ROMIĆ: DEFENDING SRPSKA’S CONSTITUTIONAL COMPETENCES IS DEFENDING THE DAYTON

WASHINGTON, OCTOBER 22 /SRNA/ – Defending Republika Srpska’s constitutional competences means defending the Dayton Peace Agreement, not challenging peace, Marko Romić, Secretary-General to Republika Srpska President, said during a lecture at Georgetown University Law Center in Washington.

"Republika Srpska was not established so that one day it could be reduced to an administrative unit without genuine competences. Its institutions, self-government and constitutional guarantees are part of the agreement that brought the war to an end. Therefore, Srpska cannot be expected to agree to gradually relinquishing that status in the name of reforms or the European path," Romić stressed.

He said that cooperation was possible, but not on the basis of outvoting the Serb people and imposing laws.

"The future cannot be built by weakening Srpska, but by respecting its rights and reaching agreements between equal partners. This is the position that should be clearly presented to the American public as well," Romić added.

Romić, who is also a senior teaching assistant at the Faculty of Law of the University of Banja Luka, spoke at the lecture entitled "Three Decades of the Dayton: Peace That Never Became a State." He discussed Srpska’s position, the imposition of laws, and efforts to replace the Dayton model with a centralized system of governance.