BJELICA: ESTABLISHMENT OF SAO ROMANIJA IMPORTANT FOR CREATION OF REPUBLIKA SRPSKA

SOKOLAC, NOVEMBER 8 /SRNA/ - The establishment of the Serb Autonomous Region /SAO/ of Romanija on November 9, 1991, was very important in the history of the Serb people, whose freedom was under threat at the time, and was particularly significant for the creation of Republika Srpska, Milovan Bjelica, a member of the SDS Main Board, told SRNA.

"At that time, 35 years ago, we tried to persuade representatives of the Muslim and Croat peoples that BiH should remain part of Yugoslavia, but there was no willingness on their part," said Bjelica, who took part in the establishment of SAO Romanija.

He added that Muslims and Croats had formed an unprincipled coalition and began outvoting the Serbs, who had no other option but to use legal means to fight for their status in accordance with the laws and constitutions of the SFRY and BiH.

According to him, the first step was to establish municipal associations, followed by the proclamation of SAO Romanija, which was joined by a large number of municipalities and local communities.

Bjelica reminded that SAO Romanija covered an area of 4,000 square kilometres and had a population of 200,000.

"We defended Republika Srpska, continued to defend it and waited for the world to recognize it," Bjelica stressed.

He believes that Serbs should still rally around Republika Srpska today, protect it and overcome internal divisions, which can be discussed, but that Srpska and its powers must not be called into question.

Bjelica reminded that the first inspection of members of the Ministry of the Interior of the Serb Republic of BiH for the SAO Romanija area was held in Sokolac, and that the Police of the Serb Republic of BiH was presented to the public on March 30, 1992.

"At that time, at the Bara Stadium, Zoran Cvijetić, minister of the then SAO Romanija, reported to Mićo Stanišić, the first Minister of the Interior of the Republic," Bjelica said.

He noted that the Ministry of the Interior of SAO Romanija at the time had an area of responsibility stretching from Brčko to Foča, over which it had full legal authority under an agreement between the three national communities.

He stressed that the Ministry of the Interior of SAO Romanija made a major contribution to defending the Serb people and their property and suffered numerous casualties in the defense of the Serb people and Republika Srpska. He appealed to the Serb people to remain united today.

He noted that the first PTT telecommunications company of the Republic of the Serb People was established in Sokolac at the beginning of the Defensive-Patriotic War, following the breakup of the former SFRY's PTT system. The Social Accounting Service /SDK/ was established soon afterwards, following the collapse of the SFRY's SDK system.

"We remained connected to the payment system of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, namely Serbia and Montenegro, which convinced our fighters and the population that we were not alone. After that, bank accounts were opened at our Social Accounting Service /SDK/ for the Government of the Serb Republic of BiH, all ministries, companies and institutions," he noted.

He added that in early April 1992, they had created all the necessary conditions for the establishment of the hospital of the Main Staff of the Republika Srpska Army, headquartered in Sokolac.

Following the reorganization of the regions on November 21, 1991, SAO Romanija-Birač was established. On January 9, 1992, it became part of the Serb Republic of BiH.

SAO Romanija-Birač encompassed the mountains of Romanija, Jahorina, Trebević and Sjemeć, as well as the Glasinac and Sarajevo fields and the Birač region.

The municipalities of Pale, Sokolac, Šekovići, Vlasenica, Milići, Olovo, Han Pijesak, Rogatica, Zvornik, Bratunac and Srebrenica, as well as parts of Sarajevo's municipalities that became part of the Federation of BiH following the Dayton Peace Agreement, were included in SAO Romanija-Birač.