“The autumn offensive by Christian Schmidt, conceived as a blitzkrieg and planned to advance along the Sarajevo – Banja Luka axis, with punitive expeditions intended to seize and take control of the forests, waters, meadows, and mines of Kozara, Ozren, Majevica, Posavina, Romanija, Zelengora…, got stuck at the inter-entity boundary because ‘The border exists,’ emphasized legal expert Ognjen Tadić in his column for Glas Srpske.”
The column is being transmitted in its entirety:
The First Serbian Rebellion Against Foreigners in Bosnia and Herzegovina was raised at altitudes below 800 meters (Nevesinje 889 m, Pale 820 m) and not in cabins on mountain slopes, not with weapons, but within the official democratic institutions operating in accordance with constitutional powers. This was also echoed in citizen assemblies held in warm, new, and modern sports halls in urban centers across Republika Srpska under the slogan “Defend Srpska.”
Schmidt’s forces acted through all available means—Sarajevo media, Sarajevo politicians, the American ambassador, a few European parliamentarians… But their attacks did not even reach Banja Luka, let alone the East Riviera. The field forces, centered around the Prosecutor’s Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the legal team of the OHR (Office of the High Representative), came up with the salvation idea of bringing the leader of the rebellion to a legal confrontation for not adhering to Schmidt’s will. At that moment, it wasn’t clear who found this news more unpleasant: whether it was the embarrassment felt by Europeans for supporting such Schmidt or the humiliation suffered by the people here, as Ramo Isak quickly rallied his officers, warning them to prepare for arresting the leader of the rebellion. Zukan Helez didn’t hesitate either; his scouts were instructed to carefully monitor whether the democratic rebellion would turn into an armed one. It seems that due to Helez’s zealous scouts, Isak’s officers thought they were dealing with Russian-Serb maneuvers, and why wouldn’t they, when Schmidt eagerly anticipated hearing such news. In the meantime, Republika Srpska displayed its full democratic capacity. RTRS, by hosting Schmidt, packaged in the OHR’s cellophane, showed that no one in Republika Srpska bears any personal grudge against him or the German nation he belongs to. Still, Schmidt cleverly used that opportunity in a way that nobody remembers what he said on that occasion. A Banja Luka portal opened its space to the American ambassador, giving him the opportunity to say whatever he wanted. However, the only impression left was that the American ambassador to the public of Republika Srpska has the opportunity to address all free media except those funded by the American embassy. After that, it was easy to conclude that in Republika Srpska, the host is at home and does not accept unannounced visits. The residents, whatever their thoughts about him, respect his authority in such situations. There was anger on Schmidt’s side as well. Sanctions, insults, accusations, threats… The most illustrative effect was the blockade of using the internet domain “.net.” Republika Srpska responded to the American “no” for “.net” not with “.ba” but with “not ‘ba'” and a period, shifting to “.rs,” fulfilling the long-standing hope of former Minister Aleksandar Popović, who, when introducing such a domain name, once said to me, “This is for both of us, that’s why it’s .rs.” Republika Srpska slid into Serbia’s embrace without firing a single bullet. After all that happened in this offensive, it’s hard to determine if the border exists even on that side. The fact that there are nearly the same number of Vučić’s and Dačić’s election billboards in Niš and Banja Luka speaks volumes. In summary, Schmidt’s offensive turned into a defense, akin to Ali-Riza’s existence in Belgrade during the time of Mihailo Obrenović. Therefore, it’s time for everyone to reassess and confront the undeniable truths related to the role of the High Representative, the Constitutional Court of BiH, property…, which have since been PERMANENTLY confirmed. So, let’s remind ourselves where we stood after all that happened.
Truths
Christian Schmidt is not the High Representative for BiH since there is no necessary resolution of the UN Security Council for such a position. Everything he does while presenting himself as the High Representative constitutes an attack on the constitutional order of BiH and the Dayton Peace Agreement. Decisions made by Schmidt are neither nor can be laws, and this naturally applies to the text called the decision on amendments to the Criminal Code of BiH. The competent security authorities of BiH, under the coordination of the Ministry of Security of BiH, unequivocally established that Schmidt’s arrival and stay in BiH cannot be linked to the High Representative function, and that behind it all lies an attempt to impose Schmidt as the High Representative without the necessary decision of the Security Council, which would set a precedent that would later be interpreted so that a resolution of the UN Security Council would never again be necessary.
