Member of the Academy of Sciences and Arts of Republika Srpska (ANURS), Vitomir Popović, stated that the only adequate response to attempts to transform Bosnia and Herzegovina into a unitary state through the erosion of the Dayton Peace Agreement must be either a full return to the original Dayton framework or the restoration of Republika Srpska’s constitutional powers based on its 1992 Constitution — leading to the creation of an independent Republika Srpska.
Popović, speaking at the International Scientific Conference “30 Years of the Dayton Peace Agreement: Lessons of the Past and Challenges of the Present”, emphasized that Dayton is one of the most frequently violated international agreements, with interventions aimed at building a unitary BiH and ultimately undermining the existence of Republika Srpska.
“We have always opposed that and will continue to do so,” said Popović.
He recalled that the deconstruction of Republika Srpska’s competencies was carried out through international interventionism, as various high representatives and foreign envoys transferred powers to the level of joint institutions that were never foreseen by the original Dayton text.
“On the basis of so-called Bonn powers, about 800 competencies were transferred to joint institutions, which automatically diminished the jurisdiction of Republika Srpska,” Popović noted.
He stressed that Srpska insists on the legal character of the Dayton Agreement as an international treaty equally binding for both entities and Brčko District, as well as for all joint institutions established under Annex IV — the BiH Constitution.
Popović reminded that only three ministries were originally envisaged at the state level, yet today there are nine, most of which were created through unconstitutional transfers of authority.
“Through the imposed laws of the High Representative, new ministries emerged — justice, finance, and security, among others — leading to the current bloated structure,” he explained.
He warned that new pressures exist to establish a state-level Ministry of Agriculture, which would remove one of Srpska’s key competencies.
Popović also recalled that the Constitutional Court of BiH once ruled that the armed forces should belong to the entities, but this was later changed under foreign pressure, particularly from the U.S., the U.K., and Germany, leading to the formation of the Ministry of Defense, which, he noted, “still does not function effectively.”
According to Popović, Bosnia and Herzegovina has reached a crossroads:
“We are trying to adhere to the letter of the Dayton Agreement, but it has been gravely violated — to the detriment of Republika Srpska.”
He cautioned that any attempt to organize a new international conference to revise Dayton would start from the current illegal expansion of joint institutions, not from the original framework ratified by the National Assembly of Republika Srpska.
“Their goal is to abolish Republika Srpska and realize the long-standing vision of SDA and Alija Izetbegović’s Islamic Declaration — a so-called ‘civic’ BiH based on the principle of one man, one vote, where Serbs and Croats would be permanently outvoted,” Popović stated.
He concluded that the only logical answers are:
“Either a return to the original Dayton Agreement or the revival of Republika Srpska’s constitutional powers under the 1992 Constitution — leading to the creation of an independent Republika Srpska. Everything else is political calculation,” Popović concluded.
Source: RTRS
