DAČIĆ: DAYTON AND SRPSKA'S PRESERVATION IS SERBS' POLICY

BELGRADE, NOVEMBER 17 /SRNA/ – By signing the Dayton Peace Agreement, the centuries-old desire of Serbs for the Serb people in BiH to have their own Republika Srpska, which will be preserved, was fulfilled, SPS leader Ivica Dačić has said today in Belgrade at a ceremony marking 30 years of this historic document.

"This is the first time there exists an internationally recognised entity of the Serb people. Does anyone know of a republic that is not a state?" Dačić asked.

Dačić stated that the policy of the Serbs is the preservation of the Dayton, while the policy of the Western powers and the OHR is to claim that this agreement no longer exists and to create a new one.

"Serbia constantly advocates for strict respect of the Dayton Peace Agreement. Serbia assists Srpska on the basis of the Agreement on Parallel Special Relations, respects the Dayton and the territorial integrity of BiH, but also the equality of peoples," Dačić pointed out.

He added that some insist that Serbia respect the territorial integrity of BiH, yet want to recognise the self-proclaimed Kosovo, which he described as inconsistent.

"We support the Dayton and Srpska and we will keep helping the Serb people by respecting their will," Dačić said.

He believes that the Dayton is one of Serbia’s greatest achievements at the end of the 20th century, i.e. Republika Srpska, which emerged based on that agreement and thanks to the bloody struggle of the Serb people.

"Serbia must insist on the consistent implementation of both the Dayton and UN Resolution 1244 on Kosovo and Metohija and remain firm on that. There must also be unity in Srpska around Republika Srpska and its defence. Unity is required between the leaderships of Serbia and Srpska," Dačić said.

He reminded that Serb soldiers gave their lives for Republika Srpska and that it is up to future generations to defend what was created - Republika Srpska.

At the gathering in the Sava Centre, speeches were also given by Dayton Peace Conference participant Goran Milinović and legal adviser and member of the delegation at the Dayton peace negotiations, Radomir Lukić.

The General Framework Agreement for Peace in BiH, better known as the Dayton Peace Agreement, was reached on November 21, 1995, at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton, Ohio, officially signed on December 14 the same year in Paris.

In the years following its signing, under pressure from the OHR and the BiH Constitutional Court, a large number of competences were taken from Republika Srpska and transferred to the BiH level.