KOLJEVIĆ: NATIONAL ASSEMBLY ESTABLISHMENT COURAGEOUS AND VISIONARY UNDERTAKING

BELGRADE, OCTOBER 23 /SRNA/ – The establishment of the National Assembly of Republika Srpska was a visionary and courageous undertaking that laid the foundations for the legality and legitimacy of Republika Srpska, Bogdana Koljević, a senator of Srpska and daughter of one of its founders, Nikola Koljević, told SRNA.

Koljević highlighted the importance and role of the Assembly’s first convocation and the leadership of Republika Srpska at the time, including Radovan Karadžić, Momčilo Krajišnik, and Nikola Koljević, who made decisions under difficult circumstances, fully aware of the historical moment, both before the war in BiH and later during the conflict, alongside soldiers on the front lines.

"It was both a visionary and courageous undertaking that enabled the Serb people to once again become a historical people, a subject of history carefully building its future on its finest traditions," Koljević stressed, marking the 35th anniversary of the establishment of the Assembly of the Serb People.

When choosing their representatives, the Serb people, Koljević stresses, elected with almost innate historical experience and, in a sense, unconsciously, the people who would lead them, although they had different personal qualities, but worked together exceptionally well.

According to Koljević, it was precisely these qualities that enabled them to make the best decisions in the interests of the Serb people.

Karadžić's idealism and determination, Krajišnik's confidence and methodical approach, and Koljević's diplomatic composure, together with the assistance of their associates and all representatives in the first convocation of the National Assembly of Republika Srpska, contributed to sound judgment and efficient action, she notes.

"Today, we can see Momčilo Krajišnik's understanding that the systematic work of building institutions had to begin from the very outset. He worked towards that goal for five years, laying the foundations for the legality and legitimacy of Republika Srpska," Koljević stressed.

According to her, the document establishing the Assembly of the Serb People provides unequivocal evidence of this.

"It must be emphasized that all members of the first convocation played a major role in this, yet their contribution is often overlooked and forgotten today," Koljević said.

On January 9, 1992, the Assembly adopted the Declaration proclaiming the Republic of the Serb People of BiH, and on February 28 of the same year, it adopted the Constitution of Republika Srpska, laying the fundamental constitutional and legal foundations for its institutional structure.

The National Assembly is the highest representative and legislative body of Republika Srpska, consisting of 83 members elected by direct vote.