Milorad Dodik
Encyclopedia
Milorad Dodik (born March 12, 1959), is the President of Republika Srpska
, and the president of the Alliance of Independent Social Democrats (SNSD) political party
. He graduated from the Belgrade University of Political Sciences .
. From 1986 through 1990 he was the President of the Executive Board of the Municipal Assembly (i.e. mayor
) of Laktaši
. In 1990, in the first multi-party elections in Bosnia and Herzegovina
he was elected to the Parliament of the Socialist Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina
, as a candidate of the Union of Reform Forces
. During the War in Bosnia, he served as a representative in the National Assembly of the Republika Srpska
. During that time, he formed the Independent Members of Parliament Caucus
(Клуб независних посланика у Народној Скупштини Републике Српске, Klub nezavisnih poslanika u Narodnoj Skupštini Republike Srpske), which was the only political opposition the Serb Democratic Party (Српска демократска странка, Srpska demokratska stranka), which held the absolute majority in the war-time parliament of the Republika Srpska.
The caucus he chaired was to form the core of the Party of Independent Social Democrats (Stranka nezavisnih socijaldemokrata, or SNSD) in 1996, after the peace was signed as a result of the Dayton Agreement
. He was elected as the first President of SNSD. The party later united with another social-democratic party to form the Alliance of Independent Social Democrats, of which Milorad Dodik is President. In 1997, he was elected into the National Assembly of the Republika Srpska
and then became the majority leader in national assembly.
During the years in opposition, he concentrated on the strengthening of his political party, which swept the elections in October 2006. During the election campaign, which he led under the slogan "Republic of Srpska, the better part of BiH", he opposed calls from the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina
(namely from the Bosniak-dominated Party for Bosnia and Herzegovina
(SBiH)) for the abolition of the Republika Srpska. In response to this, he said he would call for a referendum on the independence of Republika Srpska.
In 2007, Dodik was a guest on the Croatia
n talk show Nedjeljom u dva
, in which he amongst other things discussed the return of Croatian refugees to Republika Srpska
and the future status of a unified Bosnia and Herzegovina
.
On 5 May 2008, Dodik and Serbian President Boris Tadić inaugurated the Park Republika Srpska
in Belgrade.
On 1 June 2008, during a visit to Zagreb
, Dodik stated that Operation Storm
was an act of ethnic cleansing
carried out against Serbs and regarded it the "greatest ethnic cleansing committed after World War II". Stjepan Mesić
scrutinized Dodik for encouraging unsatisfied Serbs in Croatia to live in Republika Srpska while neglecting to invite Bosniak and Croat refugees. Ivo Banac
, President of the Croatian Helsinki Committee
, stated Croatia was defending itself at the time and criticized Dodik for causing provocations.
On 12 December 2008, Dodik stated that Muslim judges should not be allowed to preside over cases in Republika Srpska. Dodik elaborated that "it is unacceptable for the RS that Muslim judges try us and throw out complaints that are legally founded. And we think that it is only because they are Muslims, Bosniaks and that they have a negative orientation towards the RS, and we see the conspiracy that has been created." Dodik's comments were condemned and seen as "extremely chauvinistic" by international institutions, the United States Embassy in Sarajevo
and other officials.
On 9 September 2009, Dodik and Boris Tadić
, President of Serbia, opened a school in Pale with the name "Serbia". Bosniak and Croat members of the tripartite Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina were not consulted about Tadić's trip.
On 27 October 2009, Dodik provided an RS government jet to pick up Biljana Plavšić
, former President of Republika Srpska convicted of war crimes, and welcomed her to Belgrade
after her early release from a Swedish prison. Dodik cited "purely moral reasons" for doing so. Željko Komšić
, Croat member of the tripartite Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, cancelled a planned visit to Sweden in protest.
In November 2009, Dodik refused to hand over requested documents detailing the financing of a government building complex in Banja Luka worth 110 million euro and the construction of a highway to international prosecutors at the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina
. Dodik stated that the court had no jurisdiction over Republika Srpska and filed a lawsuit against Deputy High Representative Raffi Gregorian
and international prosecutors. Dodik accused Gregorian of leading a plot against Republika Srpska and said a bias against Serbs existed among central-level prosecutors and judges.
