Today's sentencing of the president of Bosnia and Herzegovina's Republika Srpska (RS), Mirollad Dodik, has been described as "the biggest crisis since the end of the war" and the result of "a general attack by Sarajevo and several Western powers on RS" by Serbia's Interior Minister, Ivica Dacic, reports the Beta agency.
The Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Sarajevo today sentenced Dodik to one year in prison and a six-year ban from holding the office of president, starting from the day the decision comes into force. Meanwhile, the acting director of the entity's Official Gazette, Miloš Lukić, was acquitted of all charges.
Both were accused of disrespecting the decisions of the international community's High Representative, Christian Schmidt.
Shortly after the decision on Dodik was made, Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić called an emergency session of Serbia's National Security Council.
After the meeting of the National Security Council of Serbia, Dacic said that this body, upon Vucic's proposal, unanimously adopted seven conclusions, which, among other things, condemn the court's decision as "undemocratic and illegal" and call for respect for the Dayton Peace Agreement and for stopping the "further destruction of the system" created by this document.
"The Council called for calm in reactions, because this is very important for the moment we are in, for the unity and unification of all our people and all political parties in Serbia and RS. There were other conclusions that I will not mention, but great concern was expressed about this situation," said Dacic, who is also the secretary of the National Security Council.
He added that the session assessed that the decision against the RS president is "directed against the vital interests of the Serbian people" and that "foreign interference" has led to the current crisis.
Dacic also confirmed that Vucic will travel to Banja Luka tonight to talk with Dodik.
"This is very important. It has become clear to everyone that Serbia, RS and the Serbian people as a whole are in a difficult situation," Dacic said.
Even Serbia's Deputy Prime Minister, Aleksandar Vulin, called the sentence an "attack on Serbs and Serbia."
Vulin said that in Serbia there is currently an attempt to "cause a color revolution and destabilize the Republic of Serbia by Western intelligence services" and that the decision against Dodik is part of "efforts to destabilize the Balkans."
He added that Serbia and Serbian President Vučić "will protect Serbs wherever they live and will not allow the destruction of Republika Srpska."
If the verdict in the same form becomes final, Dodik, in addition to ceasing to be the president of RS, according to the Criminal Code of Bosnia and Herzegovina, also loses the right to exercise any public function in Bosnia and Herzegovina for a period of six years. /REL (A2 Televizion)
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