The President of Republika Srpska, Milorad Dodik, declared this evening in Banja Luka that no one will bring him to the Prosecutor’s Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) in Sarajevo, asserting that the entity’s police will ensure his protection.

“Arrest me? That won’t happen. The police are here to maintain peace and order in Republika Srpska, and they will fulfill that duty. Their responsibility is to ensure my safety as president and protect our institutions. Naturally, they will prevent any moves of that nature,” Dodik stated during an interview with a journalist from Croatian RTL.

When asked if he would voluntarily attend a hearing at the state prosecutor’s office in Sarajevo, Dodik remarked, “There’s no reason for me to voluntarily appear where an institution is operating against the Constitution.”

“Moreover, they are acting based on an order from a foreigner (High Representative in BiH Kristijan Šmit), who issued some directive, and they are attempting to associate that with a criminal offense. It is primarily Muslims who are pursuing this campaign against Republika Srpska,” Dodik noted, adding that “it will soon be clear that they won’t succeed in their plan.”

When questioned about the possibility of an incident between the Republika Srpska police and the BiH Investigation and Protection Agency (SIPA), which has been ordered to detain him, he responded: “Since I enjoy this scenario, it often concludes with some sort of incident – a positive one. I don’t grasp it.”

When the journalist further inquired whether the Republika Srpska police would engage in a conflict if an attempt was made to arrest him, he affirmed that “they certainly would.”

When pressed by the journalist about potential incidents if someone tried to detain him, Dodik initially claimed “there will be no conflict” and that “there’s no need for that,” but then stated that “an incident is not possible” and “the police will act.”

When asked why he did not voluntarily respond to the summons of the Prosecutor’s Office of BiH, which accuses him of attacking the constitutional order, Dodik replied: “Who am I supposed to respond to, and what should I respond to?”

“I’m clearly explaining that neither that court nor the prosecutor’s office is sanctioned by the Constitution of BiH,” Dodik concluded the interview.

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