On 10 November 2009, Dodik revealed that he seriously considered giving Biljana Plavšić an office in the Senate. He stated "we are working on revising the law on the President of the Republic, which would award Plavšić, and other former presidents, the opportunity to enjoy some privileges like the office, monetary compensation, counselor, secretary, official car with a driver and so forth." Mladen Bosić, leader of the Serbian Democratic Party, criticized Dodik.
On 19 January 2010, outgoing Croatian president Stjepan Mesić stated that if Dodik were to call an independence referendum for Republika Srpska he would send the Croatian military to intervene. On 21 January 2010, Dodik accused Stjepan Mesić of leading the wartime Croatian government "that ethnically cleansed that country of its ethnic Serb population" and that he helped "to promote the Ustaša program dating back to the Second World War” in Australia
, and in Široki Brijeg
in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
On 30 November 2010, leaked United States diplomatic cables
revealed that Dodik supported the Ahtisaari plan for the independence
of Kosovo
. The cable was sent by Daniel Fried
, a U.S. State Department official, in May 2007 and quoted Dodik as stating that "Kosovo's recognition would follow after such a decision (to adopt the plan) by the UN Security Council". Dodik denied the accusations and stated that Daniel Fried was a liar and a troublemaker.
In May 2011, Dodik planned to have a referendum held in June that he viewed would reflect on the rejection of Bosnian state institutions, including the war crimes court. The High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina
, Valentin Inzko
, warned that the referendum could potentially jeopardize the Dayton Agreement. However, shortly after tensions increased in regards to the proposed referendum, Republika Srpska decided to cancel the referendum, after Catherine Ashton, EU's High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy
reassured Dodik in Banja Luka that EU will examine the complaints of RS on abuses in justice system of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and recommend the changes.
, which occurred in the 1990s. On many occasions he has expressed opinions that differ from commonly established views, when emphasizing that Serbs also were victimized during the war, by Bosnian Muslim attacks. He also questions the validity of some common claims from the Bosniak side.
was staged and questioned the Markale massacres
at Sarajevo. The Tuzla
municipality filed charges against Dodik over these statements. The city of Sarajevo
filed criminal charges against Dodik for abuse of power, and inciting ethnic, racial and religious hatred.
The Office of the High Representative said Dodik denied the war crimes committed and stated that "When such skewed facts come from an official in a position of high responsibility, an official who is obliged to uphold the Dayton Peace Accords and cooperate with the Hague Tribunal
, then they are particularly irresponsible and undermine not only the institutions responsible for upholding the rule of law, but the credibility of the individual himself".
On July 12, 2010, at the 15th anniversary of the Srebrenica Massacre
, Dodik declared that he acknowledges the killings that happened on the site, but does not regard what happened at Srebrenica as genocide
, differing from the conclusions of the ICTY and of the International Court of Justice
. "If a genocide happened then it was committed against Serb people of this region where women, children and the elderly were killed en masse," Dodik said, in reference to eastern Bosnia.
In December 2010, Dodik condemned the Peace Implementation Council
, an international community of 55 countries, for referring to the Srebrenica massacre as genocide. The council reaffirmed "genocide in Srebrenica, war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in the course of the conflict in Bosnia-Herzegovina must not be forgotten or denied."
Republika Srpska
Republika Srpska is one of two main political entities of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the other being the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina...
, and the president of the Alliance of Independent Social Democrats (SNSD) political party
Political party
A political party is a political organization that typically seeks to influence government policy, usually by nominating their own candidates and trying to seat them in political office. Parties participate in electoral campaigns, educational outreach or protest actions...
. He graduated from the Belgrade University of Political Sciences .
Political career
Dodik graduated from the Faculty of Political Science at the University of BelgradeUniversity of Belgrade
The University of Belgrade is the oldest and largest university of Serbia.Founded in 1808 as the Belgrade Higher School in revolutionary Serbia, by 1838 it merged with the Kragujevac-based departments into a single university...
