Member of the Bosnia and Herzegovina Presidency Milorad Dodik gestures at the end of Budapest Demographic Summit in Budapest, Hungary on 23 September 2021. REUTERS Bernadett Szabo
SARAJEVO, Oct 14 - Reuters - Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik, who advocates the secession of Serb dominions from Bosnia, announced on Thursday that the Serb Republic leadership will soon take measures to unravel key institutions of the Bosnian state.
Dodik, who serves currently as the Serbian member of Bosnia's tripartite inter-ethnic presidency, has long complained about state institutions such as the judiciary and prosecutors, saying that they were established based on decisions by international peace envoys and were not enshrined in the Constitution.
Under the Dayton accords that ended its devastating war in the 1990's, Bosnia was divided into two autonomous regions - the Serb Republic and the Federation, dominated by Croats and Bosniaks, linked by a weak central government.
The constitution of a country is part of the peace deal.
But since the Balkan country was not functional after war, representatives from the international community imposed rulings to create institutions with which formation the three rival ethnic groups could not agree.
I announce the end of this, Dodik said at a news conference after meeting ambassadors from the European Union countries in Bosnia, adding that about 130 laws imposed by peace envoys will be annulled and authorities given to the regional parliament.
He said last week that the Serb Republic would withdraw from Bosnia's armed forces, top judiciary body and tax administration, the three institutions representing key pillars of state security, rule of law and fiscal system. Among the institutions he plans to unravel are also the State Investigation and Protection Agency, Intelligence-Security Agency, state court and prosecution, as well as the Constitutional Court - all institutions which enable the state functioning in reality.
Dodik said he was not going to be against the secession of the Bosnian Republic, but for its full autonomy in the Serb region, which would not affect the country's territorial integrity.
There is no war, there will be no war and there is no possibility for the war, he said, adding the Serb leadership did not plan to take any military measures.
However, dodik, a staunch supporter of Russia, has previously said that Unidentified friends had promised to Russian help to the Serb Republic in case of Western military intervention against the region.
The Peace Implementation Council, the body grouping representatives of the countries and international organizations overseeing Bosnia's peace, also called on all Bosnian leaders to cease destabilizing and divisive rhetoric including threats of secession.
Attempting to undo 26 years of hard-won progress and peace is the opposite of what many political leaders have committed to and where Bosnia-Herzegovina needs to go, the ambassadors said in a statement with which Russia disagreed.