Political tensions in Bosnia & Herzegovina escalated further on March 6, after the state-level prosecution summoned Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik for interrogation over laws recently adopted in Republika Srpska that, if implemented, would lead to the legal secession of the entity.

The previous day, Dodik signed decrees putting into force four laws adopted by Republika Srpska’s parliament at the end of February, despite warnings that they violate the state-level constitution.

“The Prosecutor's Office of BiH invites me to give a statement tomorrow as a suspect of overthrowing the constitutional order, only because I performed my duty prescribed by the Constitution and law after the decisions of the National Assembly of Republika Srpska,” Dodik wrote on his webpage on March 6.

Lawmakers in the entity want Bosnian state bodies, namely the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council, the Prosecutor's Office and the State Investigation and Protection Agency, banned from operating within Republika Srpska. They also adopted a law on ‘foreign agents’ similar to that of Russia and Belarus.

“These four laws passed by the National Assembly of the Republic of Srpska that return subjectivity and constitutional competence to Srpska in the conditions of endangering our constitutional competence that lasted for almost 25 years,” Dodik noted after signing the decrees.

The laws are supposed to enter in force on March 7 when they will be published in Republika Srpska’s State Gazette.

Dodik argued that the state-level prosecution cannot probe issues related to the constitution.

“Bodies whose activities are prohibited on the territory of Republika Srpska do not exist in the Constitution of BiH. The speed with which they reacted shows that everything was prepared in advance, where it is a matter of continuing political persecution. Prosecutors coming from the Federation, who are politically instructed, continue to abuse their unconstitutional position in the most gross way for a political chase,” Dodik said.

He added he would not go to the interrogation, accusing the Bosnian state-level authorities of carrying out an “inquisition” against Serbs living in Bosnia.

“Today I am being tried because they cannot judge millions of Serbs who do not want to be disenfranchised in their own country,” Dodik added.

Bosniaks, Croats respond to security threats

The Bosniak and Croat members of the state-level tripartite presidency, Denis Becirovic and Zeljko Komsic, and state-level parliament speakers Denis Zvizdic and Kemal Ademovic, have referred the four laws to the constitutional court, saying they are unconstitutional.

Becirovic also held a meeting with representatives of the international community to discuss the defence of the constitutional order in Bosnia, his office said in a statement on March 6.

Becirovic called on the international community to prevent anti-Dayton and anti-constitutional actions that could have “unforeseeable consequences”. He urged the international community’s high representative Christian Schmidt to use his Bonn powers to intervene, and for the EU to increase the number of EUFOR troops in the country.

Becirovic said EUFOR should deploy reserve forces in key strategic areas due to the deteriorating security situation and added that it was important to send a message that the authorities of Bosnia, Nato and EUFOR will respond decisively to any attempt to threaten peace and security, with the aim of protecting peace and the state.

Becirovic also held a phone talk with Nato’s Deputy Secretary General Radmila Shekerinska, informing her that there was serious threat to the country’s security from Republika Srpska’s leadership.

Dodik responded, accusing the Bosniaks of attempting to start a new civil war.

“The Bosniaks of Sarajevo want a war conflict and that is clear. That's what I told the president of Serbia. They want to eliminate Republika Srpska and take revenge on the Serbs," he said following a meeting with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic.

Opposition inside Republika Srpska

The recent decisions by Dodik’s ruling SNSD party face opposition from other political parties, which accused the political leadership of dragging the entity into a new civil war.

Opposition parties have refused to participate in a meeting called by Dodik on March 6 to discuss a new constitution for the entity. They have also refused to back the four laws in parliament.

Moreover, the association of war veterans in Republika Srpska said in an open letter it opposes the adopted laws and the SNSD’s actions, and called for withdrawal of the acts.

The state-level association of army generals urged Nato to take steps and preserve peace in the entity.