. From 1986 through 1990 he was the President of the Executive Board of the Municipal Assembly (i.e. mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
) of Laktaši
Laktaši
Laktaši is a town and municipality in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is situated in the Republika Srpska entity near the city of Banja Luka.-Geography:...
. In 1990, in the first multi-party elections in Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina , sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina or simply Bosnia, is a country in Southern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost landlocked, except for the...
he was elected to the Parliament of the Socialist Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Socialist Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Socialist Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina , known until 1963 under the name of People's Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, was a socialist state that was a constituent country of the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia...
, as a candidate of the Union of Reform Forces
Union of Reform Forces
The Union of Reform Forces is a former political party in the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, led by Ante Marković.The party was short-lived and fairly unsuccessful, but it later served as a basis for liberal parties in Serbia and in the Republic of Macedonia The Union of Reform Forces...
. During the War in Bosnia, he served as a representative in the National Assembly of the Republika Srpska
National Assembly of the Republika Srpska
The National Assembly of the Republika Srpska is the legislative body of the Republika Srpska, one of two entities comprising the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina...
. During that time, he formed the Independent Members of Parliament Caucus
Independent Members of Parliament Caucus
Independent Members of Parliament Caucus was a group of members of the National Assembly of the Republika Srpska from 1992–1996, led by Milorad Dodik, which later evolved into the Alliance of Independent Social Democrats....
(Клуб независних посланика у Народној Скупштини Републике Српске, Klub nezavisnih poslanika u Narodnoj Skupštini Republike Srpske), which was the only political opposition the Serb Democratic Party (Српска демократска странка, Srpska demokratska stranka), which held the absolute majority in the war-time parliament of the Republika Srpska.
The caucus he chaired was to form the core of the Party of Independent Social Democrats (Stranka nezavisnih socijaldemokrata, or SNSD) in 1996, after the peace was signed as a result of the Dayton Agreement
Dayton Agreement
The General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina, also known as the Dayton Agreement, Dayton Accords, Paris Protocol or Dayton-Paris Agreement, is the peace agreement reached at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton, Ohio in November 1995, and formally signed in Paris on...
. He was elected as the first President of SNSD. The party later united with another social-democratic party to form the Alliance of Independent Social Democrats, of which Milorad Dodik is President. In 1997, he was elected into the National Assembly of the Republika Srpska
National Assembly of the Republika Srpska
The National Assembly of the Republika Srpska is the legislative body of the Republika Srpska, one of two entities comprising the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina...
and then became the majority leader in national assembly.
During the years in opposition, he concentrated on the strengthening of his political party, which swept the elections in October 2006. During the election campaign, which he led under the slogan "Republic of Srpska, the better part of BiH", he opposed calls from the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina
The Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina is one of the two political entities that compose the sovereign country of Bosnia and Herzegovina . The two entities are delineated by the Inter-Entity Boundary Line...
(namely from the Bosniak-dominated Party for Bosnia and Herzegovina
Party for Bosnia and Herzegovina
The Party for Bosnia and Herzegovina is a liberal conservative political party in Bosnia and Herzegovina led by Haris Silajdžić. On the issues of the internal divisions of Bosnia, SBiH wants to eliminate two entities, and establish a "one man-one vote political system" in an unified...
(SBiH)) for the abolition of the Republika Srpska. In response to this, he said he would call for a referendum on the independence of Republika Srpska.
In 2007, Dodik was a guest on the Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
n talk show Nedjeljom u dva
Nedjeljom u dva
Nedjeljom u dva is a Croatian television talk show aired every Sunday at 14:00 CET on HRT 1.The hour length show usually features a single guest related to an important political, cultural or economic event that came to light during that week...
, in which he amongst other things discussed the return of Croatian refugees to Republika Srpska
Republika Srpska
Republika Srpska is one of two main political entities of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the other being the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina...
and the future status of a unified Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina , sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina or simply Bosnia, is a country in Southern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost landlocked, except for the...
.
On 5 May 2008, Dodik and Serbian President Boris Tadić inaugurated the Park Republika Srpska
Park Republika Srpska
Park Republika Srpska is one of the newest parks in Belgrade, the capital of Serbia. It is located in the municipality of Novi Beograd.- Location :The park is located in the eastern section of the municipality...
in Belgrade.
