DODIK: NATIONAL ASSEMBLY HAS MADE KEY DECISIONS FOR SRPSKA

PALE, OCTOBER 24 /SRNA/ - President Milorad Dodik said today in Pale that, by passing laws and establishing institutions, the National Assembly of Republika Srpska had played a key role in the creation and preservation of Srpska in both peacetime and wartime.

Dodik stressed that Pale, as a place of particular significance to the founding of Republika Srpska, deserved an appropriate commemoration of the 35th anniversary of the National Assembly.

"The National Assembly was created as the political expression of the people of Republika Srpska, to defend itself, not to attack," Dodik said at a news conference in Pale, adding that the 35th anniversary of the National Assembly’s establishment was an opportunity to view historical events in the context of the time in which they occurred and highlight the importance of an institution that took part in making the most important decisions for Republika Srpska.

He stressed that, from its establishment, the National Assembly had the capacity to adopt organizational and other acts in keeping with the legal and civilizational standards of the time, and that its work was focused on establishing the institutions of Republika Srpska.

Dodik reminded that the National Assembly was formed several months before the outbreak of armed conflict, and that Republika Srpska was established nearly two to three months earlier, which, he said, showed that neither the National Assembly nor the establishment of Republika Srpska was the fundamental cause of the war.

He added that almost all Serb representatives had taken part in the formation of the National Assembly and that it had not been a project of the Serb Democratic Party /SDS/, the leading Serb party, alone.

"It is important to point out that almost all Serb representatives already had the awareness and national responsibility to establish the National Assembly at that first session," Dodik said, noting that, in addition to the SDS, representatives of other political organizations, including the Reformists and the Serbian Renewal Movement, also took part.

Speaking about the establishment of institutions, he recalled the adoption of laws governing the work of the Government and the Army of Republika Srpska.

"The Army of Republika Srpska was not some self-organized military force, but a formation regulated exclusively by law, with the rights and obligations to protect and defend, above all, the Serb people and our territory," Dodik stressed.

He said that during the war, the National Assembly made the most important decisions and served as the central body for political decision-making.

"During the war, the National Assembly regularly established negotiating platforms and undoubtedly positioned itself as the focal point for decision-making on whether to accept or reject particular solutions," Dodik said.

Regarding the Dayton Peace Agreement, he reminded that the National Assembly had decided that the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, that is, Serbia, would conduct negotiations on behalf of Republika Srpska and complete the process of signing the agreement in Dayton.

"We were not satisfied with the agreement, but we accepted it," Dodik said, noting that the Dayton Agreement had played a significant role in internationally affirming the position of Republika Srpska within BiH’s constitutional framework.

Reflecting on the longstanding pressure on Republika Srpska, Dodik said that certain international policies had been aimed at abolishing it and establishing a centralized BiH.

"Throughout all these years, there has undoubtedly been enormous pressure on Republika Srpska to make it disappear," Dodik said, adding that the political awareness of the people had prevented Republika Srpska from being subjugated.

He particularly emphasized the importance of cooperation with Serbia and the role of Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić on the international stage.

"I believe that the National Assembly of Republika Srpska should, through a special act adopted at a plenary session, pay tribute to President Aleksandar Vučić, who defended the Serbs as a whole at the UN General Assembly," Dodik stressed.