Republika Srpska growth “State” in Bosnia and Herzegovina state

Republika Srpska is one of Bosnia and Herzegovina's two entities, established under the Dayton Agreement for Ending the War in this country. This agreement has been reached after long US talks between former Bosnia and Herzegovina presidents Alija Izetbegovic, Serbia Slobodan Milosevic and Croatia Franjo Tudjman.

Republika Srpska consists of two separate parts, separated by the neutral Brcko District in the north, which is a separate administrative unit within the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Brcko District was created after the end of the war in 1995, among other things, so that Bosnian Serbs would not have any nearby territory connecting with Serbia.

RS and Federation

Along with the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Republika Srpska forms the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina (B-H), which the Bosniak, Croat and Serb peoples make up. Under the country's Constitution, the state of B-H is responsible for foreign policy, foreign trade, customs and monetary policy, migration issues, the implementation of international law, telecommunications and the sovereignty of air traffic. Since 2006, the state level has also been responsible for defence policy. All other fields regulate the subjects themselves.

RS Friends

The European Union is not highly valued in Serb-populated RS. Moscow and Russia are considered their true friends. On January 9, 2023, Milorad Dodik, president of Republika Srpska, awarded the highest price of the entity to Russian head Vladimir Putin. For “his patriotic care and love” for RS, the argument for the given price is written.

Symbolically, Putin took the medal in absentia, while the goal of RS is “for all Serbs to live in a state of”. A dangerous provocation for B-H and Europe.

How RS was created

On 9 January 1992, the Bosnia and Herzegovina Serb Assembly has announced the creation of Republika Srpska “the Serb People's Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina”. RS's announcement is considered one of the causes of war in this country, during which more than 100,000 people have been killed and displaced by hundreds of thousands more.

Ethnic Purges

Along with other nationalist actors on all three sides of the war, Serbian political leader Radovan Karadzic, army chief Ratko Mladic and Parliament Speaker Biljana Plavsic have entered the history of this ethnic cleansing entity in this country.

Dayton and RS creation assistants

Their policy of deportation and ethnic cleansing was confirmed with the Peace Agreement reached in Dayton, U.S.A. This agreement ended the war, but recognised “the territorial strategy of the war” and the creation of line division among war entities. With this 49 per cent B-H agreement remains part of RS under Serbian control, where about 1.2 million mainly Serb people live. The deal in Dayton has been reached with international mediation between presidents Izetbegovic, Milosevic and Tudjman.

RS institutions

Republika Srpska has its political system with an independent legislature, executive and judiciary. Under its constitution, Sarajevo is officially the capital of RS. But in fact, Banja Luka has been the headquarters of the RS government since 1998.

Ghosts of the Past

As a heavy burden for the Cold “” in B-H is the issue of convicted war criminals, who have long divided this country, still under international scrutiny. In RS, the international factor is not considered welcome because of insistence on respecting the country's territorial integrity. RS has never given up joining Serbia.

International High Representative

The international High Representative to B-H is currently German Christian Schmidt. A few days ago, he reminded RS's people and political elite that Karadzic and Mladic are in prison as “the authors of genocide”. At The Hague's War Crimes Tribunal in the former Yugoslavia, they have also been convicted of genocide.

National and Religious Identity

Ethnic differences between Bosniaks, Croats and Serbs are practically minor. For example, in names and surnames, as well as minimal deviations in the use of Bosnian, Croatian or Serbian. But clear differences are in religious affiliation. Bosniaks have Muslim descent, Croats are of the Catholic religion, while Serbs are Orthodox. The division according to national and religious criteria has hampered the formation of civil state and civil society for years. In the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, almost all public offices undergo proportional ethnic representation between Bosniaks and Croats. In addition, persons who do not identify themselves with one of the three constituent states of state are exempted from holding certain political positions.

Serbia's Vucinqi, Dodik's RS

Serbia's strong man, Aleksandar Vuciq, did not go alone but sent his son Danilon on January 9th 2023 to mark the anniversary of RS's founding. A sign of Belgrade's political support for Milorad Dodik's policy of separation from the B-H federation. But Vuciki herself does not focus on these ideas. In terms of Dodik's demands and nationalist districts in RS for secession, the US Embassy in Sarajevo communicated on twitter that the Serbian Republic will destroy itself and those around it if it follows the path of independence”. / DW