On 1 June 2008, during a visit to Zagreb
Zagreb
Zagreb is the capital and the largest city of the Republic of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb lies at an elevation of approximately above sea level. According to the last official census, Zagreb's city...
, Dodik stated that Operation Storm
Operation Storm
Operation Storm is the code name given to a large-scale military operation carried out by Croatian Armed Forces, in conjunction with the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, to gain back control of parts of Croatia which had been claimed by separatist ethnic Serbs, since early...
was an act of ethnic cleansing
Ethnic cleansing
Ethnic cleansing is a purposeful policy designed by one ethnic or religious group to remove by violent and terror-inspiring means the civilian population of another ethnic orreligious group from certain geographic areas....
carried out against Serbs and regarded it the "greatest ethnic cleansing committed after World War II". Stjepan Mesić
Stjepan Mesić
Stjepan "Stipe" Mesić is a Croatian politician and former President of Croatia. Before his ten-year presidential term between 2000 and 2010 he held the posts of Speaker of the Croatian Parliament , Prime Minister of Croatia , the last President of the Presidency of Yugoslavia , Secretary General...
scrutinized Dodik for encouraging unsatisfied Serbs in Croatia to live in Republika Srpska while neglecting to invite Bosniak and Croat refugees. Ivo Banac
Ivo Banac
-External links:*...
, President of the Croatian Helsinki Committee
Croatian Helsinki Committee
Croatian Helsinki Committee for Human Rights is the leading organisation for protection and promotion of human rights in Croatia...
, stated Croatia was defending itself at the time and criticized Dodik for causing provocations.
On 12 December 2008, Dodik stated that Muslim judges should not be allowed to preside over cases in Republika Srpska. Dodik elaborated that "it is unacceptable for the RS that Muslim judges try us and throw out complaints that are legally founded. And we think that it is only because they are Muslims, Bosniaks and that they have a negative orientation towards the RS, and we see the conspiracy that has been created." Dodik's comments were condemned and seen as "extremely chauvinistic" by international institutions, the United States Embassy in Sarajevo
United States Embassy in Sarajevo
The U.S. State Department opened the United States Embassy in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina on July 4, 1994.Bosnia and Herzegovina had formerly been a part of Yugoslavia; the United States recognized independence of Bosnia and Herzegovina on April 7, 1992 ....
and other officials.
On 9 September 2009, Dodik and Boris Tadić
Boris Tadic
Boris Tadić is the President of Serbia and leader of the Democratic Party. He was elected to a five-year term on 27 June 2004, and was sworn into office on 11 July. He was re-elected for a de facto second five-year term on 3 February 2008 and was sworn in on 15 February...
, President of Serbia, opened a school in Pale with the name "Serbia". Bosniak and Croat members of the tripartite Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina were not consulted about Tadić's trip.
On 27 October 2009, Dodik provided an RS government jet to pick up Biljana Plavšić
Biljana Plavšic
Biljana Plavšić is a former president of Republika Srpska and war criminal. She is the highest ranking Bosnian Serb politician to be sentenced. She was indicted in 2001 by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia for war crimes committed during the Bosnian war...
, former President of Republika Srpska convicted of war crimes, and welcomed her to Belgrade
Belgrade
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
after her early release from a Swedish prison. Dodik cited "purely moral reasons" for doing so. Željko Komšić
Željko Komšic
Željko Komšić is a Bosniaks politician from the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina.On 1 October 2006, he was elected by Bosnikas as the representatives of Croat to a four-year term as the member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina.-Early life and the war in Bosnia:Komšić has a law degree...
, Croat member of the tripartite Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, cancelled a planned visit to Sweden in protest.
In November 2009, Dodik refused to hand over requested documents detailing the financing of a government building complex in Banja Luka worth 110 million euro and the construction of a highway to international prosecutors at the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina
The Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina is a domestic court of the State of Bosnia and Herzegovina which includes international judges and prosecutors...
