SELAKOVIĆ: ROOTS OF MEDIEVAL SERBIAN STATEHOOD TIED TO TERRITORY OF REPUBLIKA SRPSKA

BANJA LUKA, NOVEMBER 19 /SRNA/ – The Dayton Agreement established a recipe for peace in BiH and confirmed the existence of Republika Srpska, whose territory is linked to the roots of Serbian statehood in the Middle Ages, Minister of Culture of Serbia Nikola Selaković told SRNA.

"Thirty years after the signing of the Dayton Agreement is an exceptional date in the history not only of BiH, but also of the Serb people, because it confirmed the existence of Republika Srpska as one of the two equal entities, as well as the constituent status of the Serb people on this side of the Drina," Selaković emphasized.

He noted that the Dayton Agreement, despite disputes and all existing difficulties, established a formula - two entities and three constituent peoples, preserved peace, and demonstrated how BiH can function.

Selaković said that, in spite of certain claims that such functioning is complicated, it is still better than any sort of dysfunction.

"I am confident that this peace project of the international community, considered one of its most successful at the end of the 20th and the beginning of the 21st century, can truly endure with the support, effort, and dedication of all key actors on this side of the Drina," Selaković added.

He stressed that if there is to be any change to Dayton, it is crucial that both entities and all three constituent peoples participate in the process.

"BiH, as one of the products of the international community, is not immune to global developments and shifts in the balance of power worldwide, including changes in roles on the European continent and beyond," Selaković said.

What is most important, he added, is that the voice of the people who live here should always be decisive, that it should be heard and respected far more, and that consensus established by the Dayton formula should be maintained.

"As one of the guarantors of the Dayton Agreement, Serbia is deeply interested in all processes unfolding here, particularly because of Republika Srpska and its fate, and the fate of the Serb people on this side of the Drina. In doing so, Serbia demonstrates how committed it is to peace and to the interests of Republika Srpska and the Serb people, whose presence on these lands has marked centuries," Selaković stressed.

He added that Serbs in these areas are an old, autochthonous people, and that the roots of medieval Serbian statehood are tied to the territory on which Republika Srpska stands today.