The Association “Creators of Republika Srpska” has rejected a proposal by the Croatian National Council (HNV) of BiH to establish ten cantons across BiH and abolish the entities, saying that attempts to redraw the country’s constitutional structure will not succeed and that Republika Srpska remains a permanent reality.
The Association said the HNV proposal, coming three decades after the end of the war in BiH, fundamentally undermines what it described as the already damaged Dayton Peace Agreement and the principles upon which peace and BiH’s post-war constitutional structure were established.
According to the Association, the proposal represents another attempt to mislead all three constituent peoples and is being presented as an alternative to the concept of a so-called civic BiH, which the Association described as effectively unitary.
“As far as the Serb people in BiH are concerned, nothing will come of these futile attempts at constitutional redrawing. Republika Srpska has been a constant and an indisputable fact for more than 30 years, and the lives of its best sons and daughters were given in its defense,” the Association said.
It argued that the only issue open for discussion should be the restoration of competencies that, according to the Association, were forcibly transferred from Republika Srpska by successive High Representatives despite being guaranteed under the original Dayton framework.
“The only thing we can discuss and attempt to reach agreement on is how to restore the competencies that were forcibly taken away by the High Representatives and which are guaranteed by the letter of Dayton, so that Republika Srpska’s continued existence within BiH has long-term meaning and ensures peace and stability in this country and the region,” the statement said.
Members of the Association argued that unresolved or poorly defined relations between Bosniak and Croat political elites within the Federation of BiH are the primary cause of BiH’s dysfunction and loss of perspective.
“Whether this is the result of unfulfilled foreign promises made to the Croats immediately after the signing of the so-called Washington Agreement, or persistent reluctance to accept the concept of a three-entity organization of BiH, will be shown by time and by changes in the global balance of power,” the Association said.
The Association expressed hope that Croats and Bosniaks would reach an agreement within the Federation of BiH, either through additional cantonization or some form of internal territorial arrangement that would allow the Federation to function more effectively.
“And leave Republika Srpska alone within its entity boundaries and with its competencies. We have more important work to do after these elections – focusing on our own development and improving the quality of life, particularly for our young people,” the Association said.
It emphasized that, for Serbs, Republika Srpska comes “first and above all,” while BiH is possible only on the basis of what it described as the original Dayton framework.
“Anything else will not pass,” the Association concluded.
The Croatian National Council of BiH has expressed support for a proposal by Austrian activist Günther Fehlinger to reorganize BiH into ten cantons and abolish the existing entities.
Source: RTRS
