U.S. EMBASSY IN B-H: DISREGARD OF CONSTITUTIONAL COURT’S DECISIONS MUST BE SANCTIONED

SARAJEVO, 09. JAN. 2017 – A disregard of decisions by the Bosnia-Herzegovina (B-H) Constitutional Court constituted a breach of the rule of law and those doing so had to be held accountable, the U.S. Embassy in Sarajevo stated. Regarding the celebration of the Day of Republika Srpska (RS) on Jan. 9, following the B-H Constitutional Court’s decision to dispute Jan. 9 as RS Day, the U.S. Embassy said in a statement that it was not about holidays, but about the rule of law, Sarajevo daily Dnevni Avaz has reported. According to the statement, the U.S. supports the existence and status of RS and the B-H Federation within a sovereign B-H, as guaranteed under the Dayton peace agreement. The statement also warned that it was irresponsible to place B-H Armed Forces in the focus of this debate, and that a defense system reform and the creation of the Armed Forces in 2005 represented one of the mos important and most successful reforms carried out by B-H after the Dayton peace agreement, and that it demonstrated what people in B-H could achieve when working together.
RS President Milorad Dodik insisted that Serb members of the B-H Armed Forces take part in a parade on the RS Day, while Giselle Wilz, head of NATO Headquarters Sarajevo, warned that it would mean a violation of law considering that the B-H Constitutional Court had declared unconstitutional that Jan. 9 be celebrated as the RS Day, and also that those who acted by Dodik’s request cold be dismissed from service.