REPUBLIKA SRPSKA - THE SERB PEOPLE'S GREATEST LEGACY OF THE 20TH CENTURY

ISTOČNO SARAJEVO, JANUARY 8 /SRNA/ – Republika Srpska is the most important and most valuable achievement of the Serb people in the tragic and, for Serbs, devastating 20th century, Draga Mastilović, Director of the Institute of Historical Sciences at the University of Istočno Sarajevo, has stated for SRNA.

"Born out of the memory of the genocide suffered by the Serb people during World War II, Republika Srpska has been and remains a categorical imperative of self-preservation for the Serb people west of the Drina River, because without Republika Srpska there would be no Serbs left in this area," Mastilović emphasized.

According to him, these are crystal-clear facts that cannot be negated by any narratives about some civic state of BiH without Republika Srpska, all allegedly in the name of false democracy and human rights.

"What kind of human rights the Serb people would have in such a BiH is demonstrated, among other things, by attempts to ban the marking of January 9, because only an occupied and disenfranchised people can be told by others what they may or may not celebrate," Mastilović pointed out.

He stressed that as long as Republika Srpska exists, with its institutional capacities, the Serb people in BiH cannot be deprived of their rights.

"That is why it is of vital importance for the Serb people to defend the right to mark January 9, because in doing so they are defending not only their historical consciousness, identity, and culture of remembrance, but also the very right to the existence of Republika Srpska and, consequently, the right to their survival in these areas," Mastilović said.

January 9 is celebrated as the Day of Republika Srpska because on that date in 1992 it was established under its original name, the Republic of the Serb People in BiH.

Republika Srpska was founded by Serb deputies in the then Assembly of BiH after they were outvoted on key issues concerning the survival of Yugoslavia, while representatives of the other two peoples embarked on secession against the will of the Serbs, who had the status of a constituent people.

The name Republic of the Serb People in BiH was used until February 28, 1992, when the first Constitution was proclaimed and the name was changed to the Serb Republic of BiH, which remained in use until August 12, 1992, when it was changed to the Serb Republic. In September 1992, this name was replaced with the current one - Republika Srpska.