German Minister: Republika Srpska Police Told Us to Leave RS Under Threat of Violence

Anna Luehrmann (deutschland.de)

German Minister for European Affairs and Climate Anna Luehrmann said that she left Banja Luka on April 4 after receiving a notice from the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Republika Srpska stating that she had to leave the territory of that entity under the threat of violence if she did not comply.

"That is why we decided to leave," Luehrmann told the regional N1 TV station. The RS government declared the German minister “a persona non grata,” after which she left Banja Luka. She said that she saw this move by the Bosnian Serb entity’s authorities as “a clear sign of weakness on  President of Republika Srpska Milorad Dodik's part,” cautioning that Dodik was blocking Bosnia and Herzegovina’s path to the EU.

The German foreign ministry has said that Dodik does not have the legal authority to declare anyone “a persona non grata.” “Republika Srpska is not an independent state,” the German ministry explained.

Minister Luehrmann and Austrian Foreign Minister Beate Meinl-Reisinger announced in Sarajevo, on April 4, sanctions against Dodik and two of his closest associates, Nenad Stevandic and Radovan Viskovic, due to “attacks on the constitutional order of Bosnia and Herzegovina.” Germany and Austria have banned them from entering the two states.