“Your Excellency,
I received Your letter concerning, as You set out in it, the public holiday of 25th of November, the Statehood Day of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH). As Chairman of the Presidency of BiH, I would like to inform You that the Serbs as the constitutive people in BiH, Republika Srpska as an entity, and I personally do not perceive this day as the Statehood Day, and that the day concerned has not been regulated as a public holiday by any relevant decision. The two other peoples within BiH have inherited that public holiday from the times of communism, whereas the Serbs have not perceived it as a public holiday.
Unfortunately,
the U.S. administration has considerably contributed to this confusion by
ignoring the position of Republika Srpska and the Serb people on this issue.
Namely, no decision of any kind can be made in BiH without the Serb people, and
no public holidays can be declared without them either.
Your Excellency, as Chairman of the
Presidency of BiH, I would like to inform you hereafter on my intentions to build
successful relations, free of any speculations, with the United States of
America. I respect You and Your policy following the trend of non-interference
in the internal issues of other countries, and supporting the doctrine of
patriotism worldwide. Further, let me inform you that I am advocating prompt
accession of BiH to the European Union, and that no decision on membership in
NATO has been adopted because Republika Srpska advocates military neutrality.
As You know, NATO interfered deeply in the war in BiH, and bombed the Serbs in
Republika Srpska.
Esteemed Excellency, I was glad to
see Your victory, I have been following Your statements, and I am fully
confident that America will become an even more powerful and prosperous country
under Your leadership.
Please receive the assurances of my sincere
consideration.”
Milorad Dodik, Chairman of the Presidency
of BiH