On the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the Republic of Srpska, a public discussion on ‘30 years since the adoption of the first Constitution of the Republic of Srpska: fighting the evil spirit of the abolition of the Republic of Srpska with the letter of the Constitution’ was held in the Belgrade City Assembly.

The invitees and guests were addressed by the Presidents of the Parliaments of Srpska and Serbia, Nedeljko Čubrilović and Ivica Dačić, and Head of the Representation, Mlađan Cicović.

Professors and analysts from Srpska and Serbia participated in the discussion.

The highest legal act established the state-building elements of the then Republic of the Serb People in BiH, today the Republic of Srpska.

The adoption of the Constitution was one in a series of forced responses by the Serb people to prevent majorization, after Croat and Muslim MPs, contrary to the will of their Serb colleagues, had decided in October 1991 that BiH would continue to function as an independent state.

The Serbs responded with the Decision Establishing the Assembly of the Serb People in BiH, the Declaration Proclaiming the Republic of the Serb People in BiH, followed by the Constitution.

– At that time, preparations were underway for a referendum that Muslims and Croats intended to hold without the will of Serbs on 1 and 2 March, and it was considered part of a stronger response to those very tendencies, of disrespecting the constituency and the right of the Serb people to adopt that Constitution. In principle, it democratically reflects the tradition of the best constitutions of this time and favors democratic freedoms – said the Serb Presidency member, Milorad Dodik.

Three decades later, the Serb people is being denied the rights guaranteed by the Constitution, and the actions of international actors are depriving it of its competencies in favor of the joint bodies of BiH. Despite pressures, Srpska continues to fight for constitutional action by institutional and democratic means.

– Despite the difficult political challenges we were shouldering, we still managed to solve economic and financial problems. We were building the Republic of Srpska and we never lost sight or neglected in our political action what that aspiration represented, namely the exercise of the rights, opportunities and potentials to which we are entitled because the Constitution gave us that right – said the President of the Republic of Srpska, Želјka Cvijanović.

The adoption of the first Constitution was a visionary action that led to the recognition of Srpska in Dayton as one of the BiH entities.

According to officials, Srpska today has no choice but to preserve its constitutional position, crafted in 1992 and internationally recognized in 1995 in Dayton.

Source and photo: RTRS