Freshly indicted Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik has tried to banish Bosnia-Herzegovina's international overseer from official meetings in the presidential headquarters in Banja Luka of the majority-Serb entity that along with a Bosniak and Croat federation makes up Bosnia.
The secretary-general of Dodik's office signed the order barring High Representative Christian Schmidt hours before the UN-backed envoy was to attend a meeting there on September 12.
It is the latest escalation in a long-running feud and comes a day after confirmation that Dodik and an ally were indicted by a state court for political crimes in connection with his secessionism and rejection of state authority.
But Republika Srpska Vice President Camil Durakovic told RFE/RL’s Balkan Service that Schmidt’s office canceled a meeting with him scheduled for September 12.
The Office of the High Representative for Bosnia said in a statement that Schmidt "consciously decided not to participate in an orchestrated theatrical performance, taking into account the interests of all citizens" of Bosnia.
"The high representative continues to carry out his mandate on the entire territory of Bosnia-Herzegovina as provided for in the Dayton peace agreement," it said.
It added that Schmidt spoke with Durakovic and they both decided “to meet soon."
A day earlier, the highest judicial body in Bosnia confirmed a criminal indictment against Dodik over his push to ignore decisions by Schmidt.
Dodik and Milos Lukic, who heads the Bosnian Serbs' official legal gazette, were charged with criminal offenses in connection with efforts to ignore decisions by Bosnia's Constitutional Court and to block the publication of Schmidt's decisions.
The legislation at the center of the case was approved by Republika Srpska lawmakers in June and signed by Dodik on July 7, before being published in the gazette run by Lukic. The changes effectively allow Republika Srpska to disregard decisions made by the envoy.
Dodik said on September 12 that “it will not be a problem” for him to appear before the Court of Bosnia-Herzegovina. In remarks to journalists, he again criticized Schmidt’s role and said that “the shameful imposition of laws and decisions should absolutely be rejected.”
Dodik has questioned Schmidt's legitimacy since Moscow and Beijing opposed his appointment through their roles on the UN Security Council.
Last week, Dodik vowed to ban Schmidt from entering Republika Srpska. The United States called the threat “yet another deliberate attack” on the Dayton Agreements that ended the Bosnian War in 1995, following the breakup of Yugoslavia.
The agreement tasks the international envoy with overseeing the civilian aspects of the accord and he has vast powers, including to fire officials and impose laws.
Dodik is under sanctions by the U.S Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control over alleged corruption and threatening the stability and territorial integrity of Bosnia.
He has also been designated for sanctions by the U.K. government because of his attempts to push for “de facto secession of Republic of Srpska.”