The President of Republika Srpska, Siniša Karan, stated that for the Serb people and Republika Srpska, March 1 is not—and will never be—a holiday, but a symbol of the beginning of tragic conflicts and suffering in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
“On that day in Baščaršija, the innocent blood of the Serb wedding guest Nikola Gardović was shed, and this historical fact obliges us not to accept impositions and the rewriting of history. Historically confirmed facts must be repeated time and again so that suffering does not happen again,” Karan emphasized.
Given that March 1 is marked in only half of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Karan said, this alone proves that the country has remained split and permanently divided.
“That date is a crucial indicator that the Serb people would have continued to be outvoted in the future had they not relied on their own strength and desire for freedom, which was crowned with Republika Srpska. The Serb national identity would have been erased from these areas had it not been for the decisions adopted on January 9, 1992,” Karan pointed out.
He stressed that Bosnia and Herzegovina, established in 1995, can function exclusively on the letter of the Dayton Peace Agreement—as a community of two equal entities and three constituent peoples—and not on unilateral, unitarist narratives or imposed decisions by self-appointed actors.
“Only consistent respect for Dayton can be the foundation of a stable and sustainable Bosnia and Herzegovina. Anything else leads to divisions, distrust, and new crises. Everything else leads back to what existed before Dayton—an independent Republika Srpska and an independent Muslim–Croat Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina,” Karan told SRNA.
The President said that Republika Srpska remains firmly committed to peace, constitutionality, and the protection of its rights.
“Republika Srpska respects and safeguards the Dayton Peace Agreement. That is our duty. We call on all other parties to do the same. That is their duty as well,” Karan said.
Source: RTRS
