In a recent speech following a meeting of the ruling coalition in Republika Srpska, Milorad Dodik, the President of the Republika Srpska entity, made a series of offensive, chauvinistic, and historically unfounded statements, causing widespread backlash both locally and regionally.
Dodik declared that Bosnia and Herzegovina is “disintegrating” and that its essence “smells of inhumanity.” He repeatedly dismissed the legitimacy of the High Representative, Christian Schmidt, calling him “illegitimate” and claimed that “Muslims” (as he referred to Bosniaks) “accept his decisions and hope for the second half of the game.”
However, the most scandalous and offensive part of his speech was his direct call to Bosniaks to “return to the Orthodox faith,” claiming that Bosnia and Herzegovina would only be a “Serb-majority” state and could “only exist in such a form.”
He went on to say, “The solution for Bosnia is this: for Muslims to return to their old Orthodox faith. We are trying to offer constructive proposals. There is evidence that our ancestors converted to Islam under Ottoman pressure. Therefore, for me, this is the correct solution,” Dodik stated.
He added that “Bosniaks should return to the faith of their ancestors, and thus Bosnia would be a Serb-majority state.”
In his controversial remarks, Dodik stated, “Bosnia and Herzegovina is not what it claims to be. It will disintegrate. And I am happy about this,” expressing open satisfaction at the possible dismantling of the state.
These separatist declarations have been interpreted as a blatant attempt to undermine the constitutional order of Bosnia and Herzegovina and to incite religious and national hatred.
