Thousands of people gathered in Banja Luka on February 25 to support the president of the Republika Srpska entity, Milorad Dodik, a day before the ruling of the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Dodik is facing trial for disrespecting the High Representative's decisions.
The protest, which lasted a little over an hour and a half, was held in front of the building of the National Assembly of Republika Srpska, where a session is expected to be held later in which deputies will discuss "information on the violation of the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina, measures and duties for the protection of the Constitution."
The protesters came by organized transport from other parts of the Republika Srpska entity. According to Radio Free Europe journalists, flags with pictures of Russian President Vladimir Putin and flags of Serbia were seen at the protest.
On the stage located near the entrance to the National Assembly, there were representatives of the Government of Republika Srpska, as well as students and people from the business world, who addressed the attendees.
In addition to the leadership of Republika Srpska, Serbia's Minister of Family, Welfare and Demography, Milica Đurđević-Stamenkoski, was present and she addressed the protesters.
Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, also a former lawyer for US President Donald Trump, who is visiting Banja Luka, also spoke briefly.
In the end, Dodik addressed the audience and said that the rally in Banja Luka was "a rally in support of Republika Srpska and not Milorad Dodik."
"This is not a political rally, this is a rally of will and support," said Doddk, who has twice been blacklisted by the US for activities against the Dayton Peace Agreement.
He said that it is important that Serbia supports Republika Srpska, and indicated that the day before he had been in Belgrade where he had met with the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić.
During the speech, he mentioned journalists from BN television and called them traitors, just as he also called opposition representatives in Republika Srpska traitors.
Dodik said he would "maintain the peace" and no one from Republika Srpska would fight, adding that this entity "respects the Constitution of Republika Srpska."
Authorities in Republika Srpska have long said they want to restore the “original Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina,” which means extremely limited powers for the state, as they were when the Dayton Agreement was signed in 1995.
The Constitution of Bosnia, which is Annex 4 of the Dayton Agreement, provides for the transfer of jurisdiction to the state level if the entities accept this.
Another protest has been announced for tomorrow and it will be held an hour before the Bosnian Court's decision is announced.
In addition to Dodik, the verdict against Miloš Lukić, the acting director of the Official Gazette of Republika Srpska, is expected to be announced tomorrow.
Dodik and Lukic are accused of disrespecting the decisions of the High Representative, Christian Schmidt, and risk being sentenced to up to five years in prison and a ban on political activity.
Dodik is accused of signing presidential decrees, by which he declared two unconstitutional laws of Republika Srpska, which had previously been annulled by the High Representative, valid. Lukić is accused of publishing these laws and decrees, which stipulate that the decisions of the High Representative and the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina will not be implemented in that entity.
The Prosecution of Bosnia and Herzegovina, in the final session on February 19, requested the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina to impose a five-year prison sentence on Dodik, and to ban him from political activity for ten years.
Prosecutors also requested the same maximum sentence for Lukic./ REL (A2 Televizion)
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