Professor of Constitutional Law, Siniša Karan, emphasized that the Declaration adopted at the All-Serb Assembly on June 8 in Belgrade establishes two statehoods for Republika Srpska: statehood within BiH and statehood within Serbia, the motherland and the joint state of all Serbs worldwide.
In his explanation to Srna, Karan clarified that January 9 will forever be the day of the creation of Republika Srpska, while February 15 will be celebrated as the statehood day of all Serbs in the motherland, representing the common statehood, history, and unity of the entire Serb people. This date signifies the protection of the Serbian national and political identity and a guide for the joint future of all Serbs.
Here is Professor Karan’s column for Srna in its entirety:
Republika Srpska was created by the will of the Serb people, confirmed in a plebiscite where they expressed their desire for where they wanted to live. However, with the Declaration on the Protection of National and Political Rights and the Joint Future of the Serb People, adopted at the All-Serb Assembly, the statehood of Republika Srpska has been elevated to the level of the statehood of all Serbs.
January 9 holds special significance and strength because that is when Republika Srpska was born, and no one can ever change that fact, as the date of birth cannot be annulled.
January 9 is forever the day of the creation of Srpska, but February 15 is the statehood day of all Serbs, celebrated in the motherland—the source of common statehood, history, and unity of the entire Serb people. This date represents the protection of our national and political identity and a guide for our joint future.
Republika Srpska establishes its two statehoods: the statehood of Republika Srpska within BiH and the statehood of Republika Srpska within the motherland Serbia, in accordance with the Declaration of the All-Serb Assembly and the joint state of all Serbs worldwide!
We now have a Serb state within BiH, as a federation is a union of states, and according to the Serb people’s Declaration, it is clear that Serbia is the motherland of our statehood, order, and history. Everything that has happened through the centuries and what happens today in the motherland is part of all of us. This is the essence and far-reaching message of the All-Serb Assembly—Serbs, as a people, wherever they are and wherever they live, with political awareness and subjectivity, will determine their own destiny.
The visionary Declaration is an act of the future for all Serbs, which, under the leadership of President of Republika Srpska Milorad Dodik and President of Serbia Aleksandar Vučić, will demonstrate its far-reaching strength in future times.
The power of the Declaration lies in the fact that it is a turning point of political subjectivity and strength, not only in cultural, religious, ethnic, and historical terms but also in the political strength of all Serbs to be united wherever they live.
The history of the Serb people is rich with assemblies as Serb milestones and turning points in various historical challenges. Every assembly aimed to preserve the essence and identity of the people, primarily ensuring their survival and protection from destruction, and each has indeed saved the Serb identity to this day.
The All-Serb Assembly, with the same strength as many Serbian assemblies of the past, will unite and save our people in these difficult times when we are once again faced with attacks on the Serb being and existence, in a time when our states Serbia and Srpska are attacked, our state leadership is under attack, and when we are attacked by all—destroyers of Dayton’s Srpska, usurpers of Kosovo and Metohija, descendants of Nazis, fascists, and all Serbian-haters.
The strength of the All-Serb Assembly, expressed in the Declaration and under the leadership of Presidents Dodik and Vučić, represents our path and vision of unity, faith, joint life, and the unity of all Serbs, wherever they may be, and it has no alternative!
Political awareness, the strength to make authentic decisions for the Serbian people, and political subjectivity as an extension of the historical and cultural values of a people are the strengths of these policies and this declaration.
There is no doubt that in this declaration, in its 49 conclusions, goals, and statements, everything about the most important issues for one people, for present and future generations, has been expressed.
The proclamation of the declaration at the All-Serb Assembly has written a new Serb history because the national consciousness of a common state as a framework for salvation and our future has matured.
Srpska is not separating from BiH; rather, the unitarians have been separating from Srpska for 29 years. The result of this separation is a common day of new statehood for all Serbs in their motherland, expressing belonging to a single national Serbian being—a people who are not genocidal, a people who no longer want to be subjugated, a people who wish and intend to preserve their demographic capacity, existence, and being, with long-term goals: one state and peace as the axis of that policy.
There are no longer Bosnian Serbs, Croatian Serbs, and who knows what other kinds. There are only Serbs as a united people, as confirmed by this declaration on June 8.
The time ahead will show the strength, vision, and wise political decision of two great statesmen, Dodik and Vučić, about the significance of jointly marking the statehood of the Serb people.
When you want to recognize the true adversaries of your people, look at those who deny the state because the state is freedom and the only guarantee that a people will survive, not only culturally but also existentially.
It is clear that our adversaries, who are also the adversaries of the unity of all Serbs as one united people, immediately recognized the strength of these decisions, which is just one of the many confirmations of the importance of holding the All-Serb Assembly and adopting the Declaration, especially the joint celebration of Statehood Day on February 15.
Statehood Day, February 15, is one of the most important dates in the political, historical, and cultural calendar of Serbia, and after the All-Serb Assembly, it will gain even more significance and weight, as it will be celebrated in both Srpska and Serbia.
Source: RTRS
