Milorad Dodik. Photo: Anadolu

Milorad Dodik on Tuesday said he would cut Ramiz Salkic’s salary by 20 per cent because the Bosniak [Muslim] Vice President of the Republika Srpska had “told notorious falsehoods that inflict inevitable damage on the RS’s reputation”.

Dodik said earlier on Tuesday that “the permanent war-like rhetoric of Ramiz Salkic, full of lies and misinformation, aims to raise tensions in the RS and cannot and will not pass here.”

Dodik reacted after Salkic on Tuesday voiced further concern about the amount of weaponry the entity’s police force was receiving; the police are buying 2,500 rifles.

Salkic suggested that Dodik was “working on establishing some kind of armed formations. These formations have different shapes and manifest themselves differently,” he told the media.

“More government ministries should have information and give their consent for such activities, given that large quantities of weapons are being procured,” Salkic noted.

The UK Guardian wrote about the matter on Tuesday, expressing concern over the intentions of the RS government in purchasing the rifles, and about Russia’s growing influence in the divided country.

Dodik has maintained that there is nothing problematic in buying the rifles, adding that the RS in future will buy everything that the RS police needs.

“It is time that Ramiz Salkic disciplined himself … and was more careful about what he says, taking into consideration the duties he performs in the RS,” Dodik told the RS news agency SRNA.

Salkic said he understood this as a direct threat from the RS President. “I had similar warnings in December, from the RS Interior Minister. It is evident that the voice of the Bosniaks from Banja Luka is disturbing them – a voice that reveals and recognizes all their intentions that are no longer hidden,” Salkic said.

He added that the relevant security agencies should address this threat.

“I have not felt safe and secure for a long time, and I expect the [security] agency or the RS Interior Ministry to address this issue,” he said.

Commenting on the salary reduction, Salkic said that the people had elected him, and that he would “consistently and humbly defend their interests with or without a salary”.

However, he also warned that the matter would end in court.