Dodik: Republika Srpska is stable

BELGRADE - Republika Srpska (RS) is stable and its political leaders will not allow any pressures or trade-offs no matter where they may come from, President of the Serb entity in Bosnia-Herzegovina (BiH) Milorad Dodik has said.

Appearing on a Radio Television of Serbia (RTS) talk show late on Thursday, Dodik said that the unrest, taking place in the Bosniac entity alone over the past week, was sparked by social reasons but was later used for political goals and became aimed at destabilizing the Serb entity.

He said that “alleged rioters” were making wholly political demands for a centralization of institutions, one president and abolishing the cantons and entities.

The ultimate goal was to have protests that spread across the Bosniak entity spill over into the Croat and Serb entities in order to show that their current political elites are doing a bad job, and to then carry on to “modeling a new political system,” said Dodik.

“No one denies that Republika Srpska has economic problems, too, but no social protest have taken place here,” save for only “minimal gatherings organized by the Bosniak associations and non-governmental organizations,” Dodik said.

Dodik said that that other countries “are trying to show that it is the whole of Bosnia protesting” because they want an RS president “who would be signing transferences of powers to the BiH level for the sake of a remote, happy future in the European Union.”

“The EU should be our goal, but not at any cost, and if the price is the transference of Republika Srpska's authority, then thanks for your EU offer, but no thanks. We will stay where we are, defend our autonomy and build institutions here,” Dodik said.

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