Republika Srpska, by resisting Schmidt’s usurpation, is actually protecting not only itself but the entire BiH, especially the Dayton Peace Agreement. By avoiding using this situation arising from the conflict of major powers in the Security Council to establish real sovereignty for BiH, the Bosniak side is actually attacking the foundations of BiH, showing that they choose submission to foreigners rather than the state, perhaps thinking that it is in their greater interest.
There is no constitutional or legal basis for depriving any property from entities and transferring it to BiH. Only entities can decide on these matters. The attempt to present the succession agreement regarding the property of the former Yugoslavia as a basis for such a transfer has completely failed. From that agreement, it is clear that it does not interfere with the internal organization of BiH and respects the division of powers – pensions are dealt with by entities and their pension funds, assets go to the BiH level in accordance with their competencies and continue to be distributed by the decisions of BiH authorities, immovable property is made available to those who have the competence to regulate this issue, which is only the entities…
The Constitutional Court of BiH has been an instrument for revising and undermining the Constitution of BiH and the Dayton Peace Agreement for years, and the so-called foreign judges have had a decisive role in this. Not just because of that, but also for the country’s sovereignty and European integration, foreign judges should be replaced by domestic judges. The explanation that this cannot be done without changing the Constitution of BiH is not accurate because the composition of the court is determined by the number and nothing else, and everything else from the Constitution relates to the manner of election, including the three judges appointed by the President of the European Court of Human Rights during this period. These three judges are subject to a special provision that allows for a change in the manner of their election by law.
The case against the President of the Republic Milorad Dodik and the Director of the “Official Gazette of Republika Srpska” Miloš Lukić represents a political process, and whatever decision that court makes will actually be a judgment on Bosnia and Herzegovina, not on them. The two of them have consistently performed their duties in accordance with the Constitution of Republika Srpska, confirmed by the decision of the Constitutional Court of Republika Srpska on November 29, 2023.
Open Questions
Some political factors in Republika Srpska do not participate in activities related to these issues. Not because they were rejected, but because they themselves do not want to participate. It should not be concluded that this means they are part of any fifth column. After all, Schmidt himself killed any possible form of a fifth column by stating that one of the opposition leaders asked him to remove Dodik. Their range of opinions goes from believing that Dodik arranged everything with Schmidt (Vukanović, Crnadak…) to believing that the conflict is real, and Dodik should resign as the allegedly weaker side (Ivanić…). Therefore, logical questions arise – if everything is just an arrangement, then why should Dodik resign, and if it is not an arrangement but a real conflict, how can he resign, leave the helm of Republika Srpska, and flee, because surrender is not an option? Instead, the most likely options are related to the fact that representatives of political Sarajevo have been working for decades to turn Republika Srpska into an empty shell, i.e., nothingness, so that there is nothing to separate from BiH. However, instead of achieving that, they have turned BiH into nothingness, so ultimately Republika Srpska will not have anything to separate from. Today, it is not difficult to imagine that in some year, say during Trump’s new term, there will be news in Washington that Schmidt and political Sarajevo have destroyed the Dayton Peace Agreement, and Republika Srpska has declared independence. I assume that a telephone conversation like this would follow:
- Connect me to Orban!
- Prime Minister Orban on the line, Mr. President, the secretary informs.
- Viktor, what is happening in Bosnia?
- Mr. President, Republika Srpska has made an enforced but only possible decision.
- O.K., Viktor. We have no problem with that. Let them in Sarajevo contact Zagreb for a confederation. We have done a lot for the Croats, and now they have to help us prevent the emergence of a Muslim state in Europe because of all that. No one is to blame for Muslims; they had a chance to have a state. They squandered it themselves.
