Belgrade Denies Backing Bosnia Serb Opposition

Serbia’s Vice-Prime Minister, Aleksandar Vucic, has dismissed reports that he wants opposition parties in the Serb-led entity to win the 2014 elections.Aleksandar Vucic, Vice-President of the Serbian government, has dismissed reports in the Sarajevo media that Belgrade plans to help the opposition in Republika Srpska win the next general election in 2014.

“Any decision on who will be on power… will be made exclusively by the citizens of Republika Srpska and Bosnia and Herzegovina,” his office said.

The Sarajevo weekly Slobodna Bosna reported this week that the Serbian government wants the current ruling party in the Serb-led entity, the Alliance of Independent Social Democrats, SNSD, led by Milorad Dodik, to lose power.

The weekly said that Vucic planned to support the opposition in the entity in its plans to change the government, providing counseling, media and logistical help.

Dodik has been close to the Serbian former rulling Democrats ever since. He even backed the Democrats in the May election campaign in which they lost to Vucic’s Progressives.

Slobodna Bosna said that Vucic is to allegedly send “his recipe” for winning elections to the opposition parties in Republika Srpska.

The government of Republika Srpska is already changing following the resignation as Prime Minister of Aleksandar Dzombic on February 27 and his replacement by Zeljka Cvijanovic. However, this does not involve a change of party.

Vucic will allegedly manage investigations against Dodik’s close collaborators and against privatizations related to Dodik, the newspaper said.

According to Slobodna Bosna, Vucic has information that Dodik controls more than 20 companies in Belgrade.