. Dodik stated that the court had no jurisdiction over Republika Srpska and filed a lawsuit against Deputy High Representative Raffi Gregorian
Raffi Gregorian
Raffi Gregorian is an American diplomat. Gregorian is the current Principal Deputy High Representative and Brčko District Supervisor in Bosnia and Herzegovina...
and international prosecutors. Dodik accused Gregorian of leading a plot against Republika Srpska and said a bias against Serbs existed among central-level prosecutors and judges.
On 10 November 2009, Dodik revealed that he seriously considered giving Biljana Plavšić an office in the Senate. He stated "we are working on revising the law on the President of the Republic, which would award Plavšić, and other former presidents, the opportunity to enjoy some privileges like the office, monetary compensation, counselor, secretary, official car with a driver and so forth." Mladen Bosić, leader of the Serbian Democratic Party, criticized Dodik.
On 19 January 2010, outgoing Croatian president Stjepan Mesić stated that if Dodik were to call an independence referendum for Republika Srpska he would send the Croatian military to intervene. On 21 January 2010, Dodik accused Stjepan Mesić of leading the wartime Croatian government "that ethnically cleansed that country of its ethnic Serb population" and that he helped "to promote the Ustaša program dating back to the Second World War” in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, and in Široki Brijeg
Široki Brijeg
-Name:The name of the city means "the wide hill" in Croatian . The city is also sometime referred to as "Široki Brig" and among the inhabitants of Herzegovina simply as "Široki" . Between 1945 and 1990, the name was officially Lištica, after the river that flows through it.-Geography:The river...
in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
On 30 November 2010, leaked United States diplomatic cables
United States diplomatic cables leak
The United States diplomatic cables leak, widely known as Cablegate, began in February 2010 when WikiLeaks—a non-profit organization that publishes submissions from anonymous whistleblowers—began releasing classified cables that had been sent to the U.S. State Department by 274 of its consulates,...
revealed that Dodik supported the Ahtisaari plan for the independence
2008 Kosovo declaration of independence
The 2008 Kosovo declaration of independence was adopted on 17 February 2008 by individual members of the Assembly of Kosovo acting in personal capacity and not binding to the Assembly itself...
of Kosovo
Kosovo
Kosovo is a region in southeastern Europe. Part of the Ottoman Empire for more than five centuries, later the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija within Serbia...
. The cable was sent by Daniel Fried
Daniel Fried
Daniel Fried is a senior career diplomat of the United States who carries the rank of Ambassador. He is presently serving as a Special Envoy to facilitate the closing of the Guantanamo Bay detention camp located in Cuba. Previously, he was the top U.S. diplomat in Europe, and prior to that he was...
, a U.S. State Department official, in May 2007 and quoted Dodik as stating that "Kosovo's recognition would follow after such a decision (to adopt the plan) by the UN Security Council". Dodik denied the accusations and stated that Daniel Fried was a liar and a troublemaker.
In May 2011, Dodik planned to have a referendum held in June that he viewed would reflect on the rejection of Bosnian state institutions, including the war crimes court. The High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina
High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina
The High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina, with the Office of the High Representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina, was created in 1995 immediately after the Dayton Peace Agreement to oversee the civilian implementation of this agreement. The High Representative and the OHR represent the...
, Valentin Inzko
Valentin Inzko
Valentin Inzko is an Austrian diplomat of Carinthian Slovene origin. He is currently serving as the High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina, a role which he assumed on March 26, 2009. He is at the same time the European Union Special Representative for Bosnia and...
, warned that the referendum could potentially jeopardize the Dayton Agreement. However, shortly after tensions increased in regards to the proposed referendum, Republika Srpska decided to cancel the referendum, after Catherine Ashton, EU's High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy
High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy
The High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy is the main co-ordinator and representative of the Common Foreign and Security Policy within the European Union...
reassured Dodik in Banja Luka that EU will examine the complaints of RS on abuses in justice system of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and recommend the changes.
Controversy
Dodik, being from a Serb family, often becomes interrogated by journalists about his views on the Yugoslav warsYugoslav wars
The Yugoslav Wars were a series of wars, fought throughout the former Yugoslavia between 1991 and 1995. The wars were complex: characterized by bitter ethnic conflicts among the peoples of the former Yugoslavia, mostly between Serbs on the one side and Croats and Bosniaks on the other; but also...
