Milorad Dodik, the political leader of the Bosnian Serbs, who is wanted by his country’s judiciary, appeared on stage in Belgrade on Saturday during a rally organised by Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic.
The rally was in response to anti-corruption protests that have been shaking Serbia for months. The pro-Vucic demonstration attracted approximately 55,000 attendees.
“Vucic is the only man capable of maintaining a strong and powerful Serbia, both internally and externally. I am fully aware of this, especially in these very unstable times,” Dodik declared from a stage in front of the parliament.
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Dodik is wanted for questioning over attempts to secede the Serbian Republic from Bosnia and Herzegovina. Late last month, the Bosnian courts issued an international arrest warrant for Dodik, after he travelled to Serbia and Israel. This did not prevent him from travelling to Russia, where he met with President Vladimir Putin.
Earlier this year, Dodik was convicted and sentenced to prison and given a long-term ban from engaging in politics.
At the pro-Vucic rally, a video was shown of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban criticising “foreign powers that want to dictate how Serbians should live.” Vucic himself accuses the anti-corruption protesters of attempting a coup, with foreign assistance. He announced the formation of a new “transpartisan political movement”: the Movement for the People and the State. He also called for an end to the anti-corruption protests. “We demand that the competent authorities and public prosecutors do their jobs, within their constitutional powers, to restore peace in the country,” he stated.
