PIC warns RS's Dodik against intimidating international community

01/12/2008

SARAJEVO, Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) -- The ambassadors of the Peace Implementation Council's (PIC) Steering Board gave their full support to Principal Deputy High Representative Raffi Gregorian in a statement issued on Friday (November 28th) and warned Republika Srpska (RS) Prime Minister Milorad Dodik not to intimidate the international community. The statement was in response to Dodik's move to file a criminal report against Gregorian and international judges in a BiH court, accusing them of plotting against RS. This in turn followed a state-level probe into RS government finances, particularly into a contract to build a new RS government building worth over 100m euros. Initially, Dodik refused to provide necessary documents to state-level investigators. Later, he did but said he would sue Gregorian and other officials for bias against RS. The PIC said Dodik's move is an attempt to prevent the Office of the High Representative from fulfilling its mandate. "Milorad Dodik is clearly making use of RS institutions and personnel to try to intimidate the international community," the PIC said. (Onasa, Dnevni Avaz, Glas Srpske, RTRS, SRNA - 28/11/08)