, which occurred in the 1990s. On many occasions he has expressed opinions that differ from commonly established views, when emphasizing that Serbs also were victimized during the war, by Bosnian Muslim attacks. He also questions the validity of some common claims from the Bosniak side.
Opinions about the Tuzla massacre and Markale massacres
In 2009, Dodik stated that the Tuzla MassacreTuzla massacre
The Tuzla Massacre was a massacre of civilians committed on May 25, 1995 in Tuzla, Bosnia and Herzegovina.-The massacre:Between May 25 and May 28, 1995 a number of artillery projectiles were fired at Tuzla from Army of Republika Srpska positions near the village of Panjik on Mount Ozren some...
was staged and questioned the Markale massacres
Markale massacres
The Markale massacres were two bombardments carried out by the Army of Republika Srpska targeting civilians during the Siege of Sarajevo in the Bosnian War. They occurred at the Markale located in the historic core of Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina.The first happened on February...
at Sarajevo. The Tuzla
Tuzla
Tuzla is a city and municipality in Bosnia and Herzegovina. At the time of the 1991 census, it had 83,770 inhabitants, while the municipality 131,318. Taking the influx of refugees into account, the city is currently estimated to have 174,558 inhabitants...
municipality filed charges against Dodik over these statements. The city of Sarajevo
Sarajevo
Sarajevo |Bosnia]], surrounded by the Dinaric Alps and situated along the Miljacka River in the heart of Southeastern Europe and the Balkans....
filed criminal charges against Dodik for abuse of power, and inciting ethnic, racial and religious hatred.
The Office of the High Representative said Dodik denied the war crimes committed and stated that "When such skewed facts come from an official in a position of high responsibility, an official who is obliged to uphold the Dayton Peace Accords and cooperate with the Hague Tribunal
International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia
The International Tribunal for the Prosecution of Persons Responsible for Serious Violations of International Humanitarian Law Committed in the Territory of the Former Yugoslavia since 1991, more commonly referred to as the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia or ICTY, is a...
, then they are particularly irresponsible and undermine not only the institutions responsible for upholding the rule of law, but the credibility of the individual himself".
Opinions about the Srebrenica massacre
On 21 April 2010, the government of Dodik initiated a revision of the 2004 report saying that the numbers of killed were exaggerated and the report was manipulated by a former peace envoy. The Office of the High Representative responded and stated that: "The Republika Srpska government should reconsider its conclusions and align itself with the facts and legal requirements and act accordingly, rather than inflicting emotional distress on the survivors, torture history and denigrate the public image of the country".On July 12, 2010, at the 15th anniversary of the Srebrenica Massacre
Srebrenica massacre
The Srebrenica massacre, also known as the Srebrenica genocide, refers to the July 1995 killing, during the Bosnian War, of more than 8,000 Bosniaks , mainly men and boys, in and around the town of Srebrenica in Bosnia and Herzegovina, by units of the Army of Republika Srpska under the command of...
, Dodik declared that he acknowledges the killings that happened on the site, but does not regard what happened at Srebrenica as genocide
Genocide
Genocide is defined as "the deliberate and systematic destruction, in whole or in part, of an ethnic, racial, religious, or national group", though what constitutes enough of a "part" to qualify as genocide has been subject to much debate by legal scholars...
, differing from the conclusions of the ICTY and of the International Court of Justice
International Court of Justice
The International Court of Justice is the primary judicial organ of the United Nations. It is based in the Peace Palace in The Hague, Netherlands...
. "If a genocide happened then it was committed against Serb people of this region where women, children and the elderly were killed en masse," Dodik said, in reference to eastern Bosnia.
In December 2010, Dodik condemned the Peace Implementation Council
Peace Implementation Council
The Peace Implementation Council is an international body charged with implementing the Dayton Peace Agreement for Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Council was established at an implementation conference held in London, United Kingdom on December 8 and 9, 1995, subsequent to the completion of the...
, an international community of 55 countries, for referring to the Srebrenica massacre as genocide. The council reaffirmed "genocide in Srebrenica, war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in the course of the conflict in Bosnia-Herzegovina must not be forgotten or denied."