CONTACT GROUP PLAN REJECTED IN REFERENDUM 31 YEARS AGO

BIJELJINA, AUGUST 26 /SRNA/ – On August 27 and 28, 1994, a referendum was held in Republika Srpska in which the citizens voted against the Contact Group plan, which did not provide for territorial continuity of the Republic.

A total of 96.12% of voters were against the plan.

Following the referendum, the President of Republika Srpska, Radovan Karadžić, announced that he would seek a new map and new peace negotiations.

After the rejection of the plan, the economic and political blockade of Republika Srpska by the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia continued. It had been imposed on August 5, 1994, because the then Serbian leadership, headed by Slobodan Milošević, demanded that the plan be accepted.

In later negotiations, Republika Srpska obtained territorial continuity, which was once again called into question by Milošević when he accepted arbitration in Dayton regarding the inter-entity boundary around Brčko.

This arbitration, which was supposed to address only the inter-entity boundary in the Brčko area, ultimately led, under pressure from Western allies of the Muslim-led government in Sarajevo, to the establishment of the Brčko District.