An unnamed man burned the car of Bosnian Serb opposition leader Nebojša Vukanović late on Thursday night [between March 13th and 14th].
Vukanović confirmed the event happened two hours after yesterday’s session of the National Assembly of the Bosnian Serb region of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Republika Srpska: “A fire was set two hours after the session to my Toyota Auris.”
Vukanović blamed his opponents’ rhetoric for the attack, accusing his rival, Radovan Višković, of comparing him to the Ustaše, a Croatian fascist group active during the Second World War.”
In a video posted to YouTube, he did not hold back in his criticisms, laying blame firmly at the feet of the autonomous region’s President, Prime Minister and Speaker of the Assembly: “These are obvious mafia-like messages. I blame everything on Milorad Dodik, Radovan Višković and Nenad Stevandić, who have been waging a dirty campaign against me for days.”
Vukanović also said that the police have conducted an on-site investigation, insisting: “There is no doubt that all of this has a political background.”
Vukanović is the leader of the party “Za Pravdu i Red” (“For Justice and Order” in English), and has been serving as an MP in the Republika Srpska Assembly since 2018.
He reminded that the troubles between him and his rivals are nothing new: “Every day I receive many threatening messages from regime supporters, and just ten days ago I filed a criminal complaint against Milorad Dodik, who is the instigator of the attack, for endangering security with the District Prosecutor’s Office in Banja Luka.”.
Dodik has been under arrest warrant since Wednesday due to his secessionist agitation and failing to appear in front of national courts after being summoned for questioning. The European Forces in Bosnia (EUFOR) were reinforced on Wednesday due to the secessionist threat in a move that was announced on EUFOR’s website.
Although Dodik claimed he would stay in Republika Srpska despite the arrest warrant, Russian news agency TASS claimed Dodik will travel to Moscow in the coming weeks to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has supported Dodik in the crisis. Although not confirmed, rumours have circulated Dodik could travel as early as March 19th to the Kremlin.
According to Bosnian news portal Istraga, the State Investigation and Protection Agency (SIPA) has refused to issue an international arrest warrant for Dodik. The operation will instead be carried out by the the country’s national border police.
Originally, the SIPA was expected to carry out this operation by this week, but the intervention has been postponed due to “high risk”, according to SIPA Director Darko Ćulum.
SIPA’s last action on Republika Srpska territory dates back to late February, arresting two Dodik supporters in Banja Luka for threatening a judge of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s highest national court, who sentenced Milorak Dodik in the first place.
Shortly after that operation it was announced that SIPA would temporarily stop operating in Republika Srpska due to pressure from the region’s authorities
Shortly after Dodik’s sentencing, legislators in Republika Srpska also passed a law forbidding SIPA forces to enter the territory. Although the decision was suspended by national courts, SIPA has nonetheless not operated since in Republika Srpska.
