These words were said by Rajko Kasagic, the dismissed prime minister of the Republic of Srpska during his interview with the team from Novosti, yesterday in Banja Luka. Kasagic is sought by local and foreign journalists; during our conversation, Mr. Kasagic was receiving phone calls of support from many officials and "civilians".
What is your assessment of your achievements as a prime minister?
Apparently, your statements to domestic and foreign journalists were the reason for your dismissal. What were you talking about?
I asked president Karadzic whether he had any complaints regarding the decisions made by my government and he responded that he did not. I asked whether he had complaints regarding my work on the implementation of the Dayton Agreement and again he said that he did not. I received the same reply to my question whether he was satisfied with my attitude towards him as the head of the state in conversations with foreigners. I asked whether he had complaints concerning my integrity and honesty. He said that he did not, that everyone had told him that I was a very honest man. The only "problem" are my statements to the journalists. For example, I stated for Paris "Le Monde" that the government of Srpska has no conditions for work in Pale and that the capital should be moved to Banja Luka because of the political-communal infrastructure. My collaborators had warned me to stop raising the question of the capital city, but I did not.
It seems that the core of the clash is somewhere else, not in your interviews. What are the real reasons for this split in Srpska?
I am the fourth prime minister of Srpska, but the first one who demanded that the government functions in accordance with the constitution and laws. To the Ministers, I said that they were dealing with a prime minister, not a trader. I prevented those individuals who, according to the constitution and laws, were not supposed to take part in the work of the government to influence the government. That was also the problem regarding the capital of Srpska: only when Banja Luka becomes the center of our state, we will secure the territories around Brcko.
You had planned the reconstruction of the government on the eve of your dismissal?
28 parliament members demanded a reconstruction of the government from me; I told them that I would seek the opinion of Karadzic and Krajisnik, the president of the Parliament, as law prescribes in this case. I intended to dismiss those ministers who supported the isolation of Srpska and those who blocked the work of the government. Out of 17 ministers, I intended to replace Milan Ninkovic (defense), Aleksa Buha (foreign affairs) and three vicepresidents, Miroslav Vjestica, Velibor Ostojic and Milorad Draganic.
The Pale leadership is often described as "war profiteers". You said that Karadzic had no complaints regarding your honesty as a Prime minister. Have you, during your six months tenure as the prime minister managed to track down some of the profiteers?
I cannot talk about that, because it is deadly dangerous to name the criminals. I can only say that I insisted that all institutions of the system function properly.
Director of the Directorate for Trade was appointed during your visit to Greece.
That was done without my knowledge and approval.
You revealed that DM 28 million had recently been taken from the National Bank of Srpska...
You've been receiving support from FR Yugoslavia, the international community, High Representative Carl Bildt, Banja Luka county president, Predrag Radic, part of the police and army; we've heard of petition drives in your support.... Has Karadzic invited you for a consultation after that?
Momcilo Krajisnik's secretary informed my wife two nights ago that a conference of the SDS parliamentarians had been scheduled for yesterday as well as the General Council of SDS [Serbian Democratic Party, the ruling party in Srpska]. The agenda is "secret". President Radic was invited last night so that he couldn't make it on time.
Minister Aleksa Buha stated that they had wanted to dismiss you during the previous session of the parliament.
They wanted to but they did not succeed. They had support of only one representative. It is ridiculous to discuss a political system in which a minister demands the dismissal of the prime minister; everywhere in the world we have the opposite situation; a prime minister is the one who dismisses ministers.
Why didn't you try to explain to the representatives what was going on and fight the dismissal?
That would be absurd. They released a lot of disinformations; that is dishonest; I can only thank them after all the support I gave Karadzic in every conversation I had with the representatives of the international community.
Could the representatives from Krajina prevent a no confidence vote in the parliament?
There are enough of them. Unfortunately they have never been united; that is why some harmful decisions have found their way through the parliament.
Are you planning to leave SDS, start your own political party, or completely withdraw from politics?
I won't start my own party. Earlier I planned to withdraw from politics after the elections. I am considering that now.
Once, I said to the journalists from Pale, that they had nothing to loose (they work although they haven't been paid) if they wrote about the events during the war which cost this people a lot of money. I see that the freedom of speech is being stifled in our country.
"The decision about the dismissal was not preceded by a debate in the parliament, which should have included a no confidence vote. Because of that Serbian government considers this decision null and void and demands that the parliament be convened in order to protect the interests of the citizens of Srpska from the willful decisions of this kind."