Bosnian Serb politician: Main Bosniak party pushing country into wrong direction

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The main Bosniak Party is “pushing the country into the completely wrong direction” with its new declaration, the head of the Bosnian Serb opposition Party of Democratic Progress (PDP), Branislav Borenovic, said on Sunday.

The Party for Democratic Action (SDA) adopted on Saturday a document containing its long-term goals which include, among other things, the establishment of a ‘Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina’ and the affirmation of a ‘Bosnian language’ as the ‘common identity of all of Bosnia’s citizens’.

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Borenovic said those goals are “unacceptable” for the Serb people and for Republika Srpska (RS), the semi-autonomous Serb-majority entity within the country.

“The SDA is permanently excluding itself from any future agreements or potential coalitions with any party in Republika Srpska which cares about the Dayton Agreement and respects the constitutional setup of this country,” Borenovic said.

Instead of going forward and working on a better relationship with other ethnic groups, the strongest Bosniak party is returning to “a dark past,” he said, adding that “their dreams of a Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina will only remain on paper in their Resolution.”

Borenovic stressed that no reorganisation or regionalisation of the country will take place, adding that there were similar attempts before.

“As for us, Republika Srpska is a permanent category, internationally recognised, and we will resist attempts to create a unitarian Bosnia and Herzegovina as many times before,” he said.

“Today, like never before, it can clearly be seen that those who swear by Bosnia and Herzegovina, such as the SDA, are pushing the country into a completely wrong direction,” he said.

Bosnia’s Foreign Affairs Minister Igor Crnadak, also a PDP member, said that the Resolution the SDA adopted would endanger peace and stability not only in Bosnia, but also in the Balkans.

He said the resolution is not in line with the Dayton Peace Agreement and that it goes “against the interests of the Serb people, the RS and Bosnia and Herzegovina.”

The country can only survive according to an internal agreement, he said. “Everything other than a Bosnia and Herzegovina based on two entities would lead to the disturbance of the balance set up in the Dayton Agreement.”