RTRS reports.
"The task of the Ministry of Interior is to protect the constitutional order, its constitutional institutions, representatives of all institutions and all its citizens. That task will be fulfilled to the end," Karan told ATV.
He said that the RS National Assembly passed laws that provide a framework for the activities of the RS Ministry of Interior.
"These laws state that the Court and Prosecutor's Office of BiH, the Investigation and Protection Agency (SIPA) and the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council are unconstitutional institutions and that they are prohibited from operating on the territory of Republika Srpska. That is the framework for the activities of the Ministry of the Interior," Karan added.
He said that Dodik, Višković and Stevandić, ministers and all citizens have full protection.
"They will have full integrity from the Ministry of Interior. These institutions cannot and will not and must not operate on the territory of Republika Srpska. These are the laws of Republika Srpska, the Constitution obliges us to do so, our ethical, moral and professional obligation, and this is the responsibility of the Ministry of Interior. No one will be arrested and everyone will be protected," Karan said.
SNSD spokesperson: No one wants to and cannot arrest the RS state leadership
Spokesperson for the Alliance of Independent Social Democrats (SNSD), Radovan Kovačević, stated today that no one will and cannot arrest the political leadership of Republika Srpska.
"No one will and cannot arrest the state leadership of RS. Republika Srpska is not carrying out any attack on the constitutional order, but on the contrary, it is making decisions to which, based on the Constitutions of BiH and RS, it has the right," said Kovačević, as reported by RTRS.
He added that, as he said, "any form of radicalization from Sarajevo" will be met with a "fierce political and institutional response" from the RS.
The spokesperson for the SNSD, whose leader is Milorad Dodik, called the BiH Prosecutor's Office unconstitutional, adding that it "is trying to incriminate the RS state leadership on the basis of unconstitutional, unauthorized and unlawful amendments to the BiH criminal code by the illegal and illegitimate foreign citizen Kristijan Šmit."
"This entire crisis in BiH was caused by a foreigner, Kristijan Šmit, who interfered in an unconstitutional and unauthorized manner in the legislative process in BiH, thus enabling the unconstitutional Court and Prosecutor's Office of BiH to carry out political and unlawful persecution of the President of RS," Kovačević assessed.
He announced that the RS would continue "the process of making political decisions to which it is entitled under the Constitution."
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