Officials Begin Observances of Republika Srpska Day, Deemed Unconstitutional by Bosnian Court

Milorad Dodik (BETAPHOTO/HINA/FENA/Amer Kajmovic/MO)

Ahead of Republika Srpska Day, on Jan. 8, the senior officials of the entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina placed wreaths at a monument to the fallen soldiers of the Republika Srpska Army at the St Pantaleon Cemetery in Banjaluka.

The wreaths were laid by Republika Srpska President Milorad Dodik, Serb member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina Zeljka Cvijanovic, National Assembly Speaker Nenad Stevandic and Republika Srpska Premier Radovan Viskovic.

A ceremony in honor of Jan. 9, Republika Srpska Day, deemed unconstitutional by the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, was held late on Jan. 8. The central celebratory observance will be a parade in Banjaluka on Jan. 9.

The Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina has twice found the observance of Jan. 9 as Republika Srpska Day unconstitutional as it discriminates against the other two constitutional peoples by also marking the slava (patron saint feast day) of the entity, St Stephen. The Constitutional Court's ruling of unconstitutionality applies to the date and not the holiday itself.