Čavoški: A legitimate demand for secession from FBiH

Regular member of the Serbia Academy of Sciences and Arts (SANU) Kosta Čavoški said he expects the upcoming All-Serb Assembly to be a decent gathering where legitimate demands of the Serbian people will be expressed. He also mentioned that it would be beneficial to highlight the idea that all Serbs should be under one state roof.

• I am not only thinking about Serbs in Bosnia and Herzegovina but also those in other parts of the former Yugoslavia, – Čavoški said in an interview with Srna.

He noted that it is always positive for Serbs from Republika Srpska and Serbia and their leaderships to meet and discuss important and serious issues, advocating for their national and other interests.

Serbs in Republika Srpska should withstand pressures and decide according to their conscience

In the context of recent events at the UN regarding the resolution on Srebrenica and the current pressures on the Serb people in these and wider areas, Čavoški advised Serbs in Republika Srpska to endure and not allow any foreign power to influence their decisions.

• Serbs and my compatriots in Republika Srpska should and must judge according to their national conscience, – said Čavoški, who is also a retired professor of the Faculty of Law in Belgrade.

He stated that one of the key problems related to Serbs is Bosnia and Herzegovina itself, which is, as the English would say, a “failed state” after the last war.

• From the very beginning, it was poorly established, and it could not be expected to function well, – said Čavoški.

He emphasized that one of the main causes of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s failure were the Muslims, now Bosniaks, who insisted on its survival as a unified state, despite serious and legitimate ideas that each constituent people – Serbs, Croats, and Bosniaks – should have and obtain their state entity.

Čavoški recalled that the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina established in Dayton was somewhat bearable, but certain and self-proclaimed high representatives, including today’s, have unjustifiably seized numerous powers not granted to them by any international or other acts.

Serbs have the right to secede as they joined

• Among other things, they have the power to dismiss and remove elected political officials, enact laws for the entire Bosnia and Herzegovina and its entities. They even influenced and changed the Constitution of Republika Srpska. All this is why Serbs in Republika Srpska seriously think about seceding from Bosnia and Herzegovina, just as they previously joined it. I believe that their demand is legitimate, – Čavoški said.

He noted that it is another matter whether that demand from the representatives of Republika Srpska would be politically feasible, given the resistance from major powers.

• It seems to me that this resistance is decreasing, and the influence of Russia and others is increasing. Unfortunately, Russia is still far away. It has not even reached the Black Sea properly, let alone the Danube delta, – Čavoški said to Srna.

He assessed that the alleged criminal process against the President of Republika Srpska Milorad Dodik is also happening in the whole context of pressure on Serbs in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The process against Dodik is fabricated

Čavoški stated that the procedure before the judicial bodies of Bosnia and Herzegovina is fabricated and reminded that the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, before which the process is taking place, is not provided for by the Dayton Constitution.

• Only the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina is provided for, not these ordinary criminal and civil courts. So, the court before which the proceedings against Dodik are taking place is, to put it mildly, an invention of the high representative. Therefore, the reasons for this procedure are political… They are trying to somehow thwart Dodik’s patriotic activities. I hope that nothing will come of it, – concluded Čavoški.

The All-Serb Assembly is scheduled to be held on June 8, where, as previously announced by the presidents of Republika Srpska and Serbia, Milorad Dodik and Aleksandar Vučić, the unity of the Serbian people will be confirmed.

The Government of Republika Srpska had earlier appointed a Working Group to draft an agreement on the peaceful secession of Republika Srpska from the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The Working Group includes the Minister of Justice and Deputy Prime Minister of Republika Srpska Miloš Bukejlović, the Minister of Internal Affairs Siniša Karan, the Attorney General of Republika Srpska Milimir Govedarica, and the legal representative of Republika Srpska Lazar Stjepanović.

Also appointed are the Secretary-General in the Cabinet of the President of Republika Srpska Jelena Pajić Baštinac, the Secretary-General of the Government of Republika Srpska Dalibor Panić, the Director of the Republic Administration for Geodetic and Property-Legal Affairs Dragan Stanković, and the Director of the Tax Administration Goran Maričić.

The task of the working group is to draft a proposal for an agreement on the peaceful secession of Republika Srpska from the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which will be proposed by the Government of Republika Srpska to the National Assembly of Republika Srpska.

Source: RTRS