The National Assembly of Republika Srpska (RS) supported the veto of Željka Cvijanović, Chairwoman of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), on the conclusion of the BiH Presidency in which, among other things, EUFOR was requested to assist in the arrest of RS officials.
64 MPs voted for the veto, out of 69 present, while five voted against.
Given that more than two-thirds of the 83 deputies who make up the RS Assembly voted for the veto, this practically means that the conclusion of the BiH Presidency will not enter into force.
The BiH Presidency first discussed it in the first half of April, with the other two members - Željko Komšić and Denis Bećirović - voting in favor of the conclusion, while Cvijanović was against. The discussion was then held again on 12 May, and the result of the vote remained the same.
EUFOR is a military mission of the European Union whose mission is to support the authorities of Bosnia and Herzegovina in ensuring a secure and stable environment. EUFOR also has an executive mandate from the United Nations to ensure the stability of the country through the use of force.
In her address to the MPs, Cvijanović stated that with the "disputed conclusion" they want to "introduce international military forces into resolving the political and constitutional crisis in BiH, in a way that they deal with the legal leaders of RS."
"EUFOR, whose task is to oversee the military implementation of the Dayton Peace Agreement, does not have the authority to assist security agencies in the manner requested by the disputed conclusion," said Cvijanović.
For weeks, the BiH judiciary has been trying to arrest the President of the Republika Srpska, Milorad Dodik, who, together with the Presidents of the Republika Srpska Assembly and the Republika Srpska Government, Nenad Stevandić and Radovan Višković, is charged with attacking the constitutional order, following a series of unconstitutional decisions made in the institutions of the Republika Srpska.
A central warrant has been issued for them in BiH after they failed to respond to a summons from the BiH Prosecutor's Office for questioning, and all police agencies in the country are obliged to bring them in for questioning and detention. However, the RS police refuse to do so, and Dodik, Stevandić and Višković are being guarded by a significant number of armed police officers.
The explanation for the veto, which Cvijanović submitted to the RS Parliament, states that the conclusion of the BiH Presidency is "destructive to the vital interests" of the RS entity, and that the BiH Presidency has gone "beyond the framework of its constitutionally assigned competencies."
For the veto to pass, it was necessary to obtain the support of two-thirds of the 83 deputies of the RS Assembly.
If it were not for the two-thirds majority, the conclusion of the Presidency of BiH would have come into force.
And most of the opposition supported the veto
The veto was also supported by the leading opposition parties in the RS Parliament, the Serbian Democratic Party (SDS) and the Party of Democratic Progress, while Nebojša Ukanović's Justice and Order List and Jelena Trivić's People's Front did not declare their support.
SDS leader Milan Milicevic previously harshly addressed RS President Milorad Dodik, accusing him of the sanctions that the BiH entity is facing.
"You are filing a lawsuit against yourself, with the intention of protecting the interests of the Republika Srpska institution. The fact that you have sanctions is a personal problem, but Republika Srpska has sanctions that every resident feels. There are many projects that have been frozen. We are not as powerful as we think we are," said Milicevic.
PDP President Draško Stanivuković told MPs that decisions in the BiH Presidency must be made by consensus, and that "without a Serb member of the Presidency, there is no such consensus."
"The unwritten rule, which we should view as the highest law in Republika Srpska, must be that the Serb member of the BiH Presidency is not outvoted, no matter who he is or what his name is," said Stanivuković.
And MP and leader of the opposition Justice and Order List, Nebojša Vukanović, announced before the session that his party would not support Cvijanović's veto. During his address to the RS Assembly, Vukanović was not so explicit, but he accused the entity authorities of "destroying RS."
"We live in a society where you ask us for support and unity, and then call for my lynching. I am ashamed of the public and citizens for having to come here and point out the sad state we are in. You are working to destroy Republika Srpska, on instructions from Zagreb. You represent the interests of Croats," said Vukanović.
What preceded the session of the RS Assembly?
According to the procedure, conclusions for which consensus has not been reached will be voted on again at the session of the Presidency of BiH.
If the voting result is the same again, Cvijanović has the right to declare them destructive to the vital entity interest, and the RS National Assembly will then decide on everything.
On May 12, the Presidency of BiH, by a majority vote, considering the situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina "regarding the attack by the authorities of the Republika Srpska entity on the constitutional order", in addition to calling for EUFOR, also requested the declaration of laws, decisions and conclusions of the RS Assembly as unlawful and destructive of the constitutional and legal order of BiH.
The conclusion also included a request for the removal of managers in police and security agencies at the level of BiH due to the failure to implement decisions of the judicial institutions of BiH.
At the end of February, the government in the RS entity began adopting a series of anti-constitutional decisions, including a law banning the work of state judicial and security institutions on the territory of that entity.
Due to increased tensions in BiH, following the adoption of unconstitutional laws, EUFOR forces have increased the number of their members in that country.
The BiH Prosecutor's Office has been conducting an investigation against the leadership of the RS entity since the end of last year for the collapse of the constitutional order.
Milorad Dodik also refuses to accept the verdict of the Court of BiH, which sentenced him in the first instance to a one-year prison sentence and a six-year ban on political activity for disrespecting the decisions of the High Representative of BiH.
Together with his family members and key political associates, Dodik has been on the "blacklist" in the US for several years due to his anti-Dayton activities, and sanctions have also been imposed on him by the United Kingdom, Germany and Austria.
Bonus video:
