“Bosnia and Herzegovina is an impossible state. The dismantling of the Dayton Peace Agreement marks its definitive end,” stated the President of Republika Srpska, Milorad Dodik, at the academic conference “The Dayton Peace Agreement – 30 Years of Peace and Stability.” He emphasized that Republika Srpska has respected all provisions of the Constitution and the Dayton Agreement for the past 30 years.
Academics and scholars from Republika Srpska, Serbia, and Montenegro were unanimous: strict adherence to the letter of Dayton is the only chance for the survival of BiH as originally conceived.
The conference was organized in light of ongoing developments and the fight to preserve the international and constitutional-legal position of Republika Srpska and the Serb constituent people.
30 Years of Dayton – and 30 years of undermining
Thirty years since the signing of the Dayton Peace Agreement, and just as many years of its undermining—through modifications, redrawing, and transferring the constitutional competencies of Republika Srpska to the state level, bypassing the law and Constitution derived from Dayton. These changes were imposed by high representatives, not through agreement among legitimately elected representatives of the people.
“Republika Srpska exists and will rise high as an independent entity and ensure its path and survival through history, unlike those who wish to see its end. There will be no end. In this phase, we are fighting for the original Dayton, although I know that is an illusion. Politically, it is pragmatic to invoke it, but I don’t believe in it— not because I don’t want to, but because the other side constantly violates it,” Dodik said.
Participants of the conference agreed that the actions of the illegitimate Christian Schmidt, supported by political Sarajevo, have led BiH into its most severe constitutional crisis.
“The dream of a unitary, civic BiH will never become a reality,” said National Assembly Speaker Nenad Stevandić.
“There was a tendency, now radicalized, to strip us of our status as a people and treat us merely as citizens. In that case, even we who are legally elected representatives would no longer represent what Dayton says—that we have representation of both entities and peoples, and that no decisions can be made without both,” he added.
Srpska insists on the constitution, not conspiracies
Unlike political actors in the Federation, especially Bosniak leaders, representatives of Republika Srpska have consistently advocated for respect for the Constitution and the letter of the Dayton Agreement.
“The current crisis in BiH is thanks to Christian Schmidt—not Republika Srpska or its institutions. We only want to work in accordance with the Constitution, and these people have said clearly: the Constitution is something every official of any country must uphold,” said Prime Minister Radovan Višković.
Željko Budimir, Minister for Scientific and Technological Development and Higher Education of Republika Srpska, stated that Srpska, unlike political Sarajevo, is not creating conspiracies.
“We say: if we are violating the Constitution, show us which provision. Where in the Constitution does it say what you are claiming? That is why I am confident that justice and law are on the side of Republika Srpska, and that we will emerge from this crisis as victors,” Budimir emphasized.
Legal experts: Dayton’s breakdown means state breakdown
Representatives of the academic community were in agreement: the constitutional order of any country must be respected.
“The greatest conflict in the context of consociational democracy in BiH is produced by the compromised Constitutional Court and the OHR. There are only two ways out: either assimilation—which is unlikely—or the collapse of the state,” said Vladimir Đurić, Senior Research Associate at the Institute of Comparative Law in Belgrade.
Vladan Petrov, Professor of Constitutional Law at the University of Belgrade, recalled that the Dayton Constitution brought peace in 1995.
“But the other essential values of the original Dayton have not been realized to this day—particularly the creation of a functional state, effective operation of state institutions, and coordination between entity and federal organs,” Petrov stressed.
The conference, organized by the Center for Socio-Political Research of Republika Srpska, aimed to underline, from a scholarly perspective, the importance of the Dayton Peace Agreement.
“It’s important that we have as many high-quality academic arguments as possible so that politics can more effectively address problems,” said Dušan Pavlović, director of the Center.
“BiH was born in the air”
Professor Ratko Marković wrote back on the 20th anniversary of Dayton that BiH was created in the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, and because of that birthplace, BiH has always been an “aeronautical creation”—hovering in the air more than standing firmly on the ground.
“And so it remains today,” he concluded.
Source: RTRS
