“I came to Banja Luka to support the president of Republika Srpska and the government of Srpska, primarily because I am a patriot and because I am truly shocked by the European stance and the EU’s attitude toward the Serbs and Republika Srpska,” said French Member of the European Parliament Thierry Mariani, appearing on RTRS’s Dnevnik Plus.
Mariani emphasized that since becoming an MEP in 2019, he has witnessed double standards, especially when it comes to Serbia and Republika Srpska.
“I came here to inform myself directly. I was genuinely shocked to see that the top three officials of Republika Srpska, all of whom were legitimately elected by their people, were convicted based on an illegitimate ruling by a man who is a foreigner in this country, who should not even be here, let alone represent any authority. I must say that this should not represent the European position,” Mariani stressed.
He recalled that he had previously visited Banja Luka in January 2022.
“This time I came with my colleague Pascal Pierea, who is also a Member of the European Parliament and holds a notable position there. She is particularly knowledgeable in constitutional law. We came to support the president and the government of Srpska, and she especially wanted to understand firsthand what is happening here—how constitutional rights are being violated and how the Serb people here are actually victims of a completely unjust ruling,” said Mariani.
When asked about the ultimate goal behind what is happening, Mariani assessed that “this is simply the desire of a part of Europe to eliminate all those who do not align with the agenda of globalism, so that certain EU officials can gain more power and do things that should not be done according to law and justice.”
“Above all, I must say that I respect democracy. The president of Republika Srpska, the speaker of the National Assembly, and the prime minister are individuals who were democratically elected in legitimate elections, and they have been sentenced by a man who was not legally appointed to perform that role—a foreigner who came here and imposed his will. That is not democracy. Europe keeps talking about democracy and wants democracy to prevail everywhere, but that is clearly not the case here,” Mariani concluded.
He added that when he first heard about the situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina, he thought it was absolutely impossible.
“That’s why I came here—to see for myself whether this is really true, that in the 21st century, on European soil, something like this could happen: a foreigner comes to someone else’s territory, acts as judge and jury, completely contrary to the constitution and all laws, and people are expected to accept it. If such a thing happened in France, I would do the exact same thing—I would absolutely reject it and fight against it,” Mariani stated.
Mariani also noted that he does not personally know Christian Schmidt, but he is well aware of the entire story surrounding him and knows that he is German.
“For a German to come to your territory as a high representative—it’s like a Frenchman going to some territory in Africa and acting as a high representative. And we all know our colonial history. That would truly be unacceptable,” Mariani emphasized.
Source: RTRS
