Patriarch Porfirije of Serbia, accompanied by Metropolitans Jefrem of Banja Luka and Fotije of Zvornik-Tuzla, as well as Bishops Sergije of Bihać-Petrovac and Sava of Marča, visited the President of the Republic of Srpska, Milorad Dodik, in Banja Luka.
Also present at the meeting were the President’s close associates, including the Serbian member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Mrs. Željka Cvijanović, the President of the National Assembly of the Republic of Srpska, Mr. Nenad Stevandić, the Prime Minister, Mr. Radovan Višković, and the Minister of Scientific and Technological Development, Mr. Željko Budimir.
President Dodik briefed the Patriarch and the Hierarchs on the manner in which the institutions of the Republic of Srpska intend to respond to the legal coercion that the entity has endured since 1995, the year it signed the Dayton Agreement and became part of the state community of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The culmination of this situation, he emphasized, has been a politically motivated and orchestrated judicial process before the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
President Dodik underscored that the leadership of the Republic of Srpska remains united and determined to defend the Dayton constitutional framework by political and legal means, as it represents the only viable foundation for coexistence in Bosnia and Herzegovina. He also expressed his gratitude to Patriarch Porfirije and the Hierarchs for their understanding and support, highlighting the irreplaceable role of the Church in preserving the identity of the Serbian people in the region.
His Holiness, Patriarch Porfirije, together with all the Hierarchs of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Bosnia and Herzegovina, expressed a unanimous stance, stating that the ruling of the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina is clearly aimed at nullifying the democratically expressed will of the Serbian people and thereby delegitimizing both the existence of the Republic of Srpska and the Serbian population as a whole in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
“I make a special appeal to all those in positions of power to take responsibility for maintaining peace. At the same time, I call on international military forces (EUFOR) to fully exercise their mandate in order to reduce tensions and hostilities, rather than pose a threat to any community,” concluded the Head of the Serbian Orthodox Church.
