KARAN: MARCH 1 CONFIRMS BiH REMAINS DEEPLY DIVIDED

BANJA LUKA, FEBRUARY 28 /SRNA/ – Republika Srpska President Siniša Karan told SRNA that for the Serb people and Republika Srpska, March 1 is not and will never be a holiday, but a symbol of the beginning of tragic conflicts and suffering in BiH.

"On that day in Baščaršija, the innocent blood of Serb wedding guest Nikola Gardović was shed, and that historical fact obliges us not to accept imposed narratives and the rewriting of history. Historically confirmed facts must always be repeated so that such suffering would not happen again," Karan stressed.

Given that March 1 is marked in one half of BiH, the Republika Srpska president said, this only proves that BiH has remained split and permanently divided.

"That day is a crucial indicator that the Serb people would continue to be outvoted in the future had they not relied on their own strength and desire for freedom, which was crowned with Republika Srpska. The Serb national being would have been erased from these areas had it not been for the decisions adopted on January 9, 1992," Karan pointed out.

He emphasized that BiH, which was created in 1995, can function exclusively on the letter of the Dayton Peace Accords as a community of two equal entities and three constituent peoples, and not on unilateral, unitarist narratives and imposed decisions by the self-appointed.

"Only consistent respect for Dayton can be the foundation of a stable and sustainable BiH. Everything else leads to division, distrust, and new crises. Everything else leads to what existed before Dayton, namely an independent Republika Srpska and an independent Muslim-Croat Federation of BiH," Karan said.

The Republika Srpska president said that Republika Srpska remains firmly committed to peace, constitutionality, and the protection of its rights.

"Republika Srpska respects and upholds the Dayton Peace Accords. That is our duty. We call on all other sides to do the same. That is their duty," Karan stated.