CONSTITUTION OF REPUBLIKA SRPSKA - FINAL ACT IN ESTABLISHING SERB PEOPLE'S STATE IN BiH

TREBINJE, FEBRUARY 26 /SRNA/ - Former member of the National Assembly of Republika Srpska Božidar Vučurević told SRNA that the adoption of the first Constitution of Republika Srpska 34 years ago represented the final act in the establishment of the state of the Serb people in BiH, assessing that the current leadership of Republika Srpska is conducting state affairs bravely and wisely.

Vučurević said that the formation of Republika Srpska was constitutional and lawful. He recalled that, following the failure of the peace conference led by Peter Carrington and the recognition of statehood for other peoples of the former Yugoslav republics, the Serbs sought a solution in a lawful and indisputable manner. "Thirteen of us spent the entire day on October 13, 1991, in session, drafting a state-building plan. We decided to call on our members of parliament to withdraw from the joint assembly in Sarajevo, because they were constantly being outvoted there," Vučurević said. Vučurević emphasized that on October 14, the MPs went to Pale, where they were presented with a plan of action to avoid taking any unlawful steps. According to him, the Assembly of the Serbian People of BiH was established on October 24, 1991; a plebiscite was held on November 9 and 10; and on February 28, 1992, the first Constitution of Republika Srpska was adopted, later verified by the Dayton Peace Agreement. "For us, this was a great achievement, because we obtained Republika Srpska in a constitutional and lawful manner, as a state-forming and legitimate entity," Vučurević emphasized. He believes that the current leadership of Republika Srpska is conducting state affairs bravely and wisely, assessing that otherwise, Republika Srpska would have been stripped of its powers. "This is something our opponents are constantly trying to do, but also some of our own people who sit in the National Assembly," said Vučurević, who served as a member of the second and third convocations of the National Assembly of Republika Srpska. The Assembly of the Serb People of BiH adopted the Constitution on February 28, 1992. It was unanimously adopted on the foundations of the Declaration on Establishment and guaranteed full equality and equal rights for the peoples and citizens of the Republic. The highest legal act of Republika Srpska, which, with certain amendments, remains in force today, was adopted before the outbreak of the tragic conflicts and before the unilateral declaration of independence of BiH by Bosniak and Croatian representatives following the March 1 referendum, in which Serbs did not participate.